Daily Verse
Week 1, November 2025
That Evening
By Rajorshi Chakravarti, 3rd November 2025
the moon was feverish
a yellow not known
the river seemed agitated
all froth and dance
the streetlamp flickered
incessantly
like a vague thought
carrying the seeds
of a story
that evening
you walked my way
an approaching spring
waiting to unfold
or did you
a song ended somewhere
lost midway
a quiet night slept through
oblivious of dreams
that evening
two things happened
a love was dead
a poem was born-
so they say
that evening though
the wind did not howl
the sky did not cry
and you are a poem
for all i know
there is music still
in the hush of breath
and there is hope
in words unsaid
Still Here
by Mehek Varun, 4th November 2025
There is a kind of quiet
that doesn’t ask for peace.
It just sits beside you—
like breath you forgot you were holding.
You don’t reach for it.
You don’t pray.
You just stop fighting
the ache that keeps its own rhythm.
It comes after the breaking,
when the noise runs out,
when you finally stop
trying to name what hurts.
Solace is not soft.
It is the truth that nothing answers back—
and somehow, that’s enough.
It hums low,
beneath the skin,
beneath the thought,
beneath the need to understand.
And in that stillness,
you are not healed—
you are simply here.
And that is the first mercy.
Like none other-the Rain
By Nisha Raviprasad, 5th November 2025
I like it when it rains
When the October sky knocks
on my windows
to be let in.
When the wind smells of earth
of shy and wet dandelions,
when the leaves nudge the brooks,
when the autumn clouds
sway in slow steps
telling me
Its gonna be fine, just fine.
the deep silence of twilight caresses my hair
waiting for the rain to pour all over again
giving me that solace
None other can.
In Its Wake
by Neera Kashyap, 6th November 2025
Solace came
not with the nightmare slowing,
cold sweat drying,
old fear fading
nor when hot pleas ceased.
A light, sudden and clear
streamed to the surface.
Not the slant of dawn,
with its gentle seeping of primrose
but a presence gathering force.
Independent
of giving solace,
independent
of giving.
A wave of peace
surged
for a moment.
Motionless
colourless
complete.
Solace.
Micro-poems
by Belinda Behne, 7th November 2025
your warmth
so tender next to me
each night-
and then the gift
of another day
a quiet moment
bathed in sunlight
sharing morning tea
notes of cinnamon and clove
dance through the room
we find a woodland path
wide enough
for a wheelchair
brilliant crimsons and golds
lift us into the sky
Biographies of Poets
Born and brought up in Kolkata, India, Rajorshi Chakraborty is a much published bilingual poet, writing in English and Bengali. He has penned seven books of English poems. His Bengali publications span across nine books of rhymes and poems. He is also a regular contributor to magazines and anthologies.
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.. She has also been certified with course on persuasive writing and public speaking from Harvard.
Nisha Raviprasad is a poet and avid reader based in Cochin, Kerala. Her work often centered on memory, nature, and emotion, has appeared in various literary journals. A quiet observer of life and language, she continues to explore the beauty of the everyday through poetry.
Neera Kashyap has worked in newspaper and developmental journalism, specialising in social and health communications. Her early literary writings were dedicated to stories for children and a book for young adults. Later, her poetry, short fiction, and essays appeared in various Indian and international literary journals and anthologies. "The Art of Unboxing", published by Red River Press in 2025, is her latest book
Belinda Behne grew up in the midwest, but she has spent most of her adult life in the vibrant culture of New York City. Her first career, as a teacher of special education, led her to the love of communication. She studied art, literature and theatre and has persued her passions of acting, writing poetry and performing professional voice-overs for more than three decades. She currently enjoys living on the edge of a salt marsh, where life continues to inspire her in new ways.
Week 2, November 2025
Solace beckons
By Ketaki Mazumdar, 10th November 2025
the boatman sings lonely bewitching songs…
the stars glowed, listened.
the moon poured molten silver rays
the stunned earth is
luminescent…
the river fluorescent…
in this vastness of stillness awed… solace beckons.
I gather strength again…
comfort creeps into the canvas of my life
begins to heal...
my broken parts are stitched together
I let the light in through the crevices
into my exhausted womb…
solace is in the words I whisper,
in what I see and feel,
in the songs a lonesome Baul sings… dancing bare feet in a soul connection,
the red mud bank along the river soothes the river…
I am one with nature too.
dust rises as cows meander home,
the Krishna like cowherd plays his plaintive bamboo flute and
a single koel sings…
from a hidden,
shaded sacred spot…
solace like gentle rain
sweeps over calm green paddy fields,
the farmers knee deep, in mud work happily…
a satiating fragrance embraces…
mud, water, earth, rain…
a spiritual pulse,
a deep impulse… in a hushed world of an internal hum…
the boatman’s song echoes
the oars stir river ripples
like my mother's finger through my hair…
wipes away my internal fears and fears…
in deep moments like these
a solace embraces me…
Poems
By Laila Brahmabhatt, 11th November 2025
funeral pyre
she pours fresh ghee
into a clay lamp
her aanchal
dancing in the windknotted thoughts
faded rain
scent of her henna
flooding his memories
Earthen Lamp
By Gopal Lahri, 12th November 2025
I light my earthen lamp every evening
near the pot of the sacred Tulsi Plant.
A means to keep my cherished moment
sensing the feel and the ferocity of life.
Its radiances resist the strong wind ,
broaden the distance between body and mind.
A light rub I feel against my skin, in my fingers
leaving its smell, its glow-mark on my soul.
The dissonance that exists inside is no more.
and someone will blow the conch shell now.
The wick turns subdued, empties silence,
while the flame dies down eventually at the end.
Perhaps it begins, it will begin tomorrow again.
And the cycle continues for days, months, years.
Her Solace wears no Name
By Snigdha Agrawal, 13th November 2025
Not every silence is empty
Sometimes, it is the prayer
she never mouths,
held between two breaths
on a Tuesday afternoon
while sipping tea.A room,
not walled but willed around her
One, no one dares enter
In it, she unwinds
the day's theatre
critiquing her own actLet no one mistake her pause
for absence.
She has gone nowhere
only inward,
where she folds her thoughts
like linens: carefully,
time taught her.She is not escaping,
but sorting;
memories like buttons in a tin
According to size, each one
a version of her former self.The mirror does not have a chance.
No reflection, only refuge.
The world,
uninvited, waits outside
like a coat on a hook,
while she becomes
something not waiting
to be worn.There is labour
in her stillness.
Do not mistake it
for luxury.She is not yours
to call back.
This moment is Hers.
As the sea is to the tide
before it decides
to return.
Healed
By Divya K Unni, 14th November 2025
Shackled heart
Scared to speak
Scarred psyche
Failed to heal.
Muffled memories
Muted moans
Picturize pale portraits
Of bygone days.
Succumbed to reticent years
Withered in silence
Replenished by patient ears
Nurtured abundance.
When time defeats you
When belief betrays you
When promises vanquish you
You decide to flourish.
Leaving nothing to chance
You set your path ablaze
Like an auburn autumn leaf
You let your heart adrift.
Biographies of Poets
Ketaki Mazumdar has received accolades for her
books Woodsmoke and Embers and Toasted Orange Embers. She was judged no.23 amongst the “Top 50 Most Influential Authors of 2021” by Delhi Wire. She was honoured as “Poet of the Year 2022” and “Poet of the Year 2024”, by Ukiyoto Publishing. She was awarded “The Creative Author” by Maharishi Vedvyas International Award for Books, by Poiesisonline. She has won the “Indian Women Achievers Award” and the “Best Poetry Book (English)” from Asian Literary Society at their 5th Lit Fest 2023 and was the recipient of the prestigious “Emily Dickenson Award 2024” and “The
Sahitya Sparsh Award 2025”.
Laila Brahmbhatt, is a writer with roots in Kashmir. For the past 14 years, she has been working as a Senior Consultant in New York. Her haiku have been published in various international magazines, including Cold Moon Journal, Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, Shadow Pond Journal, Fresh Out Magazine, and Under the Basho. Laila's haibun has appeared in Failed Haiku.
Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 32 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poetry and prose are published across more than one hundred fifty journals and anthologies globally His poems are translated in 18 languages and published in 16 countries. He has been nominated for Pushcart Prize for poetry in 2021 and Best of Nets for poetry 2025. He has been conferred First Jayanta Mahapatra National Award on literature in 2024 for his significant contribution in Indian English Writing. His collection of poems ‘Alleys are Filled with Future Alphabets.’ has received Pan Asian Ukiyoto awards. His Selected Poems was published recently from CLASSIX, New Delhi.
Snigdha Agrawal (nee Banerjee) has an MBA in Marketing and Corporate work experience of over two decades. She enjoys writing all genres of poetry, prose,
short stories, and travel diaries. Brought up in a cosmopolitan environment, and educated in Convent Schools run by Irish Nuns, she has imbibed the best from Eastern and Western cultures. She has authored four books
Week 3, October 2025
On the threshold
By Ketaki Mazumdar 21st October 2025
Two tender green banana plants decorated
the doorway to her new home…
She paused at the threshold
a Bengali bride slightly nervous
head covered, gold bangles jingling
a gold chain necklace, chandbala earrings…
the parting in her black hair filled with vermillion sindoor…
She stood…
holding a wriggling fish wrapped thankfully
with a red towel…
laughter, instructions, children rushing around..
she stood…apprehensive…
before stepping on to a thaal of red alta…
trying not to let her sari slip down…
waiting for a clay pot of fresh milk… to boil over…
smoke swirled…it seemed endless…
the conch shell was blown at last as the milk boiled over
depicting the abundance the new bride brought in with Her..
the fish wriggling in Her shaky fingers … sign of new life and fertility…
She stood at the threshold and finally
stepped out and tipped a mud pot of rice with her toe, daintily,
rice cascaded out
symbolically bringing in more abundance to her household,
promising to cook and care…
In crossing of the threshold
she left her red footsteps…surrogate of goddess Laxmi…
stepping in,
bringing in abundance, fertility and prosperity…
A thousand bemused thoughts spinning
amidst laughter, reassurance and blessings
she crossed the threshold smiling…
welcomed with a tilak chandan aarti …
Poems
By Mona Bedi, 22nd October 2025
new bride
henna stained feet
falter at the doorstep
autumn’s threshold
a lone leaf drifts away
in the breeze
last breath
dad’s silent crossing
to the other side
In-betweens
By Snigdha Agrawal, 23rd October 2026
in the pause between listening…
there is a quiet
that pays closer attention
more than any noise could handle.
there is more than emptiness…
in this pause
the lung’s quiet gratitude
of a life ticking thus far
it is a place of trust,
where invisible roots grow,
allowing the unknown
to hold one’s shaking hands.these pauses, fragile yet fierce,
are thresholds:
reminding us to embrace change
one heartbeat at a time.
Poems
By Belinda Behne, 24th October 2025
your warmth
so tender next to me
each night-
and then the gift
of another day
a quiet moment
bathed in sunlight
sharing morning tea
notes of cinnamon and clove
dance through the room
we find a woodland path
wide enough
for a wheelchair
brilliant crimsons and golds
lift us into the sky
Where Day forgets, and Night remembers
By Mehak Varun 27th October, 2025
Day opens the eyes,
a river of light
that pushes us outward—
into movement,
into wanting,
into the noise of living.
It carries us,
sometimes gently,
sometimes with a force
that burns the skin of time.
In its glare we dream of beginning,
we carve names into the air,
we believe that what we touch
might stay.
Night closes them,
a sea of dark
that pulls us inward—
into silence,
into memory,
into the weight of what cannot be spoken.
It holds us,
sometimes kindly,
sometimes with shadows
that press against the ribs.
In its hush we hear
the echo of our own pulse,
the soft confession of stars,
the truth that longing
is a form of prayer.
Day is the body reaching.
Night is the soul listening.
And between them—
the threshold.
That trembling hour
when the horizon forgets its name,
when the sky is neither flame nor ash,
when we stand inside both—
and feel ourselves stretched
between the beginning and the end.
Here,
in the tender seam of time,
we are reminded:
we are more than dust,
we are more than breath.
We are the question
day and night keep asking
of each other.
Biographies of Poets
Ketaki Mazumdar has received a number of accolades for her books Woodsmoke and Embers and Toasted Orange Embers. She was judged no.23 amongst the “Top 50 Most Influential Authors of 2021” by Delhi Wire. She was honoured as “Poet of the Year 2022” and “Poet of the Year 2024”, by Ukiyoto Publishing. She was awarded “The Creative Author” by Maharishi Vedvyas International Award for Books, by Poiesisonline. She has won the “Indian Women Achievers Award” and the “Best Poetry Book (English)” from Asian Literary Society at their 5th Lit Fest 2023 and was the recipient of the prestigious “Emily Dickenson Award 2
Snigdha Agrawal (née Banerjee), a septuagenarian writer based in Bangalore, India, was raised in a cosmopolitan environment that offered her a rich blend of Eastern and Western cultural influences. Educated in Loreto institutions under the guidance of Irish nuns, she developed a deep appreciation for literature and the written word from an early age.