Editor's Thoughts/Hands--By Karen O'Leary--United States

Dear Whispers’ Friends,

In closing out this month, we will begin another.  It is a chance to share life experiences—our joys…our pain—and hopefully make a difference.  Our words span beyond borders with the opportunity to make a difference in this time of turmoil and pain.

Hands

the hope

for tomorrow--

fingers reaching beyond

angry voices and steel curtains

to touch

Let us begin a new season of love and understanding.  Many of you are shining lights in the writing community.  It is a pleasure to read your words here and in other venues. Thank you, all, for making Whispers possible.

Blessings,

Karen

Resident Authority--By John Zedolik--United States

Resident Authority                                

A blue jay lives on Garland Street,

I’ve see him on my walks

I’ve read he is a rough fowl but

never heard him squawk

and drive away the lesser birds

that gather gray and brown

ignorant of the pecking order

in his cul-de-sac of a town.

Since I’ve seen him certainly twice

in the branches of the oak

I’ll call him resident, give him rights

greater than those wee ones he pokes.

He can harry, he can boast, run them

to the ground, and they can flutter

in regions upper,

when his blue is not around.

              

For thirteen years, John Zedolik taught English and Latin in a private all-girls school, and in 2010 completed his Ph.D., in which he focused on the pragmatic comedy of the Canterbury Tales. Currently, he is an adjunct instructor at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. However, he has had many jobs in his life including archaeological field assistant, obituary writer, and television-screen-factory worker. His iPhone is now his primary poetry notebook, and he hopes his negotiation with technology in regard to this ancient art form continues to be successful.

Tomorrow’s pray--By Irsa Ruçi--Albania

Tomorrow’s pray

I slept outside, in that forest glowing from desires

with that entreating pardon

and that slow leaving

to Monday, into a desert of opinions

(That today I still keep awake).

On the red carpet Ladybugs were dancing

they were searching to bloom the rose

in the memory of the time that went ...

but nothing ever remains the same

summer rain melts it all

fallen on the loneliness of bodies.

Ballads are crumbs of tears

dropping over the lip

to bloom another day

that voice of hope ...

The woods were on fire from those prayers,

while over the stately poplar

magpies bring the seasons...

(Translated by Stela Xega)

Irsa Ruçi is an Albanian Writer, Speechwriter and Lecturer. She was born in Tirana (Albania), in 1990. Her books of poetry include Trokas mbi ajër (poems and essays), 2008 and Pështjellim (poetry), 2010. Only for 2016, her works has appeared, in more than 70 print and online national and international magazines and anthologies. Among many awards, she has received the first prize in poetry, in competition "Anthology 2007", as the best poet in Albania.

If--By Poppy White-Herrin--United States

If

If all the words I’ve said today

were printed in a book,

and I should have to read them all,

I wonder how they’d look?

Would I be glad to see them there

in black and white so plain?

Or, would I wish to blot them out

and start over again?

I can’t erase the words I’ve said,

but this I’ll bear in mind:

if perfect love is in my heart,

my words will all be kind.

Poppy White-Herrin is married to the love of her life Jason, and together they have four daughters and two grandchildren. She is originally from Laurel, Mississippi, but now lives in Gonzales, Louisiana. Her poems have appeared in many publications and have received various contest awards over the years.

Wishes for a Child I Never Had--By Sanjeev Sethi--India

Wishes for a Child I Never Had

I would want you not to be weak to the williwaw,

not to be vulnerable to whims of another. To be

girded with the resource to negotiate with niceties

of the nether. May you choose a domain that sways

in cadence to the music of your inscape.

An insight into the arts help salve upheavals time thrusts upon us.

May the marrow in your bones be nourished by the vitamin

of wisdom. May the seed of compassion cultivate a garden

of goodness enabling you to be a giver. May you be agile,

intuitive. May luck and its luster broaden your borders.

(First Published in The Open Mouse)

Sanjeev Sethi has published three books of poetry. This Summer and That Summer (Bloomsbury, 2015) is his latest. His work is in venues around the world. His poems recently appeared in Lunaris Review, Postcolonial Text, Squawk Back, Expound Magazine, Yellow Chair Review, Chronogram, Otoliths, and elsewhere. He lives in Mumbai, India.

Another 3rd grade tour--By Richard Carl Subber--United States

Another 3^rd grade tour

Well, yes, Anna, this is the same river

   the Nipmuc Indians knew in 1651,

it was here, they fished in it,

and, yes, they saw ducks like those

   on the other bank over there,

and, no, it’s not too deep,

but, here’s another way to look at it:

the river is new today,

it’s filled with new rain,

it carries a different twig over the dam,

it swirls new bubbles

   from the fish we didn’t quite see,

the river has forgotten the feel of a canoe,

   forgotten how to turn the mill wheel,

it has learned to ignore

   the ever louder sounds that crowd the air,

and it sniffs in surprise

   each time new toes are dipped in its currents,

and those ducks on the other bank

   are new this year, too.

Richard Carl Subber (Rick) is a freelance editor, a writing coach and a historian. He lives with his family in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. He’s a former newspaper reporter/editor who now indulges his love of the right words.  Rick is a proud grandpa who is teaching his granddaughter to read and write, in case there is poetry in her future.  His poetry appears in The Australia Times Poetry Magazine, miller’s pond poetry magazine, The RavensPerch, Northern Stars, and elsewhere. His blog: http://barleyliterate.blogspot.com/  

Birth--By Ndongolera C. Mwangupili--Malawi

Birth

Birth, like bathing,
is always new;
being born, like breathing,
is constantly fresh.
we bath at our birth
and we begin to breathe.

Birth, bathing and breathing
are analogous yet diverse
and each day, which makes a year, is
our birth, our bathing and our breathing.

Ndongolera C. Mwangupili works as a Senior Inspector of Schools in Malawi. He has vast experience as a teacher of English and Bible Knowledge. Many of his short stories, poems and essays have been published in the Malawi News and Weekend Nation. His stories are anthologized in Modern Stories from Malawi and The Bachelor of Chikanda and Other Stories. His poem “The Genesis” was anthologized in The Time Traveller of Maravi: New Poetry from Malawi. His other poem “Letters to a Comrade” is published online in India on www.openroadreview.in. He believes that there is a thin line between fiction and reality. All that people write is a re-creation of what is already known to the writer and exists not only in the mind of the writer but also outside the writer, therefore, fiction is actually facts written as if they are not facts. He is married to Angella, and they have two daughters Mary Magdalena and Princess Cleopatra.

Speed Addict--By Charlene McCutcheon--United States

Speed Addict

Be
patient.

Impatience

plagued me daily.

Hurry up and wait!

My life's oxymoron
would try the patience of Job.
"Slow down and live,” spirit whispered.

Patience engrafted into my soul.

"Speed addict" withdrawals don't last forever…

Charlene McCutcheon is a 73 year old, wife, mother of seven, grandmother of thirty and great-grandmother of 14. She has just discovered her voice through poetry within the last few years. Her former ways of expression have been through the media of arts and crafts. Her desire to share herself with others for their benefit has been the motivating factor in all her endeavors. She loves life, work, play and most of all people. 

Cat Lady--By Jane Richer--Canada

Cat Lady

What is wrong with being a Cat lady; I really want to know?
They are cuddly bundles of fur from their head to tippy-toe.
Smarter than most animals and lots of fun to be around.
When you're in the 'blues'; purring close to you they can be found.

They know when you are sick and they will come to show they care.
Snuggling close to you; to keep you warm in a winter's chilly air.
Haughty they can be at times and bear a 'royal' state of mind.
For some places 'worshiped' them; in history you will find.

Kitten or full-grown cat we are blessed to have this pet close by.
To make us laugh. to give us joy and to comfort us when we cry.
So a Cat Lady is a wondrous, priceless and joyful thing to be.
Lets' all run out and buy just one or two; what the heck make it three!

Jane Richer is a poet and writer who lives in Alberta, Canada. She is published online and in print. She loves to poke fun at herself and rather likes to write tongue-in-cheek poetry but she will dabble in all kinds of genres to widen her creative nature. She loves to 'sister'-(write a complimentary poem) and feels that is the greatest form of acknowledgment and respect in expression for another poet's talent. 

Reflecting--By Andrea Dietrich--United States

Reflecting

I 

wonder

if poems

birthed from my soul

might be - like my days on this earth - numbered.

Days are fleeing, yet in the sky I see

infinity,

and so I

make a 

wish.

May

poems

reflect my

mind boundlessly

like those stars that illuminate the night.

Andrea Dietrich grew up in Iowa and now resides in Utah with a spouse and two cats. She has two grown children and six grandchildren. Having graduated BYU with a Spanish major/ESL minor, she has spent most of her adult life teaching. It wasn't until 2000 that she began writing in earnest and discovering her "niche" as a writer of lyrical poetry. The internet opened up a new world for her, and she has spent nearly a decade now participating in poetry clubs, acting as a judge of poetry contests for various magazines and for the website Shadow Poetry.

Golden Reeds--By Sheikha A.--Pakistan and U.A.E.

Golden Reeds

and a lone bicycle

wheels large faces

slender fingered air

brush cheeks of tulips

dainty, naïve maidens;

his hands pick tenderly

rubbing lithe necks

easing off their stems

a fresh emptied vase

awaits colourful heads.

Sheikha A. is from Pakistan and U.A.E. and often finds herself in a world of oscillation that most of the times motivates her writing too. She maintains a (or tries to) blog on sheikha82.wordpress.com. 

The Seeker (for Cherry Rose)--By Michael Todd--United States

The Seeker (for Cherry Rose)

She is The Seeker. On her sojourn,

She is not hindered by ties that bind. 

She is an unabated free spirit, 

gravitating toward the shared light.

She does not see the shadows, 

nor is she aware of them, 

as they are behind her, in her wake.

She is trenchant, forward leaning, 

toward an ordained time and place

fate and destiny have prepared;

one where The Light elucidates, 

where a table is meticulously set... 

set for two ~ with love and admonition.

Michael Todd aka Myke Todd has been writing and posting stories and poetry on social networking sites since 2006. He can currently be found at his dedicated poetry site... http://myketodd.blogspot.com/  

Love Paved the Way--By Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson--Canary Islands

Love Paved the Way

There’s a dog eared page in my life
With dark hollow days I can’t forget
When I was heartbroken full of strife
And the pain lives within me yet

Each day it seemed my pain thickened
But though pain weighed I had to carry on
Even though inside I felt sickened
I had to think of my son

For he was the one setting love ablaze
When time tested he made me smile
Memory soothed easing me through pain’s craze
Now it’s love I feel all the while

Yes! Love paved the way for me
It made me understand that life
Is about loving and caring eternally
And how you handle the strife

Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson is a coal miner’s daughter, the only girl among 6 lads. A young mother to a son, she became a widow before she turned 18.  Patricia, then, married her childhood sweetheart who fathered her lovely son and two wonderful daughters.  Her children encouraged her to pursue her own talents.  After 51 years of marriage, she became a widow again recently. She fills her time with poetry, helping others whenever she can.

the reaper’s curse--By Su'eddie Vershima Agema--Nigeria

the reaper’s curse

how many farewells are enough

to bid those who had it rough

living through time’s toil...

they who now answer the call of the soil?

what metaphors can capture the tiger

that roared from within you devouring evil

that stood across your way even as you would wager

against everything uncivil...?

as these sands slowly sieve through our fingers

pouring over wood that holds stiffer wood

that once held a fire that lingers

in our memory, tributes fall short, pretty but crude

Su'eddie Vershima Agema was joint winner, Association of Nigerian Authors Prize for Poetry 2014 with his second collection, Home Equals Holes: Tale of an Exile. He lives in Nigeria, blogs at http://sueddie.wordpress.com and can be reached at eddieagema@yahoo.com. @sueddieagema on Twitter.

Navarro Forest--By Greg Gregory--United States

Navarro Forest

The light glows through the canopy of Redwoods.

The light moves, shifts shadows on ferns, on us.

We walk through them to the picnic table.

The small clearing is empty.

The weathered table speaks in cracked initials

Whose life was D.K.'s or J.W.'s?  Why did R.M. love C.L.?

Carvings are meetings, and we have arrived too late.

The ciphers stay locked in their own opaque stories.

They suggest.  They tease.  We imagine.

We hear the invisible river distant, soft in the huge trees.

It flows to the coast.  It flows like time.

Time weathers wood.  It weathers stories.  It always has. 

We will miss them when we’ve left.  The carvings whisper

on the tissue of the wood.  In our summer sandals we are happy,

for a time, under the canopy’s mid-day light.

Greg Gregory is retired, but worked in educational media for over 30 years.  His first love has always been language and the printed word.  He has been published in the US, Canada, and England in publications including California Quarterly, Windsor Review, Poetry Nottingham, and The Aurorean. 

A Rainy Day--By Pam Murray--Canada

A Rainy Day

Beneath the driving rain,

The greenest greens appear

The earth absorbs, the grasses grow,
The sky sheds every tear.

The tears are full of joy
As birth its season brings
And droplets flow in rivulets
As every eaves trough sings.

I sit and contemplate
The water's every sound,
Then take umbrella, coat and boots
And splash upon the ground.

Now, isn't this the way
To greet a rainy day.
As people turn, I laugh and wave,
Inviting them to play.

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Pam Murray has been writing poetry since the mid-1960’s.  She was married for over 41 years and has two daughters, a son-in-law, and a grandson.  Pam has been published in a variety of venues.  Her proudest writing accomplishment was a poem she wrote for a United Way fundraiser, which was later framed with a French translation and hung on the wall of the legislature in Ottawa, Canada.  To her, poetry is a transposition of a vision she sees in her mind. Writing and crocheting are her passions.

The Sacred Body--By Marcus Omer--United States

The Sacred Body

The fount of life reposed within your breast.

It nurtures still the ones whose fathers bled;

who sleep the sleep, unabated blissful rest,

where mysteries of life in truth were read.

The ones of book and breadth would never guess

or look with learned eyes on simple joy

which comes from love submissive, though ageless,

in sacred birth where sin cannot destroy.

From living springs, we sip of timeless bliss,

for passions numbered earthly will depart.

Let creatures humbled share in hallowed kiss

and drink to fill each soul, to cleanse each heart.

      This living spring o’er final death doth reign,

      for long ago a sinless lamb was slain.

Marcus Omer became serious about writing after he retired in 1997. He draws his inspiration from the many emotions we experience in life. He has published Of Sunshine and Clouds with iUniverse and The Winding Road with Shadow Poetry. He’s also published in Snippets, The Magic of Words and several issues of Golden Words.

Poetry Moments--By Changming Yuan--United States

Broken Spirits

fluttering like tiny

black feathers, they are shredded

shadows swept away

silently from the bright spot

on the tallest human stage

________________

Seascape  

So heavy is the night

The horizon sags deep, deeper

Into the heart of

The ocean, where a new sun’s

Pushing the whole world above dawn

[Previously published in Epigraph Magazine]

________________

the chinese painter and the viewer

between your brush tip

and mountain top, you seek e-

ternity in the blank

while i am lost among thick

patches of ink blacker than night

[Previously published in Chinese in Singaporean Literature; first published in English in the Adirondack Review]

________________

Changming Yuan, 9-time Pushcart nominee and author of 7 chapbooks, started to learn English at age 19 and published monographs on translation before moving out of China. Currently, Changming edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Yuan in Vancouver, and has poetry appearing in Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Threepenny Review and 1209 others across 38 countries.

JUNE 17, 1991--By Jean Calkins--United States

JUNE 17, 1991

I opened a door into the night,

looked upward at the darkened sky

and saw the triad there—

an alignment known as rare—

Mars at the top, extremely shy,

Venus below, then to the right

was Jupiter, so large and bright

it seemed close by

and if I’d try

I might reach up and touch it now

suspended in the warm night air.

The crescent moon

would join them soon.

In my heart, I too, was there,

free as I’d ever be, somehow.

It seemed so right;

I was the night.

       

Jean, at 82, has been writing poems since she was 18. For 25 years she published a popular poetry quarterly of up to 100 pages, with a subscribership of nearly 500. Illness in 1986 ended the magazine. She currently publishes, by email, a 2-page monthly of clean humor. Contact her at joker31277@yahoo.com    

Doorstep Dilemma--By Jack Horne--England

Doorstep Dilemma

Last night I was close to your house;

it seemed it called to me like an old friend: 

"Won't you pop inside to say hello?"

Once, you would have welcomed me;

your eyes shining, your smile bright,

drawn me in with warm hands and kisses:

no invitation needed.

But now I know you'd freeze;

a small tight smile, arms folded, eyes averted,  

your mind and heart as closed

as you wished the door still was.

You wouldn't ask me in.

I ignore the calls of your house;

it doesn't understand any more than I do

as I walk away...

Jack Horne enjoys reading and writing poetry.

Along Roads Less Traveled--By Robert L. Hinshaw--United States

Along Roads Less Traveled

Oft' I've traveled on interstate highways to reach my final destination,

With white knuckles grasping the steering wheel in great trepidation!

I whiz along at seventy-five and for my safety say a fervent prayer.

'Tis akin to driving the Indy 500, speeding like a bat outta you know where!

I prefer to 'whiz' along at 25 miles per hour on a quaint country road,

Enjoying scenery, sans billboards and such in a more relaxing mode.

I can stop by an eatery for good ol' country vittles run by Mom and Pop,

And browse among other peoples’ trash at my leisure in an antique shop!

I stop by to fill up on gas and happily discover something rather rare;

The man fills the tank, cleans the windshield and checks my tires for air!

Fields of amber grain gently wave at me depicting a scene so bucolic,

And a herd of deer in a yonder copse contentedly graze and frolic.

A farmer waves to me as he tends his field of melons and cantaloupe,

And I'm thrilled to see across the way a magnificent herd of antelope!

I enjoy the witty verse of poets on Burma Shave Signs along the way,

And faded Mail Pouch Tobacco signs on barns filled with scented hay!

At the whim of each vagabond breeze, old windmills turn and creak.

Timbers rumble as I cross a wooden bridge above a rippling creek.

Although my automobile gathers dust along a road that is graveled,

How I relish traveling along quaint country roads that are less traveled!

Robert L. Hinshaw served 30 years in the Air Force retiring in 1978 in the grade of Chief Master Sergeant. He began writing poetry in 2002 at age 72 and has composed over 1100 poems.

God Made Us All Equal--By Ron Larson--United States

God Made Us All Equal

When I get cut-off on the highway,

I try my very best to understand.

That old boy may have had a rough day.

After all, he's just a common man.

And when I'm standing in the check-out line,

And the sign reads: "Ten items, please,"

This gal's got her basket filled up to the top,

And she's standing there shooting the breeze.

Well, it's been said: "God made us all equal."

But sometimes I wonder if that's true.

If God really made us all equal,

Then equal must equal very few.

Now, it is just my imagination,

Or is everyone just like you and me?

We're all going around in circles,

Trying to keep some sanity.

Ron Larson is a retired community college professor (Ph.D.) and has had both fiction and non-fiction published in various journals over the years. He has been writing poetry for the last two years. His poems have been accepted by such diverse magazines as The American Dissident, Big Pulp, and WestWard Quarterly.

The Eagle--By Dr. Satish Chandra Srivastava--India

The Eagle

I am an Eagle

Easterly early bird

wishing flying freely

& never live in the herd.

I am an Eagle

with powerful hooked bill

for catching my prey easily

or bring down my enemy to kill.

I am an Eagle

like strong soaring flight

higher in the sky so up that

none can see my super delight.

I am an Eagle

having long broader wing

may fly in the air as farther I wish

if hunting requires, I can swiftly swing.

Dr. Satish Chandra Srivastava, a retired manager admin. from a pharmaceuticals company has keen interest in writing poetry since his college life as it is his passion but due to family liabilities, the passion was suppressed by time constrains. Upon his retirement, he devotes his full time to his passion and writing poetry to fulfill his hidden desire. His poems are much appreciated by fellow poets and has a repute honor among fellow poets. His poem "DREAMS" was published in first E-zine anthology by "POETS DREAMS."

Tanka--By Archana Kapoor Nagpal--India

passing
from a window to another
these clouds…
how they enter in my room
between you and me

________________

falling
from a jasmine to another
a dewdrop ...
I hold all seven colours
in my palm

________________

Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of 6 books so far, and her winning stories are now part of international anthologies. She writes inspirational content for corporate newsletters, websites, blogs and print publications. Her inspirational poems touch every area of a person's life. She enjoys writing Haiku and Tanka as well. Visit her Amazon Author Profile to know more about her.

Memories of You--By Tom Davis--United States

Memories of You

Memories,
Like ancient ghosts,
Haunt the attic of my mind

Burning kindling’s pungent smell
Hovering
In crisp fall air

Lovers skating
Arm in arm
Across frozen pond

Lazy hum of bumble bee
Foraging nectar
Giving life

Releasing your hand,
I watched you cross that muddy river
And yearned, so, for the other side

Now, I lie and listen
To the night’s
silence call

But I’ll remember you, my love
And all the good times we had

In his younger years, Tom Davis served as a Special Force Combat Diver. It seems to him that he spent more time on, in, and under the water than as a landlubber. This and other adventures he has written about in his memoir, The Most Fun I Ever Had With My Clothes On: A March From Private to Colonel. http://www.oldmp.com/davismemoirs  

Summer Night--By Emile Pinet--Canada

Summer Night

A hint of lilac rides on the air,
lending fragrance to the evening breeze.
And a sapphire sky, of flawless blue,
frames the emerald leaves on the trees.

The sun, like a drop of molten gold, 
slowly sinks, into a sea of fire.
And ebony drips, from the darkness,
as the diurnal creatures retire.

The hoot of an owl, pierces the dark,
shattering the silence of the night.
And teal silhouettes, morph into pitch,
as shifting shadows absorb last light.

Yet, the moon rises, at Her own pace,
gracing the night, with Her beaming face.

Emile Pinet was born in a small city, (Bathurst) New Brunswick, Canada, the third eldest of thirteen children, ten girls and three boys. He is the product of a semi-dysfunctional family, brought up by a physically abusive and controlling father, versus a loving, nurturing mother. Many of his poems reflect the uniqueness of nature, which he loves, and his poetic observations of life in general. Emile is 66 years old and has been writing poems since he was about 35. The ideas started to come to him rapidly one day at work-- he decided to write them down and express himself through his poetry. 

Poetry Moments--By Barbara Tate--United States

warning signs

hidden in plain sight

grandpa's keys

_____________

tail wind

snowbirds flying south

for the winter

_____________

summer storm

ridding myself of baggage

closing argument

_____________

cypress trees

the bayou sorcerer

drying tresses

_____________

Barbara Tate is an award winning artist and writer, originally from Akron, Ohio, currently residing in Winchester TN.  She is a member of the Haiku Society of America, Gulf Coast Writers Assoc., and United Haiku & Tanka Society.  She has been published in Santa Fe Literary Review, Storyteller Magazine, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Cattails, The Heron's Nest, Magnolia Quarterly, Bear Creek Haiku, Contemporary Haibun Online, Neverending Story, Failed Haiku & Whispers, among others.  She is currently looking forward to the Sewanee Writers Conference. 

Tanka--By Anne Curran--New Zealand

her laughter
quicker than mine today …
a playful breeze
on our faces
as she pushes her walker

Ribbons journal, April 2015
________________

talk
of papal politics,
tea leaves and dreams ...
I wonder when
the rain will stop

A Hundred Gourds, September 2014
________________

at the art gallery
with an artist friend ...
I am seduced
by her explanation
of light and dark

hedgerow,  #16, 2015
________________

Anne Curran is a Hamiltonian and New Zealander.  She writes in awe and admiration of all those Japanese verse poets and editors who have encouraged her on this journey.

The Pianist’s Fingers--By Marianne Szlyk--United States

The Pianist’s Fingers

Thunder rumbles in the distance

on a cloudy day.

The music teacher tells his child

that God is warming up,

limbering His fingers,

playing His scales

before the concert,

a burst of chords,

irregular rhythm, melody

of rain and wind,

and the light show.

The child no longer fears

thunder

or lightning.

He settles down

inside to watch

the storm.

Marianne Szlyk is the editor of The Song Is... Recently, she published her second chapbook, I Dream of Empathy, with Flutter Press. Her first, Listening to Electric Cambodia, Looking Up at Trees of Heaven, was published by Kind of a Hurricane Press. Her poems have appeared in Long Exposure, Of/with, bird's thumb, Solar Nation, Quill and Parchment, Silver Birch Press' series, Jellyfish Whispers, Napalm and Novocaine, Poppy Road Review, and other online and print venues including Kind of a Hurricane Press' anthologies.

Haiku--By Muskaan Ahuja--India

see- saw swing -
     the ups and downs
     of my life

_______________

 

smile -
     the curve of wrinkles
     on grandma's face

_______________

Muskaan Ahuja is a student pursuing graduation in English honors.  She loves challenging herself and writing poetry. She considers haiku as her journey in three lines and aspires to become English professor. 

A Field of Dreams--By Scott Thomas Outlar--United States

A Field of Dreams (Forgotten/Recalled)

Blue sky afternoon bliss

so pure and perfect

I could close my eyes

and become effervescent

soaking into the atmosphere

as the flesh breaks down

to a state of scattered atoms

and proves the theory

that All is One

Green grass fields of glory

so sharp and inviting

I could close my eyes

and remember a time

as a child when I played

a game that brought such joy

in every moment of perfection

that served as an introduction

to the reflection of today

Scott Thomas Outlar hosts the site 17Numa.wordpress.com where links to his published work can be found. His chapbook "Songs of a Dissident" (Transcendent Zero Press) was released in 2015 and is available on Amazon. His poetry collections "Chaos Songs" (Longsword Press) and "Happy Hour Hallelujah" (CTU Publishing) are both forthcoming in 2016.

Tanka--By Lavana Kray--Romania

refugees
camping on the outskirts
of the village—
the sound of a violin
moaning at intervals
_______________
       
black oil slick                            
washed up on the beach_
tourists
taking selfies
with the grounded fish

_______________
               

my life          

as the colorless fluid
of sky ...
a wounded crane looks
at the migrating flock

_______________

Lavana Kray is from Iasi – Romania. She is passionate about writing and photography. The nature and the events of her life are topics of inspiration. She believes that there is a core of poetry in all things. Both haiku and haiga have been published in: Haiku Canada Review, Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi, World Haiku Association, Daily Haiga, Word Haiku Review, Haiku Presence and others… She was chosen for Haiku Euro Top 100-edition 2013. This is her blog: http://photohaikuforyou.blogspot.ro   

Lovely in Love--By Gerald McBreen--United States

Lovely in Love

Love is as close as we’ll get to heaven.

It is what makes people, like you and me, glow

     it is what makes life a radiant flow.

Lovely is the love of you and I.

And it must be tended with gentle care

     because it is the dream I promised you.

Together we’ll make it true.

Not an easy thing to do.

Lover’s hearts open wide,

     you’ll love me, I’ll love you,

     and that’s as close to heaven as it gets.

Gerald McBreen is the Coordinator for the Striped Water Poets of Auburn, WA. They host an "open mic" every first Monday of the month. He is Poet Laureate of Pacific, WA. (2009-2015) His most recent award - winning the online Cover Letter Contest for July, 2014 - River Styx. He loves to see members of the Striped Water Poets advance and get published. 

From the Archives—The Gift of Hope—Featuring Gert W. Knop, David Austin, Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson and Ndongolera C. Mwangupili

Dear Whispers' Readers,

With the terrorist attacks, increase in youth violence, and brutality that surround us, writers are challenged as part of humanity to lift up those that have been shaken by events that they couldn’t even imagine a couple of decades ago.  Where we explore problems; we can also share solutions.  When people are weeping, we can offer encouragement.  And where people feel disenchanted or disengaged, let us wrap them in kindness without judgment.

As a former emergency department nurse, I am grounded in the reality that there are no pretty bows to wrap this all up.  Some use that as an excuse to do nothing.  In those corners of doing nothing, we can make a difference.  I know personally how words at the right time can impact a life. I ask you not to let those moments slip away.

Today, I chose poems from our archives that encouraging, hopeful, uplifting or sharing the gift of life.  Thank you Gert W. Knop, David Austin, Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson and Ndongolera C. Mwangupili for your creative views, all capturing the gift of life—where one can always find hope.

                                                Blessings, Karen O’Leary—Whispers’ Editor

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Spread out your wings,

fly high,

further, further yet

and far beyond the sky,

without a fear

into the light,

where future lives

and life is bright

By Gert W. Knop--Germany                                            

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Domestic Scene

by the alley

paint bare and splintered

this leaning    green fence

inside    safe in their garden

two old women chattering

By David Austin—United States

__________________

Live with Hope and Love

It is far better to live

Believing in hope and love
That there is a heaven for us above
That it is death
that takes us on our way
If full of love to join
Angels at play.
Living life believing
Full of hope
Gives you good reason
To love and cope
With all the ailments
Found from war and pain
To make you want
To live again
Like an Angel up in heaven above
In a climate created purely from love....

By Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson—Canary Islands

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Gaze and Rain

          1
Eyes gaze
north… up north
I ponder and wonder
… then I sigh.

          2
… Then it rained
and heavily,
though briefly.

          3
The gaze and the rain
bite the skin,
the skin of the poor,
yet still hope glows in them.

By Ndongolera C. Mwangupili--Malawi

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Marking Time--By Anna-Marie Docherty--Wales

Marking Time

100

Years on

Ghosts torment still

What have we learnt

Terror trauma torture

Truths suffered

Silence

2016

Century passed

Time to speak

That in remembrance, peace

Mark time together

Take stance

Hope

                                                                                                                                     

Anna-Marie Docherty lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK and is often inspired by nature and the world around her. Having been writing poetry now for 4 - 5 years, her works have developed in structure and form as well as using free verse in her writing as she walks this endless art form and creativity in her thirst to further learn. Letting the pen and the muse dictate topic and form both humour, religion, nature or the serious subject might be touched upon therefore keeping the writing fresh and easy to read by those who follow. Writing both as given name above and pen name anaisnais through the net, examples of poems can be found both in Snippets, an anthology of short verse by various international poets, compiled by Karen O'Leary and Patricia Ann Farnsworth-Simpson; also Pink Panther magazine, an anthology written by several poets and artists on feminist issues in our environment and various poems on the internet for taster.