Daily Verse
Week 2, December 2023
The Gift of Gold
by Urmi Chakravorty, 11 th December, 2023
The wooded paths are a sight to behold
A canvas of russet, gold and umber
My feet crunch on the tapestry of flaming leaves -
Once the crowning glory of the mighty oak
Now lie in supplication, awaiting their turn
To return to the earthen womb that birthed them.
The whiff of a dying rose
The twitter of a home-bound warbler
The first frost settling on the frigid ferns
My senior pug asleep before a crackling ingle
The aroma of cocoa, cider and cinnamon
I marvel at the beauty and grace of fall!
Is this Death or a mere hiatus?
The weary earth seeking respite
Reminding us to shed, to change, to let go
As the year flashes its last, lovely smile
Gifting us a bounty of mellow charm,
The promise of reflection and renewal,
And bidding us a hopeful Au Revoir.
postcard…
bustle through the stalls
of autumn harvest
you, old avenue…
how many love stories
do you know?
autumn`s end -
the pond reflects me
waiting for you
hand by hand
on the old avenue -
city of rose lights
Indian Seasons
By Lakshmi Iyer 13th December 2023
spring clouds
Disney characters
in the toddler's eyes
Basant Panchami
dadi ma's recipe
flashes colours
smouldering hot
dried clothes stuck
on the railway tracks
Vishukkani
the scarecrow's bowl
full of yellow nuts
Nariyal Purnima
folk songs paddling
the waves of life
one thud on the tyre
the other bumps on our heads
potholes
whistling notes
at the faraway clouds
pied cuckoo
Navaratiri sky
the markets flooded
with sindoor
straw bundles
the weight of their tales
three-folds up
winter vegetables
a beeline
for basmati rice
hand-stitched quilt
mother's warmth in the layers
of old sarees
Happy New Year
kai-poche echoes
in the air
Haiku
by Sandip Chauhan 14th December 2023
velvet silence
a child's laughter turns
icicles to glass chimes
storm subsides
a rainbow forms a bridge
over the river
spring mist
an ant totes a grain
larger than itself
Inner Weather
By Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia 15th December 2023
In the midst of the invincible Summer
I felt the fault lines of Arctic ice
The depth of winter’s darkness
The painful fragility near destruction.
In the unbearable cruelty of raw Spring
I looked for the unimaginable Zero Summer
Who can wait when nerves are stretched
To breaking point by agony of birth ?
In the sempiternal soddenness of Winter
I saw steam rising like a softening mist
Looking back on the woolly comfort
And beauty of an auburn Autumn
In a world of Septembers and Octobers
I was reminded of the spears of snowdrop leaves
Pushing through the Spring snow around tree trunks
Gnarled like arthritic hands in aching Winter.
Within me is my own weather my own climate
Where the lines of the Seasons are blurred.
Biographies of Poets
Urmi Chakravorty is a former educator and presently, a freelance writer, reviewer and editor based out of Bangalore, India. She is a military spouse and has majored in English Literature and Language. Her non-fiction pieces are occasionally published in The Hindu and The Times of India. As co-author, her short stories and poems have found space in twenty-five domestic and international literary journals and anthologies, including Women’s Web, Writefluence, TMYS Reviews, Borderless Journal and The Wise Owl. Urmi is an Orange Flower awardee for writing on LGBTQIA issues. Her other interests include reading, music, travel, and spending time with community dogs.
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 Asahi Haikuist Network, Daily Haiga, The Mainichi, Under the Bashō, cattails, Chrysanthemum and others. She is founder and editor of Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal-Romania. Follow her on instagram: steliana_voicu