Daily Verse
Week 1, September 2025
World War Beneath the Velvet Sun
By Sriparna Mitra, 1st September 2025
The smoke of September curls up
like incense from a velvet pyre.
The corpses of words lie still,
only ashes, scattered soot
murmur in a low voice.
Her light becomes a pallbearer,
draped in a golden outfit,
gently carrying a coffin that conceals a stiffened nose.
Her words turn into zombies,
sucking the last breath
from the mourning clouds.
The world war has begun.
Not on streets, but in the embryo of the firmament,
and within the velvet lungs of day,
where grief meditates in astral form,
a premonition coughs
from the throat of September.
The metaphors start to leak
from the blue, bare mouth,
inhaling the scent of quiet shadows.
Time and again, the allergic veins,
dipped in fever,
sneeze out the undigested
half-love of a coffin-soul,
still clinging to the skin
of September,
immersing the dust of diurnal longings
into the gormandizing debris of silence.
A September Glow
by Ketaki Mazumdar, 2nd September 2025
the sun is misty
endearingly immersed in the softening,
glowing golden days in the ninth month of the year.
the days have become shorter…
I live embraced in your softness
feel your velvet touch
like a comforting fabric around my shoulders
the breeze is full of secret longings of love…
subdued, gentle, surreal, whispering mysteries.
the blazing passions of summer are over
the torrential monsoon rains of immediate gratification, done with
nature is more satiated…
listening to internal echoes of calmness
like the soft glow of a lamp,
unhurried days and nights follow…
a potential purity of calmness soaking in
a time for prayers, chanting and receiving blessings.
The sun weaves
soft woven textures
chiffon and silk shimmering and flowing
muted cozy dreams,
elusive wonders and gentle sighs…
a humble count of prayer beads
fragile flights of wild geese
like a metamorphosis in my heart
a thousand searching for peace…
am homeward bound…
Haibun
By Terri L. French, 3rd September 2025
Vespertine Sun
At night she’s cloaked entirely in Prussian-blue velvet soft as a pillow whisper, humbly refusing the jeweled Northern Crown. For now, she rests blanketed in the comfort of its luxuriant folds. Her glory will come in the morning when, after setting aside the anonymity of her velvet cowl, the moon respectfully returns her light.
blaze star
a jewel explodesinto the night
The Sun wears Velvet
By Sabyasachi Roy, 4th September 2025
It's Velvet Noon:
The sun no longer cuts—
it drapes,
a gold-weighted shawl
slipping from September’s shoulder.
Shadows embroider the earth,
slow alphabets stitched in dusk.
Even silence bends under it,
a hush pressed down
like breath beneath velvet.
Now, the Fading Gleam:
September speaks in restraint.
Light no longer hurries—
it lingers, thick as dusk’s cloth.
You touch it
the way one fingers a beloved’s sleeve
before parting—
half promise,
half surrender.
Each beam a verdict softened,
gold held back from fire.
The day ends not in flame,
but in velvet’s quiet refusal.
and, the Sun as Weaver:
This month,
the sky becomes a loom.
The sun threads gold through shadow,
velvet through air.
Your skin feels the labor—
a caress that is both farewell
and birth.
September slows the shuttle,
teaching brightness to wait,
teaching us that even radiance
must learn the patience of fabric
before it unravels into winter.
seven sisters -
if i look at the dark sky i am not alone
Poet's Note:The pleiades are also called "the seven sisters."
Biographies of Poets
Sriparna Mitra, from India, holds a Master’s degree in English Literature and Language, a B.Ed, and has cleared the NET JRF in English Literature. Engaged in writing poetry, she draws inspiration from the subtleties of everyday emotions. Her work has appeared in Paradise on Earth: An International Anthology Volume II, Double Speak Online Literary Magazine, The Wise Owl E-Magazine, Piker Press E-Journal, Masticadores USA E-Magazine, and Setu Bilingual Journal. She shares her creations on Instagram under the handle @sriparnamitra_poems.
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 2024” and “The Sahitya Sparsh Award 2025”.
Terri L. French is a writer and editor living in Huntsville, Alabama. She is former editor of Prune Juice Journal of senryu and kyoka. Terri was a former Member at Large on The Haiku Foundation board of directors and served as Southeast coordinator for The Haiku Society of America. Currently Terri is on the editorial team of Contemporary Haibun Online. You can read more about her work and awards at https://www.terrilfrenchhaiku.com.
Sabyasachi Roy is an academic writer, poet, artist, and photographer. His poetry has appeared in Viridine Literary, The Broken Spine, Stand, Poetry Salzburg Review, The Potomac, and more. He contributes craft essays to Authors Publish and has a cover image in Sanctuary Asia. His oil paintings have been published in The Hooghly Review.
Kavita Ratna is a children's rights activist, poet and a theatre enthusiast. 'Sea Glass' and 'Every peck a rainbow' are her two poetry collections, both published by Red River. Her poems have appeared in The Kali Project: Invoking the Goddess within, Presence, Asahi Shimbun, Under the Basho, Muse India, The Wise Owl, haikuKATHA, Haiku in Action, the Mamba -Journal of Africa Haiku Network, Black and white haiga, the Cold Moon Journal, Five Fleas Itchy poetry, the Haiku Dialogue, Stardust Haiku, LEAF (Journal of The Daily Haiku), and several others. She was on the Haiku panel at the Glass House Poetry Festival, Bangalore, 2024 and the Mysore Literature Festival, 2024. She is also a Pushcart Prize nominee, 2023 and a Touchstone Award nominee, 2024.
Week 2, September 2025
September Morning
By Belinda Behne, 8th September 2025
Monarchs float
over the goldenrod patch
Children’s laughter
floats like honey
in the late summer sun
muffled by the thick warm air
School is starting
The earth is turning
Memories catch me
My thoughts float
back to my own Midwest
childhood-
the sadness of saying goodbye
to summer
the excitement of new shoes
books and pencils for school
a new dress
sewn by Grandmother
Leaving the chaos of home
meeting a new teacher
maybe new friends…
The golden embrace
of September’s sun
and her clear blue skies
float into my window this morning
Wrapped in her velvet caress
I gather my notebooks
and lesson plans
hoping to share her richness
as new young minds float by
A September Twilight
By Meena Chopra, 9th September 2025
September, draped in summer's fading memory,
spills soft amber along the horizon,
receding through layers of silent evening—
a gentle herald to autumn.
The sun, in its velvet-shadowed glow,
lowers its gaze;
slipping between branches,
dripping through trees,
sieved by whispering leaves that sigh,
casting liquid patterns on the earth,thoughtful rays drift over fields,
caressing my skin with lingering warmth.
Silhouettes shrink, crawl—
reshaping the days
between seasons,
through thinning light,
half-lit, half-lost in a glow,
in the scent of September's twilight
September's Velvet
By Snigdha Agrawal, 10th September 2025
September lays its gold,
soft upon my skin
not to scorch,
but to bless.
Shadows lean longer,
Yet the light pools deep.
Bright enough
to guide my steps forward,
where even twilight
can be dressed in dawn.
The sun drapes itself in velvet
By Nivedita K., 11th September 2025
From an eggplant purple cloak
as the day slides into dusk on a sigh
to the deep crimson folds at dawn
The sun drapes itself in vivid velvets.
That soft crimson tapestry that unfurls at dawn
is a lullaby spun from skeins of amber and rose.
Its warmth, like promises whispered against the skin,
gently hush the world into awakening.
No harsh edges here, just a light caress
This molten hue drapes the sky in quiet grace
inviting the dawn to linger just a bit longer
inviting us to breathe long and slow and deep.
Poet's Note: I try to capture the molten deep crimson sky at dawn that drapes the sun before it gives way softly to the golden seams at midday and then transitions to the purple cloak of dusk and night. All the while, the constant is the sun, which transforms itself depending on the velvet dress encapsulating it at that point in time. I have specifically focused here on the drapes of dawn and tried to juxtapose the vivid red of dawn with the quietness of grace and slowing down.
An Ode to September
By Ritu Kamra Kumar, 12th Sep 2025
Between summer’s scorch and winter's whisper,
September slips in, clothed in velvet light.
Auxo, arbiter of seasons, ambles through orchard avenues,
turning tendrils of green to gilded grain and grape.
The sun, once sovereign, softens to a mellow minstrel,
strumming saffron strings over ripening fields.
Shadows stretch like sleepy cats across courtyard cobbles,
winds weave wistful whispers through wheat and wane.
Leaves rehearse their rust-red requiem,
each sheet of colour a fragile farewell.
Here, Keats’ quill hovers in To Autumn’s mellow hush,
Wordsworth’s gaze glows in September, 1819’s tender light.
Clouds drift like drowsy galleons across opal skies,
casting cool kisses on the earth’s expectant brow.
Birdsong thins to a thread of thought,
as evenings dress in dusky damask.
September stands as a bridge between bloom and bare,
between laughter’s light and longing’s lull.
In this hush, lies the promise
that even endings glimmer with grace.
Poet's Footnote : Auxo: One of the Horae, goddesses of the seasons; here imagined as guiding the shift from summer’s abundance to autumn’s ripeness.
Biographies of Poets
Belinda 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 pursued 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.
Meena Chopra is a Canada-based visual artist and poet. She has been practicing her visual art and poetry for more than three decades. She has exhibited her art across the world and has had 85 solo exhibitions. A painter, sculptor, designer, producer and curator, Meena has been a recipient of many awards. Her work has been recognized and critiqued by meadia, both in Canada and India.
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. A versatile writer, Snigdha explores a wide range of genres, including poetry, prose, short stories, and travelogues. She is the author of five published books. Her most recent work, Fragments of Time, is a collection of memoirs presented in a lucid, accessible style and is available worldwide on Amazon in all formats
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).
Dr. Ritu Kamra Kumar, Retd. Officiating Principal and Associate Professor of English at MLN College, Yamuna Nagar, is an 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 books.
Week 3, September 2025
The Weeping Bridge
By Neelam Saxena 19th August 2025
the howrah bridge beckons, I carefully run on its bosom
full of voids, at midnight. It’s hurt. it weeps beneath the skin.
it makes me feel the fractured contours damaged by the
boisterous vehicles that ply, its strings of relationships
display raw fragility – it has passed through moments
of extreme detachment, no one can feel its pulse.
it makes me peep below – the water is turbid, tumultuous.
mankind has polluted it. it can’t breathe –
air is choked with whispers of smoke
surprisingly, what I see is the lights dancing rhythmically in the waters –
trembling, yet unafraid of the despairing dark.
there must be some hope, somewhere…
i look at the serene sky, the moon light pirouetting -
i start counting the silvery stars - are they promising something?
i catch a falling star, put it on the back of my palm
as if hope had a shape. i look at the sky full of promises –
light enters the wounds of the bridge and my delicate heart.
yes, there shall be happiness…someday!
Poems
By Vijay Prasad 18th August 2025
and she stirs the entire sky with a tea spoon
the sky 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘴 with the weight of a promise
in my skull m_i_l_e_s of g.r.e.y sky
Appetition
By Sanjeev Sethi 21st August 2026
Through which loupe do I see
a lineup of oddments,
seriocomic at one level,
unbelievable at another?
In the laundered streets
of the sky, there are no alternate
routes or ragamuffins.
Essentialities stir the urge.
Paphian calls alter the fretwork.
There is no greater ego-buster
or booster.
The latter post ne plus ultra.
Poems
By Giuliana Ravaglia 20th August 2025
shooting stars -
where the shadow is a dark crowd
I gather seeds of light
shooting star -
the smallest eternal moment
happiness
Milky Way -
in the infinite silence
glimmers of hope
Biographies of Poets
Neelam Saxena Chandra is a prolific bilingual author, writing in both English and Hindi. She has published 7 novels, 9 short story collections, 49 poetry collections, and 16 children’s books. Her literary achievements include holding three records in the Limca Book of Records. Neelam has received several prestigious awards, including the Sohanlal Dwivedi Puraskar for children’s literature (2018) by the Maharashtra State Hindi Sahitya Akademi, the Premchand Award by the Ministry of Railways, and the Rabindranath Tagore International Poetry Award. She has also been honored with the Freedom Award by Radio City for lyrics, an award from the American Embassy presented by Gulzar Sahab, the Setu International Award for Excellence (2024), and the Reuel International Lifetime Achievement Award, among others.
Vijay Prasad is a poet from Patna, India. He is disappointingly interested in life. He has a passion for haiku, language, philosophy, and so on ... He is published in Bones, Under the Basho, tinywords, Failed Haiku, The Mumba Journal, Haiku Dialogue, Prune Juice, among others.
Sanjeev Sethi is an award-winning poet who has authored eight books of poetry. His poems have been published in over thirty-five countries and appear in more than 500 journals and anthologies. He is the joint winner of the Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux, organized by Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK. Sethi is among the top 10 finalists for the 2021 Erbacce Prize in the UK. He is the recipient of the 2022 Ethos Literary Award. In 2023, he won the First Prize in a Poetry Competition by the National Defence Academy, Pune. He was conferred the 2023 Setu Award, USA, for poetic excellence. He lives in Mumbai.
Steliana Cristina Voicu lives in Ploieşti, Romania and loves painting, poetry, Japanese culture, photography and astronomy. Her haiku, tanka, haiga, poetry, short-prose have been published worldwide, including The Wise Owl-The Daily Verse, Spillwords, Asahi Haikuist Network, The Mainichi, Under the Bashō, cattails, Chrysanthemum and others. She is founder and editor of Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal-Romania.
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, August 2025
Haiku
By Kavita Ratna, Kama, 25th August 2025
a ray of gold
pierces the dark wet shroud
a startling
reminder of
the ever present sun
sema ceremony
whirling up to the sky
beyond borders
the sparkle of
bhrama kamalas
star companions
HAI KU
by Sarah Calvello 26th August 2025
Plum blossoms
Savor good memories
Unmasking the moon
Bumblebee buzzes
By the blackberry brambles
Landscape of your skin
Hawk of four corners
Appreciates the free air
Direction unknown
Haikue
By Lee on Teft, 27th August 2025
silent wind
I speak instead
to the stars
coruscant stars
one koan appearing
after another
weary of living
in darkness
morning glory
TANKA
By Nalini Shetty, 28th August 2025
not asking
if I’ve seen it too
my son
points again
to the blank night sky
your shoulder
close but not touching
we both
look up
for different reasons
the night unfurls
like amma’s cotton saree
creased with stars
and stitched in silence
where the past still breathes
Biographies of Poets
Kavita Ratna is a children's rights activist, poet and a theatre enthusiast. 'Sea Glass' and 'Every peck a rainbow' are her two poetry collections, both published by Red River. Her poems have appeared in The Kali Project: Invoking the Goddess within, Presence, Asahi Shimbun, Under the Basho, Muse India, The Wise Owl, haikuKATHA, Haiku in Action, the Mamba -Journal of Africa Haiku Network, Black and white haiga, the Cold Moon Journal, Five Fleas Itchy poetry, the Haiku Dialogue, Stardust Haiku, LEAF (Journal of The Daily Haiku), and several others. She was on the Haiku panel at the Glass House Poetry Festival, Bangalore, 2024 and the Mysore Literature Festival, 2024. She is also a Pushcart Prize nominee, 2023 and a Touchstone Award nominee, 2024.
Sarah Mahina Calvello loves reading and writing haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry.
Leon Tefft is a haiku poet based in Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Nalini Shetty is a poet and writer based in India who explores themes of memory, nature, and emotional nuance through short-form poetry. Her work often draws from quiet, everyday moments and the subtle shifts of light and feeling that move through them. She writes in various poetic forms, including haiku,haibun, tanka, and tanka prose. When not writing, she finds inspiration in birdsong, changing skies, and the gentle rituals of domestic life.
Jahnavi Gogoi’s poetry has been published in Haiku Corner by The Japan Society, Shadow Pond Journal, The Leaf Journal, haikuNetra, Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, among others. She won the first prize in the poetry writing competition organised by the Chandigarh Literary Society in the year 2022 for her poem ‘If this isn’t love’. She writes a lot about her native state of Assam, India, having spent her early childhood years in the shadow of the Patkai hills in northeast India. Jahnavi now lives in the beautiful town of Ajax in Ontario, Canada with her husband and daughter.
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
