Daily Verse
Week 1, October 2023
Unhampered
Haibun by Neera Kashyap, 2nd October, 2023
It is monsoon time in the Himalayas. Light rain billows in the breeze. The evening walks from my study retreat have familiarized me with the faces of two women who work on wet sloping fields, transplanting rice. I feel snug in my imported poncho-style raincoat which covers me in thin pink plastic from head to ankle. The women wear thick blue plastic sheets which loosely cover their heads and backs. Their blouses and saris are drenched, their feet squelchy in the furrowed soil. I smile at them. The older woman smiles back, asks if she could have my raincoat. I am nonplussed, hesitate, and then give it to her. She offers me hers. I shake my head. On the next few evenings, I see the raincoat worn first by the younger, then by the older woman - one figure in streaming blue and another in secure pink, moving dexterously between furrows. Both wave happily.
distant thunder
a shooting star
drops on the horizon
Micropoems on Love
by R.K Singh, 3rd October 2023
The wine of love swells
in my vessel dark shadows
recede human dirt
between sound and silence greets
the joy and bliss of spirit
shaped like a bird
a drop of water lands
on her breast:
my breath jumps to kiss it
before her pelvic flick
when I inhale in
your mouth and exhale stroking
hair or caressing
I ride you into joy and
make you hail morning like earth
when I have no home
I seek refuge in the cage
of your heart and close
my eyes to see with your nipples
the tree that cared to save from sun
How I Love to Hate the Cold
By Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia, 4th October 2023
I love to hate the Cold !
That shivering quivering thing !
That sharp and stinging scold !
I love to hate the Cold !
If I may make so bold,
It’s neck I’d like to wring !
I love to hate the Cold !
That shivering quivering thing !
I love to hate the Cold!
O Death! Where is thy sting ?
Save me from Winter’s hold !
I love to hate the Cold !
If votes were to be polled,
Winter would be losing !
I love to hate the Cold !
O Death! Where is thy sting ?
​
(Poet's Note: Two Triolet stanzas)
Poems
By Kavita Ratna 5th October 2023
Hiding, unspoken
behind the wall of silence
deafening echoe
night of white satin
soft on the skin
a nesting dove
reflections
of golden narcissus
bee’s unheard echo
Love Stock
By Snigdha Banerjee Agrawal 6th October 2023
available for all
in stocks, shares and bonds
subject to no market risks
no lock-in period
encashable
such is love
used, misused, traded
sometimes, for personal gains
you'd think it untraditional
to equate love
with the stock market
hold on to that thought
just for a few seconds
have you considered
the return on investment?
unconditional most often
a wee bit extended
brings in rich dividends
not taxed at the source
not an annual payment
round the year credited
to the accounts of
investors without
any fear of indexation
go...go...go whole hog
invest in the stock
Biographies of Poets
Neera Kashyap has published a book for young adults, ‘Daring to Dream’ (Rupa & Co.) and contributed to several prize-winning children’s anthologies. Her short stories, poetry (including haikai), book reviews and essays have appeared in several international and literary journals and poetry anthologies. Her poetry has been published in journals and anthologies in India, USA, UK, Europe and Singapore.
Ram Krishna Singh is an Indian poet and academic, whose main fields of interest consist of Indian English writing, especially poetry, and English for Specific Purposes, especially for science and technology.