By: Paarmita Vedi Grandma and the Memories of Octobers A dense foliage of five auburn OctobersSpecked with dirty honey-brown nuts.On and Within.Daadi picks them up in her straw basket.Her soft dimpled feet kiss the lush crimson leaves.Leaves in sinful scarlet…
By: Haleema Dalhat I want to marry a poetTo be seduced by his penTo cuddle in the ocean of his inkA romantic life well imaginedLife forever with a poet I want to marry a poetWho can turn my sadness to…
By: Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein Spirit Oh my loveWith your love free my body and soulFrom Fetters.In your festival lights of loveOf this universe,I am a mere earthen lamp.Oh love,Add to it in the flame.The sparkling eternal flame of you…
By: Raj Ratan Mala Chrysanthemums On Her Grave Spine made up of porcelain tucked under a corset dressLipstick overlined for a DIY smile – a womanly drug to cure distress,“Tuck a chrysanthemum behind your ears, that’s the king’s favourite”Her nectar…
By: Noel Burra Nature’s Touch I am waiting. Longing. Yearning. For the rain to wet the cracks rippled along my dry lips.The breeze to sweep the hair brushing against my olive eyes. The sun to ripen the skin on my…
By: Stephen Kingsnorth Genes With Pops, my grandmother made this,a pattern, poppies, spreading wild,our family, a tribe of aunts,count cousins, crawling, climbing trees,and siblings, toddlers up to teensa tapestry of what could bewith grief and loss or potency. Needle points…
By: James Bates Autumn EquinoxEarth aligning with the sunSunlight so precious. Burnished orange sumacFiery in day’s last lightWarming to the soul Bright harvest moonlightLunar magic raining downHelping dreams to grow.
By: Kushal Poddar Monsoon Markets Metaphors On the monsoon mossy market wallsun lays down its merchandiseone by one. Already tired are its flesh.Clouds gossip about the imminent reclining.The shine stares me blind. I am here with mywife, a better bargainer…
By: P.C. Scheponik Beauty Sings in Silence Today, when my wife and I were driving home from the grocery store,the traffic stopped. The cars lined up quickly, bumper all but kissing bumper.Summer sun danced off windshields, and the heat from…
By: Christopher Johnson In March of 2020, the pandemic came blowing into and through America like an ice wind sodden with misery and mystery and surprises galore in store for us for the next two years that felt like twenty…