Daily Verse
Week 1, October 2024
Neighbourhood Revisited
bySonia Nicholson 2nd Oct 2024
old Margaret, wild white hair
flying as a veil as a flag
of another time
/different or better/
behind her red walker
pushes on after-noon
the street pushing daisies pushing almost
Spring outside her bungalow (stucco)
1930s beauty
hidden behind the roses
and around the corner
the doddery man still plants
gnarled and stooped
against February
a row of daffodils
tulips alternating yellow and red
in his neat flower bed
a bloom for every season
a memory
tossed like seeds
(the flower bed, the bungalow
dug up now
all traces of red
under glass)
Poems on Nostalgia
by Maurizio Brancaleoni 3rd October 2024
voices of yore —
their warm clarity
effulgent gold
moon in the daytime —
everything returns
yet different from before
rainy night —
the tic of the clock
digs a furrow
Waning Summer
By Dan Hardison 4th October 2024
Shadows stretch longer
slanting across the landscape
as days grow shorter.
The evening sun
flaming in amazement
as it drops on the horizon.
Mornings awake
from longer nights
to a fine veil of pearly mist.
Garden blooms are fewer
as cornstalks and gourds
join rust-colored wreaths.
Nuts and burnished leaves
are covering the ground
as the air turns cooler.
A dazzling display
of elemental colors
as autumn beckons.
Haiku on Nostalgia
By Marguerite Doyle 8th October 2024
flicking through
old photographs
home movie
christening lace
on the baby
her wedding dress
dewdrops
on white lilies
anniversary
Late summer Storm
By Belinda Behne 7th October 2024
Thunder cracks
The sky opens
We dance barefoot
thru the wet grass
Laughing
Pelted with rain
Our open mouths
become fountains
Mother whistles
Calling us in
with just two fingers
between her lips
Loud and shrill
We don’t want to hear her
but we do
And we come
Tracking mud and rain
into her kitchen
We are soaking wet
and thrilled to the bone
Still laughing, giggling, sliding
across the slippery wet floor
With mud squishing between our toes
we are electrified
Transformed
by the storm
Biographies of Poets
A native of Tennessee, Dan Hardison now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina where he is a writer and artist. His artwork is inspired by Japanese woodblocks and ink painting (sumi-e). As an artist and writer, he is drawn to the Japanese haiga – a combination of image and poem. Dan Hardison’s writing has appeared at The Wise Owl, The Ravens Perch, Frogpond, Cattails, Contemporary Haibun Online, Chrysanthemum, and other print and online journals. His self-published book Quietude is available from Lulu Press. His work can also be found at his website Windscape Studio and blog Some Tomorrow’s Morning.
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 lives on the edge of a salt marsh, where life continues to inspire her in new ways. Her poems can be found in LEAF Journal, The Wise Owl, Scarlet Dragonfy and Cold Moon Journal.
Week 2, October 2024
Footsteps...
by Ketaki Mazumdar 9th Oct 2024
in a constant wandering
I flow with the clouds
in moments of realisation
am the lotus
in the moonlight
at your feet
am the peacock that dances
with the sound of the rain
and the strains of the Dark One's flute
I return to You over and over again
I burn in an ecstasy
waiting for that unity
we shared every lifetime
in my soul's journey
Poems
by Robert Witmer 10th October 2024
dew on her grave
the many eyes
of the sun
rosebush
a raindrop
on every thorn
the old pier groans
so many come and go
syllables of salt
A Mom's Note on the Counter
By Biswajit Mishra 11th Oct 2024
“Good morning little one,
Happy birthday,
live long, and
always be happy.
Your breakfast is on the kitchen table,
eat all, don’t leave anything,
your lunch box is in your backpack.
Dress properly, don’t forget the jacket,
wear your cap too, it’s getting cold,
ask Nani or wake up Papa if you need help.
Remember to eat the ginger juice with honey
in the little stainless steel bowl
on the counter,
your throat doesn’t sound good.
Go carefully my dear,
I will see you after I am back,
we will have your birthday special in the evening.
Be a good boy, love,
and stay blessed, always,
my treasure.
Mama”
The sun woke up.
Haiku on Nostalgia
By Marguerite Doyle 8th October 2024
flicking through
old photographs
home movie
christening lace
on the baby
her wedding dress
dewdrops
on white lilies
anniversary
Late summer Storm
By Belinda Behne 7th October 2024
Thunder cracks
The sky opens
We dance barefoot
thru the wet grass
Laughing
Pelted with rain
Our open mouths
become fountains
Mother whistles
Calling us in
with just two fingers
between her lips
Loud and shrill
We don’t want to hear her
but we do
And we come
Tracking mud and rain
into her kitchen
We are soaking wet
and thrilled to the bone
Still laughing, giggling, sliding
across the slippery wet floor
With mud squishing between our toes
we are electrified
Transformed
by the storm
Biographies of Poets