Poem - The Fleeting Hour - based on a prompt on one's greatest fear

 

Sweater stitched by Carole Declerck

clothes made for her grandchild

You, the fleeting hour,

Make me wonder how? 

I will do it all,

In between then and now. 

You, the rushing clock, 

Make one despair!

We just don’t have enough time, 

To stand and stare.

You, the mighty minute, 

Make us wonder,

How much work in 60 secs,

One can capture and surrender?

You, the ticking clock,

You, the giver of opportunity,

You have such a knack,

To be abundant just as you seem without pity.

This poem was penned in response to #WeekendWritingPrompt asking for a poem addressing one's greatest fear, in the 2nd person singular 'You'.

The creation on the photo is by my friend Carole Declerck, who is a talented seamstress and has started making beautiful clothes for her grandchild. I love collaborating with small creators.

Roller Derby - a seriously strong and surprising sport on skates

 

Skate of the Dead 2025

Recently I got lucky and found a sport that neither me nor many people that I spoke to knew about. That's surprising because it's played at the World Championship and League levels all over the world. The sport is called Roller Derby. Originally created and played in the 1930s in the United States, the sport was mainly a movement to allow a safe space for people who were differently oriented sexually. Those who belong to the LGBTQ+ world found a space to meet others who identified like themselves and were allowed to be themselves. The sport sort of disappeared until the 90s when it reemerged, first in the US and then in the rest of the world, including Europe. Today it's played all over the world and it's no longer a sport only for the LGBTQ+ community. It's all inclusive and played more for the skating, strength, agility and skill required to be part of the Team.

I got lucky to talk to Marta who is part of the Italian National team but she plays in the Brussels team for League matches. She has now been a part of the Brussels team  for nearly 5 years and played overall ten seasons. She explains the game and its rules to

me.

Roller Derby is usually played on an indoor oval track drawn on concrete, wood or linoleum that would fit in a basketball court. Two teams on skates play against each other. The team at any given moment consists of up to 15 members. However, during each session of play, there are 5 members of each team on the track. These sessions of play, that last up to two minutes, are called Jams. The match lasts for 1 hour and is divided into two half times of 30 minutes. Each half time consists of several Jams. Each team sends one Jammer, one Pivot and 3 Blockers to the track for these Jams. 

The Jam A whistle indicates the start of a Jam and 3x4 whistles indicate the end. The Jammer on each team needs to get through the blockages created by the 4 members (3 Blockers and Pivot) of the opposing team. The Jammer needs to race ahead and score their point once they have got through the one or several tentative blockings of their opponents. Since both teams are playing and present on the track at the same moment, the result is a lot of physical contact, slamming into a group of players, swerving one's body using all the skill and flexibility that one possesses and picking oneself up and starting again after having fallen down and been pushed down over and over again. Since I got to see the match between the Brussels vs Lyon teams, I can say it looks like a mix between a race, a wrestling match and a rugby match, all done on skates. I was surprised with the amount of physical contact and also with the zero-intentional aggressivity shown by any player. It's also a bit complicated to understand the first time without anyone explaining the details to you. But, I think with time, you understand the game better and better.

While a Jam is in session, there are 7 referees on skates who position themselves in the centre of the oval and on the outside of the track. They need to follow what's happening on the track as everything happens very fast and in all directions considering the number of people involved. There are other officials (not on skates) to support the referees.

The points are scored by the Jammers on the track when they do laps once they pass the Pack of opponents. The points are counted once the Jammer has passed the Pack created by the opponent's Blockers. Each blocker passed is a point scored by the Jammer.

So if a Jammer manages to pass one Blocker and finish their lap, they score one point. If they pass all, then it's 4 points.

The Jammer wears a helmet cover with a star on it. The Pivot has a versatile role. They are a Blocker for most of the Jam session, however they become the Jammer once they receive the helmet cover with the star on it from the Original Jammer. A Pivot is recognised by a helmet cover with a band that goes across the middle.

The Jammer's role is to be fast, agile and very strategic. If you're fast, you're probably not going to be blocked often. But if you're super strong but not super fast, you're probably capable of breaking the Pack and moving ahead. 

These teams have players of all sizes, body types, speeds and skills. The Roller Derby team in Brussels has 2 levels. The 'A' level is a travelling team that gets invited to other European cities and the 'B' level is a team who plays mostly locally. Originally inspired by Punk style, many teams in the Roller Derby have Punk inspired names. Each player has a Derby name and some of the players are known by these names more than their real names. These Derby names can be cute, representing a pun or aggressive and often having a story behind them. Marta for example started playing Roller Derby when she was 20 years old in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since she's Italian and in Argentina Italian immigrants are called 'Tanos', she got called 'La Tana'. She still uses that Derby name. 

The Roller Derby games are played in World Championships with National teams and League levels. The clubs have a World ranking as their teams compete in different competitions throughout the year. A lot of Roller Derbies happen in small tournaments. For example last weekend, Brussels was organising and hosted Oslo and Lyon. The scores during these matches are kept track of and it works on the teams' global ranking. So, it's clear that as a team they need to participate in a certain amount of games. Each team needs to organise and get invited to different games happening elsewhere. Brussels is currently around the 41st/500 teams in Europe. The Brussels team is a 'Woman' team meaning that whoever identifies as woman or non-binary can join. They don't ask any further questions. On the other hand, Roller Derby is not exclusively for women. While historically it has been dominated by women, there are now many men's and mixed/ co-ed teams. The modern revival of the sport began as an all all-female sport, leading to a continued association with women, but participation has since expanded to include gender-diverse skaters as well.

The World Flat Track Derby Association  W.F.T.D.A runs, oversees and organises the global rankings and the regional and global championships and playoffs. The word 'Flat' track is to distinguish the derby that is played on a track laying flat on the floor, which is probably 95% of these games from the original version that used to be played on a Bend Track or a Bike Track. This version nowadays survives only in the North American continent.

Marta used to be Captain of the Brussels team. After the Pandemic, she moved to Brussels and found herself in a Brussels team that didn't have many players. So, now that she and others have managed to create a momentum and have enough members on the Team and fresh candidates who want to learn the sport, Marta is glad to let others take over.

To be a good Roller Derby player one needs to be a good skater and have good core & muscle strength, balance and stability. It's a sport that is strategic and needs some level of spatial awareness. You will get physically strong and can learn to move in the fast paced pack with training. Marta says she has seen people of all sizes, all levels of skating ability and skill sets in this sport. 

Above all, the sport is a community-led sport. No person on or off the track can be made to feel uncomfortable with who they are. Everyone is an ally, part of the group and accepted. Maybe you're good on skates and are looking for a sport that can take you to a new level where you can play with a team, learn new skills and above all be respected for who you are, regardless of who you are. Maybe you're just curious and like me can't skate at all.  In either case, I suggest you at least find and go see a Roller Derby match nearby. 

Below are the fun line ups of teams and officials who participated at the Skate of the Dead tournament at Brussels this month. 

The Brussels team can be contacted on social media looking for “Brussels roller derby” or

via email at info.brusselrollerderby@gmail.com.

#rollerderby #derbygirl

Still I wake - a guest poem on Privilege by Angel Pushparaj Shetty

pic courtesy Zoshua Colah - Unsplash

 

Why do I complain and cry,
When I've got strength to reach the sky?
Why feel low or think I am less,
Just because life feels like a mess?

A little boy touched my feet,
Selling pens out on the street.
An old man, tired, in the heat,
Still smiled while selling rakhi's sweet.

An old woman, with the hands that shake,
Sells flowers early, stays awake.
Another cleans at a roadside place,
Yet holds the world with quiet grace.

And here I sit, safe and whole,
With food, with health, a peaceful soul.
So why should I compare or doubt,
When life has given me so much to shout?

Each struggle I face makes me strong,
Each step ahead proves I belong,
I may not have all I want today,
But I have enough to find my way.

So I’ll stop the blame, let go the fear,
Be proud of me, hold my dreams near.
Grateful heart, steady pace—
I will walk this path with love & grace

~ Angel Pushparaj Shetty

Angel is an 18yrs old poet who's studying BAMMC- Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media and Communication 

A lazy Autumn morning - Poem based on a prompt

Lyngby, Denmark

I woke up in the morning
An orange autumnal one you see,
The sleepy head I was,
Was basking in the shining sun..
so satisfied and happy.

As I sat there I felt my privilege,
No need to rush and jump.
Breathing in deeply
this brightness
That opposes the darkened seasonal slump.


I wondered what it would take to get  out of bed and get myself ready ?
To go out and do my steps,
That I’d promised myself
The night before, yes I’d been positive
Not as unsteady.

The morning wished me to
Rise and shine,
The inner me was lazy,
The tiger that I'd called myself
The night before,
Was definitely unawakened and more like a sleepy kitty.
 

But I shall awake once I’ve drunk my tea,
And slip into my shoes that beckon..
The morning light is precious now,
We’re in a country where sunshine is rare and seldom. 

#WeekendWritingPrompt #autumnvibes #november2025 #lazyorangemornings #raresunshineinnovember

This poem is from the prompt I found on wordcraft_collective where I needed to write a poem that has 'orange' and 'tiger' in it.

You can listen to this poem on my show 'Lekha writes, then reads' on Spotify and Apple or here 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1SuoRDIPHuKUIcirICwiUB?si=3Lk2UVxZQzeQvMcoMPe3Fw

Did you like this poem? you may like this one too 

Poem on a quote - Burning the candle at both ends - Instagram upload 1st Nov 2025

or 

The Moon follows me

Poem on a quote - Burning the candle at both ends - Instagram upload 1st Nov 2025

 

Oh là là! Ces Dieux Indiens ! Les forces opposées

 

L'acte même de création dans l'hindouisme repose sur le principe que le bien et le mal sont d'égale importance dans l'ordre des choses. Brahma, le créateur, qu'il en ait reçu l'instruction explicite ou non, a donné naissance à tous les êtres et à toute chose. Non seulement aux êtres et aux choses bons.

On dit que le Seigneur Brahma conçut d'abord les Prajapatis, les guides de la création, et les Saptarishis, qui allaient rédiger les Védas et offrir un enseignement spirituel à toute l'existence. Il s'agissait de ses Manasputras, ses fils nés de son esprit. Un rappel pertinent pour les adeptes du New Age : la création prend naissance dans l'esprit.

En tant que Prajapati, le sage Kashyap engendra la vie sous de multiples formes. Il engendra notamment les Devas, les Asuras et les Danavas. On pourrait considérer les Devas comme des divinités inférieures à la Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu et Shiva), car ils furent créés, contrairement à la Trinité qui préexistait. On dit qu'ils possèdent des qualités et des attributs divins.

Les Devas étaient également connus sous le nom de « Suras », ou êtres célestes, tandis qu'à l'autre extrémité du spectre se trouvaient les Asuras, parmi lesquels les Danavas, ou démons. Tous les Asuras ne sont pas des Danavas ou des démons. Les Asuras étaient généralement décrits comme des êtres immensément forts, fiers et avides de pouvoir, sans pour autant être nécessairement mauvais. Ils s'opposaient souvent aux Devas, et de ces conflits naissaient de nouvelles créations.

Les Devas étaient nés de Kashyap et d'« Aditi ». « Aditi », en sanskrit, signifie « sans frontières » ou « sans limites ». Ses fils étaient également connus sous le nom d'Adityas. « Diti », quant à elle, qui signifie littéralement « idée » ou « génie », aurait, dit-on, approché son époux Kashyap au crépuscule. Celui-ci l'avertit que ce n'était pas un moment propice à la procréation. Cependant, il ne put ni refuser à sa femme ni la faire changer d'avis, et de leur union naquirent les Asuras.

Les Asuras naissent donc fondamentalement de l'ignorance et du désir, contrairement aux Devas qui naissent de la connaissance et de la vertu. Les Danavas, ou démons, généralement classés parmi les Asuras, sont quant à eux nés du sage Kashyap et de son épouse Danu et représentent l'antithèse des Devas.

Ni les Devas ni les Asuras n'étaient bons ou mauvais par nature. Ils étaient simplement plus enclins à certaines qualités. La mythologie hindoue compte des exemples de rois Asuras vertueux. Prahlad en est un exemple. Fils d'Hiranyakashipu, l'un des fils de Diti, il était un fervent dévot de Vishnu et aurait régné avec justice après la mort de son père. Son petit-fils Bali, également appelé Mahabali ou Maveli dans le sud de l'Inde, était vénéré pour sa droiture, sa générosité et son sens de la justice.

Indra, malgré son statut de roi des dieux, était parfois sujet à des comportements impurs et devait en assumer les conséquences. L'une des pires malédictions qu'il reçut lui fut lancée par le sage Gautama pour avoir usurpé son identité et couché avec son épouse Ahilya. Furieux, Gautama maudit Indra, le condamnant à être couvert de mille vulves.

Bien entendu, les dieux intervinrent en faveur d'Indra, car l'équilibre cosmique entre le bien et le mal était désormais en jeu. Que se passerait-il si le héros d'un film décidait de ne pas être « bon » ? Cesserait-il d'être un héros ? L'intervention divine empêchait généralement le scénario, pourtant bien ficelé, de dérailler. Dans ce cas précis, Gautama fut apaisé par les dieux et adoucit sa malédiction. Les vulves furent transformées en mille yeux et Indra reçut l'épithète de Sahasraksha (celui aux mille yeux).

l'histoire est un traduction de celui écrit en anglais par ma soeur sur son site. 

Il se trouve ici https://www.lathawarrier.com/articles-and-stories/oh-my-these-indian-gods/opposing-forces

The Classroom became his canvas - A Poet's Journey to Authorship - James Leader

 

James Leader with his best selling book 'Into Babel'

As I'm navigating and observing the changes in my life since the last few months, this blog and writing about people that inspire us all gets me closer and closer to people's dreams, hopes, passions and hence, closer to their inner beings. Of course, an interview over a screen is not what one would consider a perfect setting to get anyone to let down any defenses. Neither is it a barrier, I have come to realize. People give me parts of what their personalities and souls allow them to at any given time. The more open I am, the quicker it's to get the other person to be comfortable enough.

So when I interviewed James Leader, I found myself talking about my current life where I'm discovering new skills and new facets. This led to a conversation on how a day can be considered full of uncertainty, but it also allows for multiple opportunities! Sure, it's uncomfortable, but maybe a comfort zone is time bound and I've run out of my time for that kind of life. Which is why I was happy that my guest here today teacher, author and poet, met me in a conversation where his true self could come to the fore.

"Into Babel" bestselling novel in Luxembourg, published 2024.

I met James or was moved by him as he delivered with perfect composure and eloquence a poem about his past career and a poem about the couple his parents are today. The moment I heard James, I knew that he has a lot of things that anyone can understand, aspire to be or relate to. Whether it's a life rich with adventures of working in Abu Dhabi or the privilege of still having his parents to learn from. And then of course, everyone likes a successful poet. Here's someone who has something to say and is even being paid to do so.

Signing copies of bestselling "Into Babel" at the Walfer Bicherdeeg (literary fair in Luxembourg) in 2024

With all this, James had to be a part of my blog. Here's his story. James has been teaching a large part of the past 25 years at the European school in the tiny country of Luxembourg. Funny that me, who comes from a huge country like India, currently residing in a tiny country that's Belgium can actually call another country tiny. But truly, Luxembourg is miniscule but a country very rich in culture amongst other things. According to James, residing there has been a great experience and good for his creativity. It's a country that supports writers and poets and I'm guessing creative people of all kinds. A remarkable place to live! 

Graduation of the European School Luxembourg II

James started his career in the European school after shifting from the USA where he was working as a high school teacher in Washington State. He had managed to get a great contract that gave him 9 years of work. After that, he decided to take a year off just to write. In that year, he managed to write two novels. His days were 3-4 hours of bliss and joy doing the writing while tackling and juggling with the voices of his characters and multiple rounds of editing amongst other things. But, having been a busy man with a routine for years, James missed it along with the social interactions he had. He missed the contact with the children and his colleagues . He didn't like being lonely and had no mundane discussion points to share with his family when they came back home at the end of the day.

Teaching a workshop in creative writing in Luxembourg

As a family, they travelled around Asia for 6 months and went back to the USA for another half a year. Long story short, this part of life was when he realised he needed a job. He needed to interact daily with people and have a routine outside of home. That's when he decided to reach out to the school in Luxembourg and try to get a contract again. He now was offered a local job, i.e. a contract made in Luxembourg and this meant he was going to do the same job with nearly a 40% pay cut.  He accepted and started his second round of teaching in the European school. In exchange for the smaller salary, he could now choose how many hours he would work and this got him the perfect balance of work at school and work for himself. He teaches 12-18 year olds these days. The whole experience led to him writing his book on the school - 'Into Babel'.

Being interviewed about poetry at the Luxembourg "Printemps des Poetes" (a poetry festival)

I try to understand James from when he started writing as a young man, because usually the writer or the poet exists much earlier than when we, the public know about them. Our conversation led us back into his childhood. Until the age of 12, he had a very normal one. When adolescence hit, he started having lots of difficulties and he suffered terrible mood swings. It got worse every passing year, yet discussing mental health was taboo back then.  So, at 16, James started writing poetry as a way to deal with those dark moments. Writing poems started to give him meaning and pleasure. Only recently James has been diagnosed as having a mild form of bipolar disorder. (we can take all this out if you prefer) He finally feels in control, as he is being treated for it. The diagnosis gave him some answers on his youth and his behaviour over the years and I find it commendable that he has no reservations either about talking about it or sharing this in a public forum. A great way I think to normalize and bring acceptance to mental health issues.

Doing a poetry reading last June in Luxembourg

Even though I write poetry myself, I haven't made myself a 'knowledgeable' poet. Or someone who knows all the kinds of poetry that exist. I write more poetry than I read. So, it was nice to hear that James had managed to write a 'Villanelle' the day before our conversation. He was riding high on the feeling of having accomplished something very difficult. Writing a poem of 19 lines which uses two repeating rhymes and two refrains, which are the first and third lines of the first stanza. Poetry keeps giving him a great sense of achievement and identity. James says he may be delusional, but he feels in the world of poetry he meets his friends, poets like T.S Eliot, Philip Larkin or Robert Browning. I understand him as in my world of poetry I'm very much in dialogue with the people I write about.

The teaching part of James' life, came about because he always knew he didn't want to live in England. He studied Modern languages and escaped from the U.K. After researching which career would allow him to travel and discover the world, he did a Teacher's course and started on this travelling life he dreamed of. Having now worked in France, Spain, Nicaragua, Abu Dhabi, and the U.S.A he has reached the life he now leads in Luxembourg. He loves the opportunities that this career has given him and at the same time, he realises he's quite passionate about teaching. He really missed it when he had stopped. He now teaches literature, enjoys taking Shakespeare to his students and conducts classes in Creative Writing.

Since James has now written 4 novels along with his poetry, I'm curious to know what he prefers. He says that poetry comes first. It's easier to get a result in a shorter span of time. When he starts a poem, he finds it satisfying that the people in his writing group can give him feedback that's relatively fast. For him the writing of a novel is long and his last novel took him five years to complete. But he finds that readers have a more positive reaction to the novels because stories are always preferred and understood better by many. Some people are afraid of poetry according to him. For example, the people who read his novel on the European school could identify with the story and many reached out to him. So, the larger volume of feedback means that novels have a return to the investment of time that's proportionally more satisfying. But the process of writing poetry is more fun for him. Poetry comes from a place that's somewhere deeper, magical and unconscious. You end up surprising yourself with what you can pen down. For him however, he cannot produce poetry to order. It's usually spontaneous, linked to a little image and often a metaphor. The real depth in poetry is in the metaphor. When he sees the metaphor, he knows that the poem will come about and he will write it someday, even if it's years later. However, with stories it's more conscious, he can schedule the writing, the implementing and the movement from thought to paper.

James talks of how he started out as a poet and found himself waiting for poems to come to him. Those days he was free, without any attachments, travelling the world and inspiration wouldn't come so easily. However, once he was married, with kids and living a super busy life in the States, the poetry came to him from his fatherhood, his children and his marriage. At some point, it all got to be too much and so he just gave up writing for about 4 years. Obviously, this suppression couldn't last and while he was running one morning on a beautiful day in Venice, he decided to pick up his pen again. On his 40th birthday, he resolved to start writing fiction. His first novel took him about 7years to write and he found it hard. He was frustrated by its progress. One day, in true artist style, much to the utter dismay of his wife, he just threw it away. This novel that never saw the light of day taught him really everything he knows about writing a novel and how hard it can be. It made him realise that just because he was a poet and a literature enthusiast, it was not necessarily enough. It made him more humble and forced him to take a critical look at his abilities.

However, what he started 20 years ago did go on to eventually get him recognition. In 2016, he won the Luxembourg National Prize for Literature of Young Adults for his novel. Now, he's working on a new entry for another competition. People call him to read out parts of his work at different events and he's currently living his best life.

I think James' story can be mine, and can be yours. What we really love doing leads us to bigger successes. We're ready to face any challenges with a smile because we have a focus and a purpose that's more important to us than any difficulty. The success or the wins are relative, but when the choice is yours, the route seems easier and the result gets us closer to our true selves. So, go on. Take time out to do what you love. Follow your inner light, it's worth it in the long run.

Here's James' website James Leader

#writer #author #poet #poetry #europeanschool #amwriting #amediting #ampublishing #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #authorcommunity #writerlife #Storyteller

#britishpoet #englishpoet

Read my poetry here 

Coffee - you and me

or

A cat guarding a magical artifact

or

Poem - My Mirror and me - Instagram upload - 1st Sept 2025

Read my articles 

A story from the perspective of a teddy bear clutched by a 4-year-old girl

or

Safe, under her wings

or 

Rachel Insomnia - Instagram series - uploaded 22nd July 2025

or

Read Another author's story here 

Neil D'Silva - Author of 17 published Horror novels, mentor, runner and 'aspiring Ultramarathoner'