They document history in pages story, In artifacts and aging monuments, In poetry of doom and glory. Poetry is solidarity in comments Feeding the immortal human soul. Solace in troubled times, Wonder How’ll they document this end whole, Free-verse or in rhyme yonder?

1. Muses_Saga
Originals
M U S E S _ S A G A
QUARANTINE AND FANTASY
POETRY

2. Muses_Saga Originals
Realisations in Quarantine
Once Upon a Time
@muses_saga
Muses_Saga

3. Contributors
Poets
Adrika Roy (@adrika00)
Anjali Roongta (@anjaliroongtasiya_official)
Anuraag Chatterjee(@_pen_dragon)
Arpita Maji (@born_for_a_lifetime)
Dibiya Patranabish (@dibiyapatranabish)
Shubhr Aakriti (@shubhrs_quill_on_page)
Editors
Adrika Roy(@adrika00)
Anjali Roongta (@anjaliroongtasiya_official)

4. Psychological Analysis
Anjali Roongta (@anjaliroongtasiya_official)
Naushi Mathur
Artists
Aditi Tewari
Dibiya Patranabish (@dibiyapatranabish)
Pragya Priya Mondal (@multipolarblackrainbow)
Shubhr Aakriti (@shubhrs_quill_on_page_)
Sohom Banerjee ((@Sohombanerjee_30)
Tripti Jain (@tripti_j)

5. Online
@muses_saga
T/W- Existential Crisis
They document history in pages story,
In artifacts and aging monuments,
In poetry of doom and glory.
Poetry is solidarity in comments
Feeding the immortal human soul.
Solace in troubled times, Wonder
How’ll they document this end whole,
Free-verse or in rhyme yonder?
Perhaps it’ll document online,
Like our lives.
The remnants of history fine,
Caught within data-bytes.
And so, five poets came online,
To show their experience of this quarantine, live.
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five poets opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
“Online Zoom Classes,” said one.

6. “It’s a new phenomenon,” agreed another.
“Waking up at seven or eight,
The whole class comes together,
Slowly over bad network,
We learn the history of life,
And watch the dissection of a feather.”
“I suppose online therapy is fine,” added another,
“We all need it in these troubled times.”
“Online therapy?”
“Oh yes. On WhatsApp video are shared the solutions to
grief and to life,
Medicines are offered online,
As well as many ears to listen over call,
As we all social-distance.”
“Oh yes, no one can conquer distance in this time.”
“Yet teachers do it, give us a sense of normal,
When they conduct classes over Zoom or Skype,
Everyone complains of the mental toll
That exams seek, yet no one applauds their tenacity.”
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
“I learnt things online,” added another.
“For one I experienced love and cooking through a screen,
When my mother sent me a picture of Thai Curry,

7. She had learnt from a YouTube channel,
Yet seeing it made me feel like I was home, instead of all
alone.”
“Meals that fill your heart
Include desserts like tart
Some spicy, crunchy food
And a film to set to mood
And now the feasting could start.
To cook it by yourself is neat
Some easy recipes to eat
Include butter and bread
With chicken on a lettuce bed
And toasted on medium heat.
Some fruits would be nice
And some coke with some ice
With a bag of salted chips
And some fries with a crisp
And perhaps some fried rice."
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
"I met my best friend across cities again,
Seeing her hale and hearty was a relief,
In this time of pandemic.

8. Hearing of people stuck away from home,
Dying of death and disease,
A lack of utilities
I snuggle closer to my Mother.
Glad to be safe and sheltered,
With food on my plate
And family by my side."
I still struggle through the quarantine-
As every plan seems to fall apart,
As every fight turns into a war,
I remind myself of those
Stuck away from home,
All alone,
And wonder how would I miss this then-
The security of home,
The privileges found online,
As wars chant the name of Gods,
And people in hospitals suffered,
Out of necessity the world shut down,
Further away from loved ones ourselves we found,
I thank my stars,
For hearth and health so fine,
During this quarantine.
When doctors and labourers fought a war
To save lives,
I stayed safe indoors and read the news online,
My only contribution during this time.”

9. On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
“I read a few new books online,” said the first, “Feeding
the marrows of my mind.”
Pulled old books that had gathered dust,
Renewed interest in Vine and vinyl I could find.”
“Taking care of yourself is a must,
And, to your close ones, be kind.
Inside all of our crusts,
Resides the same organs lined.”
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
“I made love through a screen,” added another.
“To myself and another,
Treating my skin to some care,
A glow-up for my face and hair.”
"Welcome back to my channel",
The most heard phrase,
Sometimes giving joy,
Sometimes providing hope,
Sometimes just passing time.
You start with basic skincare,
Then go on extra pampering,

10. End with the dream of a radiating,
Glowing skin.
Hope that your skin and existence,
Are going to get sunlight to bloom,
Prosper and shine.”
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
“I caught up on some series,
Netflix and solo-chill!”
“Are you really in "Netflix and chill?”
Or you, just trying to escape?
Escape from reality?
Escape the mundane?
Escape loneliness?
Or escape the everlasting question of human existence?
Or do you need a reminder how to laugh, love and live?
Are you really doing "Netflix and chill?”
On the twentieth day of the lockdown,
Five opened their minds,
And began to wonder what history would mine
At the end of this line.
As one after another the doors were locked up, stepping
out into the open became a life threat,

11. I asked myself-
Staying indoors will keep me safe. But will it keep me
alive?
The chirping of the sparrows, barking of the street dogs
replied- we have asked that question for years while you all
were out here mutilating Home!
I picked up the dark device that kept us away from Nature
for so long. The Newsflash showed "Delhi's air cleanest in
a decade".
And after that, it continued...
Global warming, climate change, ocean plastic, animal
torture, species extinction, 5G, and all other monsters;
Wikipedia, articles, blogs, documentaries, celebrity
activists, e-books and all other mediums:
Locked in my own room with a tiny electronic, I visited the
whole planet!
I came closer to my mother, Earth,
understood her pain and pledged to make a change!
Ironic, how virtualization brought about the most crucial,
realistic realization!
“And we all created poetry…”
“That’s how we made it through,
This quarantine.”

12. Once
Once upon a time,
In a land far far away,
Was how they all began.
Once upon a time…
A knight helped fight demons,
All hours of the day and night,
To tales of such heroic women,
I closed mine eyes.
Once upon a time…
A prince slew a dragon’s price,
A princess became a scholar bride
To save the love in their life,
To their wedding bells’ chime,
I closed mine eyes.

13. Once upon a time…
A hero learned a lesson new,
Something revealed to few,
Lessons- these tales shaped me.
Once upon a time,
A dragon slept on a pile,
With that treasure, I spent my while.
Once upon a time,
A prince learned and grew,
A new age ushered in,
A scribe caught in the net of a seer,
Ended decades of tyranny,
Courage bowing to no will divine,
Free will a champion’s pioneer-
After their words, I started my story.

14. Promised I did to fan curiosity.
Dragons speak, in legends of old,
Through time and space, when stories are told
Once upon a time,
A woman defied a beast,
Shoved away unloving men of whom she had no need,
To her story, I paid heed.
Once upon a time,
True love was formed,
Trials were won, truth was known,
Personality of love, did I learn.
Once upon a time,
Soul-mates chose to be siblings,
Showing love came in a million ways,
A million a dime,

15. Re-forging fate’s strings,
To love myself, they taught me.
Once upon a time
When Reality grasped the child in a chokehold,
They reached out their hand
Eyes closed as the fingers enclosed around the knob
To the Magic Trapdoor
To the tales and stories,
I closed mine eyes.
Once upon a time,
A mistake was made,
Penance was paid, knowledge
Of forgiveness in love, I gained.
Once upon a time,
Sat around tables went up a cry,

16. Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
A tale to unfold
A story to be told
The day has ended
We have tales to tell,
Tales that lasted well into the night.
Once upon a time,
A ruler ruled in guise,
The most benevolent and loved
Leader of all time,
Despite some naming their birth a crime
Upon their victory’s highs,
I vowed, to form mine.
Wyverns are separate, dragons they aren't,
Like men are not monkeys and mountains are not towers.

17. Once upon a time,
Virtues and vices came together,
In growth year by year, decade by decade,
Like fine wine humans tend to age,
To their tales, eyes I closed mine.
Like man, do beliefs morph and become
Different from what they had strived to preserve.
Once upon a time,
A change of perspective
Brought forward questions unsettling,
Learning to see the world from several eyes
Learning to understand survival and being nice,
I closed mine eyes.
Once upon a time,
The darkness of the night-

18. Does not always scare her.
But the dull ache in her heart often tingles still.
While looking for a remedy,
What will she find in the Magic Shop?
To adventures inside,
I closed mine eyes.
Once upon a time,
Pain was as beauty disguised-
Even as beauty could be found in the same things
Without pain being a part of it.
To the world’s cruelty, and learning to stand up to it,
I fell asleep.
Once upon a time,
A trial was held for a king,
Madness and tyranny were his reign,

19. A tale that sent shivers with me to bed.
Once upon a time,
A queen rejected every king,
Decided alone wasn’t lonely,
Creating democracy from regime,
Progress nestled under her wing
In ways apart from society.
Once upon a time,
I learnt of a magician
That built worlds with ink,
Learning to flow from it I did.
Once upon a time,
A write ventured-
Into spaces not exactly meant for her
To sisterhood and magic

20. In spaces that between time and space exist
I closed mine eyes.
In modern times, where do gods be?
In monasteries or getting a cup of coffee?
Once upon a time,
In a land far far away,
Where they all began,
Goblins and dragons and witches and hime,
Honorable thieves ran circles around monarchs fey,
Kingdoms fell and rose again,
Like it happened every Tuesday,
Once upon a time,
In a land far far away.
Once upon a time,
In a land far far away,

21. Lay lessons my grandparent taught me,
Wrapped in delightful stories paradigm
That shaped me, held me in sway,
Slowly like pottery, now I see,
The truth nestled in me
“Once upon a time,
In a land far far away…”