I cannot remember when it all began but I found myself writing poetry even as a child and teenager. When I was a fresher in college, I wrote a poem in AB-CB rhyme scheme called Cherished Dreams and this became my first published poem! However, I never pursued writing poetry as a regular pastime. Well into my twenties, whenever I had a very compelling feeling that I wanted to express and purge myself of, I took recourse to writing a poem and it truly had a cathartic effect.  In retrospect, it appears that I took to writing poetry whenever I churned.

On many occasions when I struggled with a relationship, whenever I wanted to make myself understood, – when my head was clouded with conflicting emotions and thoughts, whenever I faced a crucible- writing out my confusion, pain and hurt left me feeling a lot better. Quite a few of my poems reflect this churning; they describe some searing moments of my rather eventful life.

Having said this, quite a number of my poems are also born of sheer fancy; desires and dreams, states and situations I would like to be in. I fly high and sojourn happily in the world of make-believe and write a lot of romantic poetry. Then, landing back with a thud, there would be poems in vastly different moods – poems that describe states and situations I am in- my reality! Some poems would also be a blend of reality and fantasy!  

I like to write about the people in my life, especially the happy and dependable relationships I have had. There are poems on yearnings, disappointments and struggles too.  I have written candidly, without holding back, about my observations, experiences and realisations.  I have, of course, changed with time and many of my recent poems mirror this evolution.

It was not that I wrote poetry on a continuous basis. There would be years of hectic poetic activity and then for years on end, I would be numb and lie fallow; I would not have written anything at all.

My poetic fervour drew some attention when I recited my poems on the All-India Radio in a special programme in English that was devoted to poetry reading.  Stringing my poems together after finding a common thread and writing out a preface for each, practising recitation and then going to the studios of All-India Radio for the recordings really lit my life with special joy and fulfilment. This went on for a few years and it was sheer ecstasy whenever a well-wisher or unknown listener sent me appreciative feedback.

I also started sending my poems to a few journals and specifically, to a Chennai based journal called The Poet.  Of course, it was very satisfying to see my poem in print and the journal became a treasure to keep for all times. Well, that was all that happened with my poems and with my writing.

For decades thereafter, I wrote nothing and I thought I had lost the mettle to write poetry. By then, I did have a hundred-odd poem written over four decades, but most of them were lying scattered in my notebooks. When Covid hit us in 2020, I suddenly found that I had a lot of ‘me’ time and this took me back to my penchant for writing poetry. I also wanted to share my poems with family and friends. This was when I brought out ‘Suspended Animation’ an anthology of 40 random poems in a self-published E-book format.

The muse rekindled, did not stop with this. Like a spring that was waiting to burst forth, my need to express myself, to share my thoughts and feelings through poems resurfaced; but this time, it had come to stay. I wrote as never before- almost a poem a day- and that was when the idea of doing a website and making audio versions and videos of my poems came up. The embryo of ‘Verses by Vasanthi’ was thus, conceived and I got on to fast track on the long road of poetry.