Daily Verse
Week 1, August 2025
Lady of the Night
By Swati Basu Das 1st August 2025
The night sky cradles the tired Moon, taking a nap.
Darkness blinks from the depths of the ocean’s lap,
At zillion stars sprinkled like freckles of snow;
Imbuing the black visage with a flickering glow.
From the core of the Swift Tuttle,
Descends a Quail – the radiant Asteria –
Her svelte celestial feathers ablaze;
Falling upon Ortygia, unscathed and hidden;
Lolling silently, bonded to the bosom of desires,
Her fiery quills rousing Ortygian pleasures.
Blooming wishes awaken glistening cosmos,
Whistling and rambling across the Milky Way;
Then, leisurely rises the Moon, two sunsets later.
Amorously, it winks at the Lady of the Night;
Her petals – pious, downy, white and bright,
Kissed by Moon’s silver glory, she blossoms –
The adoringly elusive coy Cereus.
As the Moon fades amidst the fair blue,
Night Queen wilts with a deep sigh;
The unbloomed awaits the mellow moonlit sky.
A Sky Full of Promises
by Joanna Ashwell 4th August 2025
backs to the Earth
our longing pitched
to the arc of hope
every comet and star
showering our souls
can we really
capture this belonging
within our being
when every shimmer
is all about you
Perseid meteor
sprinkling the sky
with a dazzle of tales
this Patronus Star
weaving our dream
Cosmic Dust
By Neha Talreja 5th August 2025
Cosmic dust
falls upon us
as I walk down the aisle
in my embroidered red lehanga,
adorned with jewels--
dupatta draped,
a smile on your face
A sky full of promises,
a heart full of hopes
the air full of
murmurs and marigolds
a glint of yellow
falling on my red bangles--
a sun lit bliss
souls entangled
as we step into
our awaited forever
written long ago
in cosmic dust
Window Wanderer
By Anju Kishore 8th August 2025
A thread of dawn stole me from your arms
to keep its promise to a faraway cloud
I see the wind cup its wings to you
letting you in on my secret rendezvous
My path tinkles with bird song
the ones we've together hummed
The day breaks the tales we have spun
of runaway nights and scheming horizons
Let me ride awhile the crest of my cloud
before I rest on your cleft in the wall
Your sill is witness to how many imaginations
let me live realizations for a while
I'll return to latch you with a click of my capers
once I have traced the abscondence of the stars
I promise to return with sparks in my palms
to spangle your panes with chimerical wants
And when you enclose me
in your four-cornered confines
I'll catch you trading with the sky, collusive grins
in indulgence of this window wanderer's whims
seven sisters -
if i look at the dark sky i am not alone
Poet's Note:The pleiades are also called "the seven sisters."
Beneath the Stars
By Poonam Verma 7th August 2025
Beneath the stars, our hands align,
Two beating hearts, one shared design.
The night above, so vast and wide,
Reflects the love we hold inside.Each star a vow we’ve yet to speak,
Each breeze a blush upon your cheek.
The moonlight wraps us, soft and bright,
A silent witness through the night.Though clouds may come and shadows fall,
Your love remains my guiding call.
In every storm, in skies unsure,
It’s you who makes my world feel pure.So look above and you will see,
The sky still holds our destiny.
A thousand lights, one single true—
Each one a promise, just for you.
Biographies of Poets
Swati Basu Das lives in Oman. She is a journalist. Her articles and columns on current issues, culture, and travel are published in newspapers and magazines. Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in FemAsia, Borderless Journal, and others. She's a post-graduate in English Literature and has obtained a master's degree in Journalism and a diploma in Public Relations. She has worked with dailies like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Statesman in India and currently writes columns and articles for newspapers and magazines in Oman. She relishes music, escapades, coffee and John Keats.
Joanna Ashwell is a short form poet (from the UK) who writes Haiku, Tanka, Haibun, Cherita and other related forms. She has published four collections of poetry. Between Moonlight a collection of haiku was published by Hub Editions in 2006. Her tanka collection ‘Every Star’ was published by KDP on Amazon in 2023. Her Cherita collection ‘River Lanterns’ was published by 1-2-3 Press on Amazon in 2023 and two further Cherita collections are available on Amazon, Moonset Song (2024) and Love’s Scriptures (2025). She currently serves on the selection team for the Canadian Tanka Journal GUSTS.
Neha Talreja is a Chartered Accountant from Madhya Pradesh, India, with a deep love for poetry, especially haiku. She primarily focuses on love poems and nature-inspired verses. Her work has been published in renowned online magazines, including Prune Juice Journal, Cattails Journal, Under the Basho, The Haiku Foundation, Failed Haiku, Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, Femku Mag, and Autumn Moon Journal. Through her writing, Neha aims to celebrate life’s simple moments and connect with readers on a profound, universal level.
Anju Kishore is a Pushcart (Poetry) Prize 2022 and 2024 nominee, a Touchstone Award 2023 longlister, and an award-winning editor of numerous free-verse anthologies. Her first book of poems, ‘…and I Stop to Listen’ was published in 2018 and her second book, ‘My Conversations with God, Life, and Death’ in 2025. Her poems are part of significant anthologies like Aatish 2, The Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English 2022 and 2023(Hawakal and Pippa Rann Books, UK respectively), and Late-blooming Cherries 2024 (Haiku Poetry from India, Harper Collins). She has dabbled in online theatre and is currently exploring Japanese forms of poetry.
Poonam Verma loves reading and writing poetry and writes poetry in every spare moment she can get.
Week 2, August 2025
A Sky full of Promises
By Nivedita K 11th August 2025
A sky full of promises is stretched wide,
a canvas painted in whispers of dreams.
Here, clouds drift like thoughts, soft and unhurried,
transporting us to tales of tomorrows.
The sun breaks through these clouds like a flirtatious smile
casting its lure of golden hopes
inviting us to reach higher,
bask in the warmth,
and dance in the glow of potential.
Even the storms, pregnant with thunder and rain,
hold a promise of growth, of purification.
So, as we wander beneath this domed canvas,
let's keep our hearts and minds open
ready to soak in the light,
gather our strength,
and weave stories into the fabric
of This sky full of promises.
The Jitterbugging Stars
By Santosh Bakaya 12th August 2025
I noted that the stars in the night sky were bloated.
Coated with promise.
I send them flying kisses, naively believing
that they are caressing the cheeks of the stars.Each star duplicating the fervour with redoubled sparkle.
I have an oddly surreal feeling that the sparkling sky
is a circus. I see a lady, cruising with a deft danseuse‘s elegance,
her danglers splattering the starry light hither and thither.
I see a magician waving a magic wand. He snaps his fingers. Abracadabra!
Quaintly dressed folks wheel in gigantic Petromax lamps, queuing them up in the sky.
As I watch in pop-eyed befuddlement, the stars hold hands and start
jitterbugging, hugging each other, palming out profuse promises.The surreal tapers away, but the real remains. A promise-filled refrain.
Slowly, the lowly lamps die out, but the stars keep twinkling,
pouring sparklers at the earthlings down below, having late-night coffee
in their moon-blanched balconies. The folks gasp in delight
at the sharp glint of promise in their coffee mugs.The shimmering stars pat themselves on their silvery backs.
The moon smiles in avuncular mirth, pouring its silvery sheen on a sleepy earth.
The Sun Rose in her West
By Ritu Kamra Kumar 14th August 2025
She dreamt not soft, but skyward dreams,
Where echoes write in silent reams.
With ink and insight, dusk she braved,
Each failed attempt a star she saved.
Not riches, nor runway’s applause
But civil halls with juster laws.
She walked through whispers, jeers, and doubt,
Yet lit her lamp when hope went out.
Like Hughes, she felt the shadow fall,
A wall of "No"—too wide, too tall.
But grit, like grass, grew through the stone,
She made the dark her stepping throne.
Books bore her prayers, her silence spoke,
Each syllabus a sacred yoke.
The merit list gleamed —her name aglow
The sun had risen from below.
Not East, but West, her morning broke
Where time had tried to steal her cloak.
She flung her fears out with the mist
And kissed the sky fate once had missed.
​
Poet's Note: The title and lines 9–10 allude to Langston Hughes’ poem “As I Grew Older,” where a metaphorical wall blocks the poet’s dream “bright like a sun.” In defiance, the speaker imagines breaking through the darkness and letting the sun rise again—symbolizing long-delayed yet triumphant hope. The idea of the sun rising in the west metaphorically suggests an unexpected and poetic reversal of despair. In this poem, the protagonist’s success in a prestigious civil service exam (implied as UPSC) reflects that same victory over systemic and emotional shadows.
Celestial Magic
By Alka Kansra 15th August 2025
It is a starry winter night
Promises whispered, hearts beating side by side.
Or is it a dreamy romance .....
It is a starry winter night
Smell of jasmines blooms, peaceful and quiet
Gentle breeze carrying some secret promises .....
Of lives full of love and tender kisses
It is a starry winter night
Silent and surreal, shining and bright
Solitude embraces our peaceful nest .....
Where dreams unfurl and secrets rest
It is a starry winter night
Mystical and magical, the snowflakes dance
Conjuring some special memories, a nostalgic sigh .....
Treasured recollections, forever in the sky
A starry winter night, endless possibilities Stars twinkle bright Universe whispering, believe inyou .....
A sky full of promises, dreams come true
In this celestial magic, love will brew
Biographies of Poets
Nivedita Karthik is a graduate in Immunology from the University of Oxford and a professional Bharatanatyam dancer. Her work has been published in various online and print poetry magazines and anthologies, both nationally and internationally. She has three poetry books to her credit – She: The Reality of Womanhood, The Many Moods of Water, and Pa(i)red Poetry. Her profile showcasing her use of poetry to address pertinent issues was featured in Lifestyle Magazine (March 2025 issue).
Internationally acclaimed, Santosh Bakaya, PhD, poet, essayist, novelist, biographer, TEDx speaker, columnist, and reviewer, has written thirty books across different genres. Her ten books of poetry, themed around nature, peace, and belligerence, have been well-received, worldwide. Her two biographies, Ballad of Bapu, [Poetic Biography of Mahatma Gandhi], and Only in Darkness Can You See the Stars [Biography of Martin Luther King Jr] have won laurels. Her latest book, Din about Chins [Penprints 2025], has garnered a lot of critical acclaim. Her columns, Trigger that Creative Spark in Kashmir pen, and Morning Meanderings in learning and creativity. Com have a huge readership.
Ritu Kamra Kumar, Retd. Officiating Principal and Associate Professor of English at MLN College, Yamuna Nagar, is an acclaimed academician, poet, and writer. With over 400 contributions to leading national newspapers and magazines, she has published 70+ research papers in reputed national and international journals and edited books. A noted resource person and speaker, she has led workshops and panel discussions nationwide, including at the Delhi Book Fair 2024. Honoured by the District Administration and featured as an Empowered Woman by The Hindustan Times, she is a recipient of the Indian Woman Achiever Award and has authored eight acclaimed books.
Mona Bedi is a medical doctor in Delhi, India. She has been writing poetry since childhood but a few years back she started writing the Japanese form.. haiku. She has authored two poetry books published by the name of 'they you and me' and 'dancing moonlight.' She received the Grand Prize in the 3rd Morioka Haiku Festival, 2021 and four haiku of merit in the World Haiku Review 2021/2022 alongwith an honourable mention at the Japan Fair 2021. Her haiku, tanka haibun and Haiga has been published in various journals of repute like Presence, Modern haiku, Haiku dialogue, Haiku in Action, Triveni haikuKatha, Drifting sands, Failed haiku, Stardust, among others.
Alka Kansra is a retired from MCMDAV College for Women, Chandigarh as HOD Chemistry. A freelance writer with three Hindi poetry books and one English poetry book published. Translated one hindi poetry book into English. Articles, stories, poems and book reviews in various papers and magazines. Won a few awards recognising her Literary pursuits.
Week 3, July 2025
Pitfalls
By Sanjeev Sethi 15th July 2025
Poems happen as the head and harvest
years of sparks, a spontaneous push.
My mavourneen is a dab hand at making
me fall in love with her again and again.
When compelled to indite on the icky,
does it fall short?
The brave and buff who clamor for
the theatre of war must be permitted
to blow the bugle if a son or spouse
is on the front line. The perfect balance
is between mission accomplished and
the general markdown.
Poems
By Fatma Zohra Habib 14th July 2025
the sound of shells
fills the air
a little girl declares
the birth of safety
clutching her father’s helmet
when will the bombing stop?
a daily question
for a Gazan child
he dreams of a morning
chasing a butterfly
Weaving the Net of Faith
By Swati Basu Das 16th July 2025
The gloomy sky showers
Blazing wrath of Hephaestus.
Myriad star shell like fallen angels;
They drop to burn and raze,
Dousing every dreams in red.
Beneath the blue, atop the brown,
Splintered rainbow wails,
Thirsty souls bawl, welling up
Bone-dry river of lost hope;
Salty, sullied and stray,
It flounders into a distant Strait -
The deeply quaint Hormuz zigzags afar,
Kissing and caressing a last village - Kumzar -
A halcyon abode blooming
With rosy dreams, wiping celestial tears,
Its irenic fishermen weaving
The net of faith, fishing sunken harmony
And wishing a Promised Land upon shooting stars.
Make Peace Not War-With Ageing
By Satbir Chadha 17th July 2025
I sleep on embers and awake on logs of ice
The pain of my peeled skin daunted by indifference of friends
Illness is an art that I need to learn
To be just sick enough to garner concern
The correct gravity and the controlled wheeze
Not the perennially extending chronic disease
For to live one needs love and one needs attention
I need to convey the importance of my existence
I choose to exude life and convey it’s sweet fragrance
For the part of me that’s sick I have my own compassion
What is life but fire and a slow combustion
In the womb is the fire of procreation
Also the amniotic sac a volatile throbbing ocean
A balance of ice and fire is the secret of creation
But I’m getting smaller and smaller in my soul
And I can feel the receding intensity of fire
Also the skimming waves of my strength on the shore
The rhymes are falling apart and verbs are falling short
The oars are still as the little boat rocks
And slowly gets pulled in the puffing dark
The heart hunts for words gasping for breath
Soundless snowflakes lie cold and lifeless
Thus is one born and thus does he die
The orgasmic bubble that floated and burst
No more and no less than fire and ice
War & Peace: Between Ruin & Raga
By Giuliana Ravaglia 18th July 2025
On the windowsill
a lighted lamp
at dusk -
between bare hands
I gather hope
sunflowers
they no longer look
towards East -
between curves of mud
a thousand refugees alone
leaden horizons
on barbaric ice fires
in the wounded blue
the cry of a clear dawn
Biographies of Poets
Sanjeev Sethi is an award-winning poet who has authored eight poetry books. His poems have been published in over thirty-five countries and appear in more than 500 journals, anthologies, and online literary venues. He is the joint winner of Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux, organized by Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK. Sethi is in the top 10 of the erbacce-prize 2021. He is the recipient of the Ethos Literary Award 2022. In 2023, he won the First Prize in a Poetry Competition by the National Defence Academy, Pune. He was conferred the 2023 Setu Award for Excellence. He lives in Mumbai
Fatma Zohra Habis lives in Algeria. She love poetry and Japanese culture. Fatma's specialty is physics. Several haiku and tanka poems have been published around the world, such as The Enchanted Garden and The Sacred Dragonfly THE Daily foundation The LEAF journal
Swati Basu Das lives in Oman. She is a journalist. Her articles and columns on current issues, culture, and travel are published in newspapers and magazines. Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in FemAsia, Borderless Journal, and others. She's a post-graduate in English Literature and has obtained a master's degree in Journalism and a diploma in Public Relations. She has worked with dailies like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Statesman in India and currently writes columns and articles for newspapers and magazines in Oman. She relishes music, escapades, coffee and John Keats.
Satbir Chadha is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “For God Loves Foolish People”, for which she was awarded the Reuel International prize. Her second novel is “Betrayed, tale of a rogue surgeon”, a medical thriller. She has been published in over twenty national and international anthologies, containing poetry and short stories. She has three solo poetry collections to her credit, “Breeze”, “Glass Doors”, and the recent “The Last Lamp”. She was awarded the Litpreneur Award by Authorspress for her contribution to literature. She is also the founder of the NISSIM International Prize for Literature, awarded every year to upcoming writers of English prose and poetry.
Giuliana Ravaglia was born in the province of Bologna (Italy), is a former primary school teacher and has a great love for poetry, especially haiku. His poems have been published on websites and online magazines: Otata, Troutswirl, ESUJ-H, Asahi Haikuist Network, The Mainichi, Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, Haikuuniverse, Cold Moon Journal, Akita International Haiku Network, The Bamboo Hut, Take 5ive, Haiku Corner, Memoirs of a Geisha, HaikuNetra, Haiku World, Failed Haiku among others. he received Honorable mention in Haiku EuroTop 100
Week 4, July 2025
Oh! The Promised Land
By Laksmisree Banerjee 21st July 2025
Monstrous canopies of
dark wooly clouds spurn us
but remain our daily shelters
our bruised bodies shelled
our bellies with wrenching hunger
kith and kin now cadavers
under debris of our lost homes ---
Trucks keep approaching us
with sirens evocative of silence
the battlefield keeps growing
numb like scythed cornfields
in the dismay of winter storms
yet no cessation of ravage
for long eons of deluging tears ---
We were such great friends and
neighbours holding hands in playful fray
our lands mixed and merged infinitely
like our blood and hearts in tender love
till borders of the mind cropped up
like bristling fences in our ruined gardens
missiles raged with machine guns
mourning in black rain and tears
while machinations ruthless rule for power -
We were born from the same roots
from the same testament of faith
from the same soil we tilled for food
when marching soldiers from distant lands
came to divide rather than unite us
they poured acid on our promised land
divine bonding of ages ruptured in a moment
their bombardments now continue daily
regular amnesia and relentless cannons of hate ---
Our brotherhood broken like scorched twigs
slender strings of affection burnt to ashes of lava
the other day food and relief arrived after ages
like a fugitive rainbow in the weeping sky
but they broke our outstretched arms
we ran after them with our starved stomachs
wailing children and the whimpering aged mourning
as they killed us on their way of rendering relief ---
Kashmir, Gaza, Palestine, Iran,Israel, Ukraine and more
the world sits mute and dumb watching gruesome pageants
forming councils of power and congregations of chicanery
like vultures circulating in emptiness and greed
waiting for carcasses and heaps of dead flesh
to feed upon in bleeding sunsets
merging with endless flows of riverine red
despite our sacramental ties now sacrificed
our shredded lives howling in butchery ---
And now they crush us beneath their wheels
with roaring guns and raging infernos
we still clamour and clamber for morsels of breath
till Death has become our Guardian of Life
in an endless Apocalypse ---
​
​
​​​​
Poet's Note: A poem written in grief about a conflict-ridden world
Poems on War & Peace
by John Pappas 22nd July 2025
summer stars
the arc of tracer fire
over the river
summer stars
the arc of tracer fire
over the river
after the bomb
our reflections in
cracked glass
Frankenstein's monster
By Santosh Bakaya 23rd July, 2025
“Peace is surrender! You peaceniks will destroy the world!”
“Peace is cowardice. Peace will tear the world asunder.”
A so-called intellectual of Conflict and Peace Studies
snarled, full of ire. Balling his fists, spewing fire.
The surroundings resounded with stentorian wrath.
Angry faces looked at me. Their eyes mere stilts.
Pointing accusatory fingers at me, they yelled.
A lone moth banged itself against the window.
I did not see the accusatory fingers,
I only saw Frankenstein’s Monster doing a grotesque dance.
But no, there were many more. More! More!
Creeping from the shadows, well-armed.
Flaunting war paint, taunting the peace-mongers.
Tempestuous winds blew, as battle cries were issued.
“No mercy! No mercy! The battle begins.”
The cacophony of war drums and spine-chilling killing.
The belligerent ones were elated
as nuclear scientists were decimated.
Drones, missiles, and explosions ricocheting!Hush- Hush!
Rising above the beating of drums,
were heard the faint strains of a melody.
It was a golden oriole trilling from a tree.
But who was bothered about its edifying plea?
Or the powerful baritone of MLK Jr:
“Over the bleached bones and jumbled remains of civilizations
are written, the words Too Late.”
Or the half-naked fakir’s golden rule of non-violence.
The Golden oriole in its avian naiveté continued to trill
perched on a forlorn tree.
The war-mongers, like the Frankenstein monster
continued to rave and rant, bellowing maledictions,
lurching forward towards more and more destruction.The naïve golden Oriole was unstoppable.
It continued singing its delightfully jolly tune.
But the silly little bird did not know that the warmongers
would never realise their folly.
War and peace — a tangled vine,
They twist within the human mind.
A soldier's cry, a mother’s prayer,
A child's dream lost in smoky air.
The roar of guns, the silence after,
A grave where once there bloomed a laughter.
Ashes fall like winter snow,
On fields where love once used to grow.
Peace — a fragile, trembling dove,
Built on hope and stitched with love.
It asks for strength, not in the sword,
But in the keeping of a word.
And war — it knocks with iron hands,
To break what kindness understands.
It feeds on pride, on ancient pain,
And leaves behind a crimson stain.
Yet deep within each beating heart,
We know where war ends, peace can start.
Not in conquest, not in might,
But in the will to choose what’s right.
So let the mind, so scarred, so wise,
Look not through hate, but through clear eyes.
For every life we choose to spare,
Is one more step toward repair.
War and peace — they dance and flee,
But we decide what song shall be.
Let it be one the world can sing,
Of broken swords, and doves in wing.
Waiting for the Butterflies
By Paramita Mukherjee Mullick 25th July 2025
The little girl looked at the war ravaged forests.
Trees were blackened and the undershrub was burnt.
Birds have stopped singing and squirrels were no longer scampering around.
There was an eerie silence, nowhere was any happy sound.
Suddenly she heard the trickling of water.
She ran and saw a glistening stream in the lifeless forest.
Trying its best to be alive in that burnt up ground.
Some saplings have sprouted around the stream and life was found.
Some tiny insects were coming out from the muddy ground.
Caterpillars were trying to feed on the little vegetation that was left.
The little girl knew nothing about wars...the truth and the lies.
She sat there and looked at the caterpillars and waited for the butterflies.
Biographies of Poets
Laksmisree Banerjee is a Multiple Award-Winning Poet /Author, Literary Critic, Educationist, Sr. Academic and Practicing Radio & TV Vocalist with several National and International Publications, Assignments & Awards to her credit.
John Pappas is a poet and teacher whose work has appeared in many poetry journals and anthologies. His haiku have garnered a Touchstone Award from The Haiku Foundation, a 2023 Trailblazer award, a silver medal in the 2023 Ito En New Haiku Grand Prix, Best in the United States in the 2023 Vancouver Invitational, a Sakura Award in the 2024 Vancouver Invitational, and honorable mention in the 2024 Heliosparrow Frontier Awards, among others. His first chapbook dimes of light was published in 2024 by Yavanika Press. His work is featured in the recently published haiku anthology off the main road: six contemporary haiku poets (Alba Publishing, 2024) and his longer poetry has twice been selected for the Mayor of Boston's Poetry Contest (2016 and 2020)
Internationally acclaimed, Santosh Bakaya, PhD, poet, essayist, novelist, biographer, TEDx speaker, columnist, and reviewer, has written thirty books across different genres. Her ten books of poetry, themed around nature, peace, and belligerence, have been well-received, worldwide. Her two biographies, Ballad of Bapu, [Poetic Biography of Mahatma Gandhi], and Only in Darkness Can You See the Stars [Biography of Martin Luther King Jr] have won laurels. Her latest book, Din about Chins [Penprints 2025], has garnered a lot of critical acclaim. Her columns, Trigger that Creative Spark in Kashmir pen, and Morning Meanderings in learning and creativity.Com have a huge readership.
Writer, poet, an artist, Mehak Varun, is the author of four books - THE Humane Quest vol 1, 2 & 3 and I am Me. She has been bestowed with 100 Inspiring Authors of India award in Kolkata. She has also been honoured with the Women Of Influence 2019 award presented on women's day in New Delhi. Along with her books, her work has been published in various anthologies and she is recipient of various other prizes in poetry competitions as well. She has also been certified with course on persuasive writing and public speaking from Harvard.
Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick is a scientist, literary curator and a poet. Her twelfth book will be released soon. Her poems have been translated into forty five languages and her books have been translated into Spanish, French, Chinese and Croatian. She is known as a positive poet and she promotes peace, multilingual and indigenous poetry. Her work promotes awareness about climate change and conservation. The 3 Ps…Poetry, Painting and Photography fascinates her. She heads two poetry and performance forums in Mumbai.
Last Week, July 2025
Poems on War & Peace
by Rupa Anand 28th July 2025
constant hum of war
on the idiot box
summer day
peace rally —
those dusty banners
blowing in the wind
oranges & lemons
pockmarked with shells
midsummer
Haiku
by Barbara Anna Gaiardani 30th July 2025
the plopping
of the ice cubes
hidden message
trip companion
background noise
from the fan
a wilderness
of empty rooms
it's so hot
Yes
By Snigdha Agrawal 29th July, 2025
Yes…
I have bought myself peace.
With the humble count of my prayer beads.
What other balm can still the storm
That thunders deep within?​
Yes…
The blinkers are drawn tight.
Rearward thoughts cloaked and veiled.
The windows of the mind, shuttered.
Fore and aft, girded in iron resolve.​
Yes…
I am a hopeless coward.
One who is faint of heartAt the sight of blood spills
caused by the edge of fury
Yes…The tidings of nukes rattled.
Of the threats posed to nations
This old, tempered heart shattered.
Turning to prayers for comfort.
Yes…
Let these prayer beads of mine
triumph over the bullet.
This is my coping mechanism.In a world ill-ridden
War & Peace
by Nivedita Karthik 19th July 0225
Somewhere just beyond, sirens take to the skies like birds, fading into the distance. An auto driver hums a song that was all the rage on radios in peacetime. A chai stall bhaiya stirs cardamom into the air. How can it smell so warm when all around is this cold? I tighten my dupatta around my chest. It does little to shield me. My phone screen blurs with images of yet another child lost in the pixelated grey smoke. The breeze around me carries no retorts of gunfire, just the remnants of a newspaper once tucked under someone's arm: Tensions escalate.
just a break
between the many wars
Peace
​
​
Poet's Note: This poem was written during the time when tensions escalated between India and Pakistan in 2025, and this was the reality on the ground that many of us faced. I have tried to juxtapose how normalcy was seen in short bursts even as the terrors of war always cast a shadow over many of these.
Biographies of Poets
