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: Tan Bo Yan   When the door first flung open, I was greeted by the most welcoming sight. Glittering pearls floated through the hallways, the smell of fresh poppies filled the air, and just a mile ahead, a dazzling…

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: Harvey Huddleston At ten steps – fifteen maybe – Father Ivan turned back but the barrack was already gone.  Snow blasted east and west and north and south and up and down and back and forth, erasing everything beyond…

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: Tom Ball Characters: Friedrich Nietzsche’s clone, who is a well-known philosopher, in his own right. The actor has a very large mustache like the original. A middle-aged man. Marilyn Monroe’s clone, a famous actress. She is a beautiful woman…