Daily Verse
Week 1, December 2024
On the Wind
By Suzanne Smythe 2nd December 2024
Sometimes the wind is my Dad
I don’t know why
It is soft on my face
Sometimes cold and stings
I walk
Squinting in the sun
Or downcast under gray skies
A breeze comes up
A fierce gust comes up
And blows the leaves
I’ll notice it and I’ll say,
Hey Dad
Then the wind whispers back
Across my cheek
A Lonely Day
By Baijnath Gupta 3rd December 2024
An ancient soul in an ancient saree,
The crumpled one she wore for her wedding,
Was sitting in an aged chair
That was wobbly like her teeth,
Trying to read the letter she was given
On her first anniversary
With her weak eyes, or
Rather feeling each word
With her shaky fingers
Then holding it to her bosom for a while
Giving her man a loving hug
On their anniversary
Tears from her eyes
Wetting his soul
And the letter became a pulp.
Poems on Winter's Embrace
By Belinda Behne 3rd December 2024
footprints in fresh snow
two morning doves
disturb the silence
friends gather
with their lanterns
to warm the frosty night
the tender breath
of the winter moon
leaves love notes
on my window
Poems on Winter's Embrace
By Kavita Ratna 5th December 2024
head to toe
in woollens…
smothering love
a winter’s tale...
feet no longer twist and shout
at the crossroads
shivering stars
sand stirs
... grain by grain
Biographies of Poets
Suzanne Smythe grew up aside the wild Pacific Coast between the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur, California. She has written stories and poetry to make sense of the world since she could pick up a pencil more than 60 years ago. She lives in Connecticut and is currently working on a novel for young people. Her attention turns to poetry when the world seems to tumble.
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 art, literature and theatre. She 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. Her poetry can be found in LEAF Journal, The Wise Owl, Scarlet Dragonfly, and Cold Moon Journal.
Dr. Baijnath Gupta is Associate Professor and Head, Department of English, DSN Postgraduate College, Unnao (Affiliated to CSJM University, Kanpur). He has edited an Anthology of Poems and has contributed twenty nine research articles to various National and International journals of repute. He has published several of his poems in different anthologies, journals and magazines. A collection of his poems is under publication.
Kavita Ratna is a children's rights activist, poet and a theatre enthusiast. Sea Glass is her anthology of poems published by Red River. Her poems have appeared in The Kali Project: Invoking the Goddess within, A little book of serendipity, Muse India, The Wise Owl, Triveni Hakai India, Haiku in Action, the Scarlet Dragonfly, the Cold Moon Journal, Five Fleas Itchy poetry, the Haiku Dialogue, Stardust Haiku, Leaf (Journal of The Daily Haiku), and many others. She was on the Haiku panel at the Glass House Poetry Festival, Bangalore, 2024. She is also a Pushcart Prize nominee, 2024.
Geeta Varma is a poet based in Chennai. She has worked as a teacher and freelance journalist for some time. She has to her credit two books of poems and is a regular contributor to a few online magazines. She lives in Neelankarai with her husband Shreekumar Varma and has two sons, Vinayak married to Yamini, and Karthik.
Week 2, December 2024
Gelidity
By Sanjeev Sethi 9th December 2024
Chill drafts itself on the palimpsest of my inurement
in a font I fail to grok. Security in stealth is a muse.
The openness of reckless impulse arrays inner jewels.
It unsettles me. The fallout of finality spins a cyclic
run. As in an alcoholic binge: One more, then another.
Patterns follow the same path. There are winters and
winters. Their unstudied gaze draws me to them, but
ab initio, they offer the frost without remedial feelings.
Poems
by Neena Singh 10th December 2025
two ravens
on a bare tree
filtered twilight
winter chill
an urchin sells
Santa caps
bare tree…
a yellow warbler
awakens dawn
Winter in Doraville
By Gopal Lahiri 11th Dec 2024
This morning the wind is blowing from the north,
I open and shut the glass doors many times.
The blurred shadow of the maple tree is frozen,
in the hall the prayers that are made remain silent.
Clouds thicken and the snow flurries begin to fall
into the pine top and wood houses below.
Just above the sand at the bottom of the cold water
the fish that loves us, go to sleep.
Through the neighbour’s hedge an awestruck deer
comes out and vanishes again in the forest hill.
It’s freezing. Yet I want to see, to hear, I want
to loosen myself inside this soft fluffy snow world.
And that lonely hummingbird slowly turns itself
before me into an all-white dress, into pure snow.
*Doraville is a suburb in Atlanta, US.
Poems
By Susan Burch 12th December 2024
the missing nose
of the Sphinx
this desiderium
for places
I’ll never go
things I’ll never see
1,000 calls a day
to the Billy Graham
prayer line
how we all need
something
to believe in
a wild yak
on a high, steep
slope…
how you relish
looking down on me
A Winter in Madras
By Geetha Ravichandran. 13th December 2024
Come December, the eponymous flowers
appeared in bushes outside the door,
violet or pink, papery, without fragrance
and unfit for worship.
Our winters did not yield
to lyrical descriptions.
But the house stopped being a furnace
and at dawn the leaves were laden with dew.
Past the early twilight,
distant stars and a swollen moon
filled clear skies, although
it was meant to be the season for rains.
Those imperceptible changes in the weather
registered, even when transitions were seamless.
Music resonated in the air,
a banquet laid out by erudite artists.
In many homes, the tanpura and the veena
would be dusted, displayed
and children made to
recommence music lessons.
The music continues
even now, riding the heat wave,
the acoustics louder by several decibels.
But we no longer see
the stars nor the dew
nor the December flowers.
​
Poet's Note: The December flower- Barleria cristata or the Phillipine violet was once very common in Madras, blooming in the month of December.
Biographies of Poets
Sanjeev Sethi has authored eight books of poetry. Legato Without a Lisp is his latest (CLASSIX, an imprint of Hawakal, New Delhi, September 2024). His poetry has been published in over thirty-five countries and has appeared in more than 500 journals, anthologies, and online literary venues. He edited Dreich Planet # 1 India, an anthology for Hybriddreich, Scotland, in December 2022. He is the joint winner of the 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, India.
A Touchstone nominee in the Shortlist for Individual Poems in 2021, Neena is a banker turned poet. Her haikai poetry—haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, haiga, cherita & rengay are regularly published in international journals and anthologies. Neena has won many awards for her poetry. She has published two books of poetry—'Whispers of the Soul: the journey within' and 'One Breath Poetry- a journal of haiku, senryu & tanka. She runs a non-profit for quality interventions in the education and health of underprivileged children in Chandigarh.
Gopal Lahiri is a bilingual poet, critic, editor, writer and translator with 30 books published, including eight solo/jointly edited books. His poetry and prose are published across more than one hundred 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. He has received Setu Excellence Award, Pittsburgh, US, in poetry in 2020. 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.
Geetha Ravichandran is a retired IRS officer. She writes a monthly column on contemporary issues for The New Indian Express. Her poetry has been published in various journals, anthologised and featured in The Yearbook of Indian Poetry for four successive years. She has published two collections of poems, Arjavam and The Spell of the Rain Tree.
Week 3, December 2024
Scotopia
By Frank William Finney 16th December 2024
I stand
in the dark
at the edge
of the dock
watching
moonlight
ride the ripples
of a wintry lake.
After all these years
the light grows dim
and yet your
beauty’s bonfire
burns through time
and never fades.
Winter's Embrace
By Jerome Berglund 17th December 2024
chill breath
accosts me suddenly
this shadow
ground frozen
surviving upon remains
starving time
shadow of tassel
resembles bell
soon a new year
Whispers of the Frost
By Lalita Vaitheeswaran 18th December 2024
The crevices of the heart lay frozen
Waiting for the blooms of spring,
The white dry and cold snow lay scattered
The birds hibernated and folded their wings!
The mountains were barren and far spread
As they lay inviting sleet on their chests
The trees stood tall with intricate lacy branches
With misty twigs and empty nests!
The air was crisp and sharp with a scent of pine
The ponds froze like a beautiful mirror of ice
The icicles shone as the ornament of a bride
Everything stood standstill against the grey skies!
While the blossoms and the blooms wait outside,
Tis time for a pause, to heal and look within,
A silent symphony of quiet beauty, a silver whisper,
The beautiful quietude, a respite from the din!
The white blanket drapes itself around every being,
The frosty scars in the gorges are silently embraced,
Tranquility and calmness sooth chilling hearts
The tumultuous soul now harmony awaits!
Haiku on Winter's Embrace
By Giuliana Ravaglia 19th December 2024
light snow...
last caress
my father's
solitude -
a bed of snow
on the sidewalk
fog on the hills...
his distant tenderness
Winter's Embrace
By Umayal Subramaniam 20th December 2024
In the land where the year is filled with Summer,
The embrace of the winter for a month or two,
Is an oasis in a desert, the traveller resting,
Winter is rejoiced with music at dawn,
A hot filter coffee as the first rays light the morn,
Colourful decorated mandalas at the entrance,
The fresh winter flowers not only adorning temples
But the long braids of womenfolk,
The dew drops shine on the tips of the leaves,
The fragrance in the garden envelope the air,
Festive spirit hangs about, the winter solstice,
Shorter days, colder days and
Still wintery nights,
A beautiful pre dawn before stepping into the day,
Creating balance and stability before the moblity
Keeping the roots intact, let us fly high in the sky.
Biographies of Poets
Frank William Finney is a poet and retired lecturer from Massachusetts who taught in Thailand for 25 years. A recipient of the Letter Review Prize for Poetry, his work has appeared in numerous international journals and anthologies including Brussels Review, Little Leaf Literary Journal, and Loft Books (UK), Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences, The Wise Owl, and elsewhere.
Dr. Lalita Vaitheeswaran is a gynaecologist by profession and a bilingual writer by passion. She has published 7 books of poetry both in English and Hindi and a book of short stories in English. She has been the editor of 2 anthologies and one novel. She has received a number of awards and accolades for her writing ventures.
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
Umayal Subramaniam is a fourth generation educationist and an Early Childhood Educator with nearly two decade of experience and runs a playschool called "Squirrels". She loves seeing the world through little eyes and she looks forward to inspire people and to give back to the society in ways that matter.
Week 4, Novemeber 2024
Resurrection
Toolika Rani 25th November 2024
As leaf after leaf fall from the trees
Gliding their way into oblivion
In the days slightly grey,
It almost seems like a soft demise-
A noiseless sway-
As if the detachment was but natural
Induced by a mere change of weather!
But the thud on the ground was hard.
And, above on the branch,
It left a scar.
A desolate nakedness
Contrasting with
A floor full of drying manure.
For ages long, the process of forgetting
The trees endured.
Then, blame it on the weather again-
The resurgence of pain,
A tiny, brownish, miniature
Rearing its head from the scarred stain
Refusing to submit
Unable to erase
The memory of the grace
With which its previous form had swayed
In the wind wild, in a storm’s face,
And there again, the trees smile in all their verdant glory
Telling the birds, with a mirthful swerve,
Many a forgotten story!
Of staying alive in deadness,
Of the power of an entrenched memory,
Resurrection! That makes life savoury!
Poems on Forgotten Corners
by Mandira Gosh 26th Novemeber 2024
My Journey
​
My journey towards the dark east
When I can't even touch the moist
eastern darkness ,
Through the whole night, through the reflected light
I could touch rain .
Last Rays
​
The day breaks down
To sun and its shadows
My mesmerizing eyelashes
Save you from the fierce elongated sun rays
also the red infra red of the morning sun
Frightened me in the afternoon by
Ultraviolet rays
Charcoal on Slow burn
By Sunil Sharma, 27th November, 2024
In the right-hand corner, few feet away
from the French window, stacks of
old magazines, along with Dostoevsky, Wittgenstein, Ghalib, paper roses
in a broken vase, and
a yellow-faced diary, double-spiral; all items kept together
on
a sighing side table, near the tattered sofa, watched by a grim couple
in a
framed photograph, top corner of the wall
with
the peeling plaster, a plastic
dinosaur.
The wind enters
stealthily
the semi-dark room, a teen
late from a romp, surreptitiously slipping in
a half-snoring home; the flushed wind
kisses the diary, the way a totem is kissed by
an aching heart.
Pages flutter like old desires ignited
on solitary nights laced by rains,
decades
awakened
by those warm lips of the hot wind,
words
escape the gloomy silence
into
the neon-lit sprawl,
where, in another neglected
corner of the roof, sits a maid, eyes moist,
thinking
of
a far-off land, and a husband
who
never returns the frantic calls.
Forgotten Corners
By Vijay Prasad 28th November 2024
searching its fourth corner an old room
syllable by syllable the end of a presence
winter wind her absence divided by zero
she still floats through my previous sentences
on her secondary skin imprints of who i am not
He was my Grandfather
By Matt Bianca, 29th November 2024
With a sly smile, you used to come looking for me.
I wasn't at your funeral, but I know you couldn't care less, because we're similar, but not the same.
Strong, few feelings, many sensations.
Believe in power? We're not fools.
You used to run in the veggie yard when something went wrong.
Leaping across generations, I find sanctuary in nostalgia's arms.
I watched you in the yard when I was a child.
A spider entered my mouth; I only noticed it by a leg hanging from my lip.
I got worried; you told me, "it's nothing!" I learned the lesson.
From then on, everything that happened to me, it's nothing.
It has its importance. Now you're safe.
The Obliterated Past
The old days beckoned, taking my soul to the yore
I had never felt this bliss when I travelled before
The people laughed in merriment, in gay abandon to show,
Just as the autumn leaves which knew how to let go.
Warmth oozed out of hearts, affection and love gushed to run,
Relationships nurtured and cherished with boundaries none
There were open spaces, and the air fragrant with bloom,
Wide pastures and meadows with a lake that deterred gloom!
The leaves flew, racing with the breeze, as they fell one by one
Yet, they felt contented that they made place for someone!
The old rituals and ceremonies were held in colorful splendor,
Rainbows looked spectacular and dew drops a wonder!
There was plenty of time, to cease and pause and take a look,
There was life celebrated in every corner, in every nook.
Everything has changed, just as leaves are grounded to dwell,
Frozen relationships, as the autumn retreats to bid farewell
Lives have changed to become fierce, unmoved and oblivious,
To those brown leaves of fall which lie to be trodden and trampled
Biographies of Poets
Squadron Leader (Dr) Toolika Rani is an ex-Indian Air Force Officer, Mountaineer (Everest Climber), International Motivational Speaker (TEDx), Author, Poet, Assistant Professor of History, and was also the G-20 Brand Ambassador of Higher Education Department, U.P. Government (2023). Her books include Beyond That Wall: Redemption on Everest (2021), Sherpas of Solukhumbu: History and Evolution (2023), two collections of Hindi poems titled, Dayron ke Bahar (2023) and Hasratein (2024), two collections of English poems titled, The Song of the Sky (2024) and A Wild Flower (2024). In addition, she has edited an International Anthology of poems on Himalaya, titled, The Mountain was Abuzz, which was displayed at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival in 2024. She is the co-author of the book, ‘Healing and Growth: Inspiring Stories for Massive Transformation’ published from the USA.