Blogging on LinkedIn

Life Update: With blind luck, I landed an interview in a Health & Fitness app startup company, they needed a creative writer and a blogger, so I applied. After 3 interviews and a task they’ve shortlisted me for the final task which they’ll give tomorrow. Now, I thought to myself, what if, I sent my task to the CEO of the startup directly?

The CEO is also the same age as me and I’ve checked his social media out (it’s not stalking if the profiles are public!) he seems like a decent fella. So, after reviving my profile on LinkedIn, uploading my samples, writing a post, I am finally ready to send him a request and if he accepts it, then, I’ll send him my task.

In past couple of days, I’ve learned about blogging more than I’ve learned since I started blogging in 2020. Pooja’s website was a big help. She really gets it. She knows how it is for people like me, total noobs, to steer through the jungle of SEO and Meta Tags and Keyword Density and Site Audit and BLAH BLAH BLAH!

She’s doing god’s work, people. Go there and learn. Her posts are like gateways to this complex maze.

What I also learnt was that LinkedIn itself, provides bloggers like us, the connections with potential employers and clients. So, check that out too, if you’re interested in learning more.

I am new to this LinkedIn stuff, so if any of you guys can clue me in and give me suggestions please do. I would really appreciate it. Also, please check out my first LinkedIn post. It’s a modified, updated and crispier version of an old post of mine, Advice for Students on How to Stop Procrastination, those of you who read it, you really motivated me to write more like that. So, today, I’ve done it. I would always be thankful to this community for the spark it gave me, love you guys!

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjaydixit/

January 31, 2023 14

A poem for you, boo.

'Preciate me, I deserve respect! You selfish pudding! 
Opened my heart and lost my mind on you, moon. 
Enough with the evil tones, my sunset. 
Torture, torment, twist and turns, turn me on. 
Rainfalls and cold winds are kind of our thing 
You, my darling, are a sadist and I'm in love with you.

Acrostic Poem

An acrostic poem is the one in which the first letter of each new line in the text spells out a word or message.

January 30, 2023 7

A/N: I wrote this poem a few hours after attending my grandpa’s funeral. This is the first poem I wrote for someone. Up until that point, all my poems were fictional/inspired by muses.

January 29, 2023 15

Song Cover: Bob Dylan’s ‘To Ramona’

Dear readers and fellow bloggers, I invite you to listen me sing: To Ramona by Bob Dylan

I love this song very much, I think it is underrated. I couldn’t find any karaoke for this song on YouTube but I didn’t let that stop me, I used an AI to separate the instrumental from the official audio of the song and then I sang over it by watching the lyrics on Bob Dylan’s official website.

I love to do karaoke when I feel bored or stressed out, I’ve recorded this audio using my mobile mic, I haven’t used any music studio software to edit the audio either, I just played the instrumental on my stereo and started to sing. I hope you’ll enjoy my performance, please feel free to leave comments!

LYRICS

To Ramona
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN

Ramona
Come closer
Shut softly your watery eyes
The pangs of your sadness
Shall pass as your senses will rise
The flowers of the city
Though breathlike
Get deathlike at times
And there’s no use in tryin’
T’ deal with the dyin’
Though I cannot explain that in lines

Your cracked country lips
I still wish to kiss
As to be under the strength of your skin
Your magnetic movements
Still capture the minutes I’m in
But it grieves my heart, love
To see you tryin’ to be a part of
A world that just don’t exist
It’s all just a dream, babe
A vacuum, a scheme, babe
That sucks you into feelin’ like this

I can see that your head
Has been twisted and fed
By worthless foam from the mouth
I can tell you are torn
Between stayin’ and returnin’
On back to the South
You’ve been fooled into thinking
That the finishin’ end is at hand
Yet there’s no one to beat you
No one t’ defeat you
’Cept the thoughts of yourself feeling bad

I’ve heard you say many times
That you’re better ’n no one
And no one is better ’n you
If you really believe that
You know you got
Nothing to win and nothing to lose
From fixtures and forces and friends
Your sorrow does stem
That hype you and type you
Making you feel
That you must be exactly like them

I’d forever talk to you
But soon my words
They would turn into a meaningless ring
For deep in my heart
I know there is no help I can bring
Everything passes
Everything changes
Just do what you think you should do
And someday maybe
Who knows, baby
I’ll come and be cryin’ to you

January 28, 2023 7

Memento Mori

No funerary art, no wreaths, 
Mementos will do fine. 
Soul is-- 
Something I find baffling, so please 
Forgive me, no shrine, no--
Showbiz. 

Just sit openly, busy bees! 
To weather as to pine 
Show this 
Baffling soul he is missed, he sees. 
Sing love songs and share lines 
Slowish.

Prompt

Today, Grace at dverse has asked to write a poem following the poetry form, Memento.
Memento, created by Emily Romano is a poem about a holiday or an anniversary, consisting of two stanzas as follows: the syllable count should be 8 beats for line one; 6 beats for line two; and 2 beats for line three. This is repeated twice for each stanza. The rhyme scheme is: a/b/c/a/b/c for each of the two stanzas.

A/N: As soon as I read this prompt my mind took me to Memento Mori, (Latin for ‘remember that you [have to] die’ ) it is an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and Christianity, and appeared in funerary art and architecture from the medieval period onwards. This poem was hard to write, I admit. The form was more difficult than it seemed and the topic I chose was difficult still but I loved the process, the end result not so much but I think this will have to do.

My favorite rockstar!

January 27, 2023 27

A Day in Life

1. 

Somebody said something and I was awakened 
by her austere and yet beautiful voice 

so that my first thought was that my grandma 
had come to me in my dream 

but I couldn’t remember what she had said 
that was so profound that it awoke me 

in the early hours of morning
I pictured the dream fading away

into subconsciousness
as if it never existed

Like how the Moon and Stars had faded
so quietly.

2.

I soon found myself
at my narrow table under the window

I saw the Sun was rising
and the birds were singing

Long hours into the morning
I sat brooding at my table.

But no answers or wise words
came to my heavy head.

I was compelled to forget,
to let the question disappear.

But I did not let it disappear
Instead, I pondered upon it—

It was there in the space, which is
neither conscious nor the subconscious

But somewhere in between,
as I did my day.

3.

When I returned home,
I stood a long time

on the stoop where the stairs ended,
refusing to unlock the door.

The sun was setting.

I closed my eyes,
and a reflection arose—

The essence of time
is change.

4.

The table was as I left it,
to my right, the remains of a small meal.

From the window I saw the Moon and the Venus
fading back into existence.

Soon other stars would appear
And it would be night.

At which point I’d find
that nothing ever disappears

Nor does it ever stays the same
and I just have to let it be.

This poem is written in response to a dverse prompt, according to which I must have a conversation with a poem I like. The poem I chose to converse with is written by Loüise Gluck, it can be found in her collection: Faithful and Virtuous Night, its title is ‘The Story of a Day’. I can’t share it here due to copyright laws, but I would highly recommend reading it, the whole collection really a masterpiece. Anyways, here I’m sharing those lines which I’ve directly taken from Louise Glück’s poem.

I was awakened this morning as usual/

I soon found myself
at my narrow table;
Louise Glück, The Story of a Day

Featured Image: My own narrow table (what a cool coincidence!) at my old room. (Jan, 2021)

A/N: After a long search, when I found Pleiades: Alight, I also found some of my old poems which I had deleted from this blog in order to submit them to magazines. In the end, these poems couldn’t find any home. But, I love all of them, so I’ll be sharing these old poems here again from time to time. I hope you’ll enjoy them, your hearts are their homes now, if you’ll have them.

January 26, 2023 8

Two Hindi Poems and Their English Translations

Dear readers and fellow bloggers, today for the first time, I’ve written poetry in Hindi. The prompt was to write a poem for/about grandmothers. In Hindi, a paternal grandma is called ‘Daadi’ and a maternal grandma is called ‘Naani’. My dear Daadi passed away when I was in class 10th, her name was Shyama, its meaning is ‘the dark color of dusk’, also, it is one of the names of Lord Krishna. My Naani is still alive and still as loving as the first day I remember seeing her, her name is Sudha, its meaning is ‘nectar, ambrosia’, also, it is one of the names of Goddess Lakshmi.

I gave you that information so that you can understand the following poems more deeply, one more thing, in Hindu culture, it is a practice to touch feet of the elders in order to ask for their blessings. “Charan Sparsh” translates to “Touch Feet”.

दो हिंदी की कवितायें 

१.

श्रीमती श्यामा,
दादी माँ,
प्यारी माँ,

वो सलोनी यादें 
सुहावने साये 
वो बचपन की बातें 
सुन्दर समय 

कैरम, चॉकलेट, गुल्लक 
हमेशा खेलने, खाने और भरने को तैयार 
आशीर्वाद और गुड लक 
हमेशा दिया, अनगिनत प्यार 

ढल गयी सुनहरी शाम 
लेकिन लाली जैसे गुलाब की 
शेष है अभी, इस नववर्ष 
दादी माँ, चरण स्पर्श! 

२.

श्रीमती सुधा,
नानी माँ,
प्यारी माँ, 

सुरीली सुबह 
और आपके हाथों का बना 
गाजर का हलवा 
सुगंध जैसे शुद्ध सुधा

चुटकुलों और कहावतों 
और कहानियों और मुहावरों
और बुंदेलखंडी बातों 
का प्यार भरा भण्डार
 
आपकी गूली-गूली गोद 
में कटा बचपन, याद तो नहीं 
न ही याद हैं 
आपकी लाखों लोरियां 

पर याद हैं लुक्का-चुप्पी 
और भागम-भाग के खेल 
आपके चमत्कारी चुम्बन, अपना मेल 
और मेरा हर्ष 

नानी माँ, चरण स्पर्श!

Two Hindi Poems 

I.

Mrs Shyama, 
Dadi Ma 
Dear Meemaw,

Those charming memories 
Pleasant shades 
Those childhood chats 
Beautiful times 

Carrom, Chocolate, Piggy Bank 
Always ready to play, eat and fill 
Blessings and Good Luck 
Always ready to give, countless love 

Golden evening has passed 
but the redness like that of a rose 
lingers for now, this new year 
Daadi Ma, charan sparsh!

II.

Mrs. Sudha,
Naani Ma, 
Dear meemaw, 

Melodious morning 
and Carrot Pie 
made by your hands 
Scent like pure ambrosia 

Lovely supply of 
Jokes and proverbs 
and stories and idioms 
and Bundelkhandi* babble 

Your lovely-lovely lap 
where I’ve lived while I was a baby 
Though I don’t remember 
Your lakhs of lullabies 

But I do remember playing Hide & Seek 
and You’re It,
Your magical kisses, our get-togethers 
My immense pleasure  

Naani Ma, charan sparsh!

*Bundelkhand is the name of the place form where my dear Naani is from.

Posted over at dverse

January 25, 2023 33

Alice’s Love Triangle

Ice entice 
sunrise 
as I, ex- 
ercise

my vice 
twice, 
thrice 

that'd suffice. 

Now, I dice 
and slice, 
surmise 

that Moon's demise 
as Ice entice 
sunrise 
was not wise. 

The price 
of her love--a sacrifice. 

Disguised 
as nice 
allies 

She's all lies 
Alice, a lice.

44 words

Posted over at dverse

Featured Image: Dan Hamill, Pexels Free Photos

January 24, 2023 35

Contrails

I have eaten
my lunch
that was made 
by my mother

And which
is now probably
making
me sleepy

Forgive me
it was delicious
so spicy
and so heavy
 
That now
I must rest
on this soft
and warm grass

Keep an eye
on the sky
so blue

And wait
for sleep
to come.

Floating upstream

I am a bright sparrow
in search for lunch
Rice taste better
than bread crumbs

Surprised
by the sight
of a lonely man
sleeping on the ground.

Hasn’t he got work
to be done?
Places to run to?

From noon 
through to evening
the man sleeps.
Me, flying back to my nest.

Floating upstream

I am a solitary jet plane 
flying at high altitude 
propelling through 
the stratosphere.
 
Thrusting
large weights of air
backwards.
 
Blazing behind
very hot exhaust
which gets cooled down
and condensed

before 
getting evaporated
and vanished. 

I wake up
 
sunburned
to the sound of
kids giggling

and feel the wind
hurry its march
and turn cold

In the darkening sky
now there are clouds,
a sparrow streaks across them
 
and a lonely jet
is floating high above
leaving 
light snowy contrails behind.

M. Jay Dixit, January 2021

Featured Image: Pexels Free Photos, eberhard grossgasteiger

January 23, 2023 8

When I Daydream (A Sonnet)

All days are nights to see till I see you,
And nights bright days when dreams do show me you.
William Shakespeare

When I daydream then do my eyes best see, 
For all day they see things in black and white; 
But when I daydream, it is you they see, 
And, in colour of dreams, your shade shines bright. 

My ears best hear when I am sound asleep, 
For all day they hear things from dull outside; 
But when I sleep, in dreams they hear you speak 
And your sweet voice makes them shiver inside. 

My mouth best tastes when in dreams my mind slips, 
For my day goes by tasting bitter things; 
But when I sleep, in dreams it tastes your lips 
And your sweet tongue rouses it with tinglings. 

All days are nights to see till I see you, 
And nights bright days when dreams do show me you.

M. Jay Dixit, August 2020

Featured image: On the left is the final draft, one I edited for my Instagram account and on the right is my first draft.

January 22, 2023 9