Monday, April 30, 2018

CLOSING APRIL--YOUR EDITOR’S THOUGHTS--By Karen O'Leary--United States

Dear Whispers’ Friends,

We have much to celebrated as this month closes, including 15 new writers.  We also expanded our borders with the addition of a writer from Greece (see below). I am so grateful to work with all of you. It is in the celebration of others we grow richer ourselves.

NEW WRITERS FOR APRIL 2018

                                    Anita Leamy, United States
                                    Lynn Long, United States
                                    Paul Brookes, England
                                    Luke McNamara, England       
                                    Sajal Suneja, India   
                                    Ion Corcos, Greece/Australia                        
                                    Dwight Roth, United States    
                                    Les Epstein, United States
                                    Ngozi Olivia Osuoha, Nigeria           
                                    Eren Cehreli, Turkey (Youth Writer)
                                    Meg Smith, United States
                                    Ece Cehreli, Turkey (Youth Writer)
                                    Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Canada 
                                    Richard M. Nesta, United States                                           
                                    Fatma Gultepe, Turkey
                                   
Please welcome them to our community. We now have representatives from the following countries—Albania, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Canary Islands, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Keyna, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, U.A.E., United Kingdom, United States, Wales and Zimbabwe.

I hope we can celebrate the 400,000-page view in the near future.  That takes all of us.  Thank you to all of you that grace the pages of Whispers.  We are moving forward not only as a poetry journal but as community.  You have enriched my life.

Blessings and adieu,

Karen
Your Whispers’ Editor

Mirrors of our Life--By Michael Todd--United States

Mirrors of our Life (for Lainey)

What goes around comes around, negative phrase we often hear.
We forge the chains we wear in life. Is that meaning clear?
Through trials, tribulation, clutch the wing and a prayer,
to find, there is prodigious strength in sorrow and despair.

Some chains may bind as shackles, while others firmly ground.
Life lessons learned elucidate, or perhaps they might confound.
Reflections, or refractions, images in the mirrors of our life,
sacred or profane, may appear the same, when viewed in strife.

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/ 

Haiku--By Fatma Gultepe--Turkey

granddaughter
coloring a rainbow
april sky

first published Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu

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Summer moon
seeds for the next season
remaining melons

first published The Herald Tribune and The Asahi Haikuist Network Column

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henna-haired girl
no longer my student
a 14-year- old bride

first published Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu

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a sea breeze
children drawing sails
on the sand   

first published The Heron’s Nest

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happiness
a childhood snow sled
waiting for winter

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Fatma Gultepe born in Bursa, Turkey in 1947. She is a retired English teacher. From time to time she writes poetry, especially haiku. She is a mezzo soprano and is singing classical choral music.

The Colorado Mountains--By Richard M. Nesta--United States

The Colorado Mountains

I have felt the essence of God
most strongly
In the Colorado Mountains
In its mighty Forests
and its lazy, flowing streams
It is in the midst of such
Grand Nature
that I pray
I feel the winds
lightly
across my face
and I breathe in
the fragrances
that they carry
refreshing, cool and
soothing to the Soul
awaking me
to this joyous feeling
of solitude and a oneness
with all that is around me
I become a part of this

The writer, Richard M. Nesta, grew up in Massachusetts, just several miles from his heroes, Ralph Waldo Emerson & Henry David Thoreau. He visited there regularly and would just read their works on their land. He would never have believed that thousands of people would enjoy his work.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

She--By Partha Chatterjee--India

She

In her jocund mood;
leaning three steps
forward,
and then three steps
backward.
The sea dances
as a Santhal girl.
The waves are
a heartbeat dance 
with the flute of gale.
In her rage;
raising sharp claws,
the roaring sea
shakes off its wavy manes.
In her love;
forehead waves,
a flow of wrinkles
and drops of sweat,
glitters as mica in sand.

Partha Chatterjee lives in India with his family. Born in 1986 he graduated from Burdwan University. He loves music and poetry.

note from Inge Inge Wesdijk—Whispers’ Poetry Editor--

Santhal, are an *Adivasi* ethnic group, native to Nepal and some Indian states.
*Adivasi is the collective term for the indigenous peoples of mainland South Asia. Adivasi make up 8.6% of India's population, or 104 million people, according to the 2011 census.

Sullen Victory--By Ruth C. Rehberg--United States

Sullen Victory

These cold days press down
on me, on you;
relentless, endless, seeming

to have over-taken the world…

depleting it of sunlight,
scouring it with dull, rotting cold,
holding us down with iced- over
handcuffs, brandishing sullen
victory about our quiet
human tabernacles.

Yet, one day, the release will come…

By seeded faith that sprouts  
in a dark soul
and will not be put to death;
that incubates a small light that
has never gone out, not since Eden.

Hope flourishes finally,
when the harsh pangs
of brittle winter and small steps
of wobbling spring begins to clash.

Ruth C. Rehberg lives with her family in the hills of western Wisconsin, daily reveling in the bounty of beauty around her Garden Valley home. Some of her happiest moments involve walking the roads and woods, scooting on her petunia-pink moped, porch-sitting every minute possible, breathing in the joy of the twilight-golden hour, and reading until her eyes can’t stay open. Gratitude to God for the beauty of the earth is her life’s work.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Spring Child--By Inge Wesdijk (Daginne Aignend)--The Netherlands

Spring Child

It's like a little dance
Swaying, swinging at the rhythm
of a playful Spring breeze
The pansies move fluently while
their laughing faces greet the sun
The cat stretches, rolls on her back
and winks with one eye as a sign
of a silent, joined contentment
I wish I could freeze these moments
in time, the relaxed laziness, the gaiety
of blended colors and fragrances.
I know I can't influence nature's
movements, but I will always stay
a child of Springtime

Inge Wesdijk is a Dutch writer, poetess, and photographic artist who works under the pseudonym Daginne Aignend. She likes hard rock music and fantasy books. She is a vegetarian and spends a lot of time with her animals.

Service Dog with Batman Cape--By Ryan Quinn Flanagan--Canada

Service Dog with Batman Cape

He is proud of his dog
in a way he has never been
proud of himself.
You can see it in his face.
In sturdy humping shoulders
that have found a false assurance.
And his dog is a service dog.
It says so on a red sash across
its middle.
And his dog is wearing a Batman cape.
People stop to pet his friend every few feet.
And you can see it makes the man proud.
That tiny black tail slapping against the
side of his leg.

Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian-born author residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada with his wife and many bears that rifle through his garbage.  His work can be found both in print and online in such places as: Evergreen Review, The New York Quarterly, Word Riot, In Between Hangovers, Red Fez, and The Oklahoma Review.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Typhoon Season--By Gary Glauber--United States

Typhoon Season

Waves of neurasthenic wonder
crash against imagined shore;
frazzled edge of decade’s plunder
leaves me hollowed out & sore.
This is not the light of healing:
praying to the gods of sin
soon exposes bitter feelings
& the fickle mood I’m in.
So, I wander out toward danger
heeding not the mask of morning,
being a familiar stranger,
leading to small craft warning.
Lighthouse guides me back to easy,
churning knots of distant past:
lovesick, seasick, heart-based queasy,
red sky at dawn won’t always last.
Deliver me Neptune’s pardon,
still the sea with Triton’s shell,
soothe with thoughts of Adam’s garden,
back, before the whole world fell. 

Gary Glauber is a poet, fiction writer, and teacher.  His works have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations.  His two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press) and a chapbook Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press) are available through Amazon.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Special Feature Young Writer--By Ece Cehreli--Turkey

a beanstalk
climbing with Jack
to the fairy castle

a magic night
the fairies making
a haiku potion

a spring breeze
a unicorn flying
from cloud to cloud

St. Patrick's Day
the hungry dwarfs
found the colcannon

colorful garden
a child dreaming
about liberty

Ece Cehreli is an 11-year-old. She is a secondary school student at Lycée Charles de Gaulle, Turkey. She adores writing and reading poetry, especially haiku.  Ece had been published in various venues including, The Herald Tribune, Asahi Haikuist Network and brass bell.

Remembering--By Caryl Calsyn--United States

Remembering

Memory is a wellspring,
waiting, just waiting,
to be drawn upward.

The choice is mine alone.
I can retrieve a memory
sure to make me laugh,

or another that is sad
and the pain so real
that I dissolve in tears.

Some memories are so
troubling that I try hard
to keep them in the well.

Yet often the memories
are treasured keepsakes
and are all that I have left.

Caryl Calsyn is a retired Interior Designer who only began writing poetry about five years ago. About three years ago, she began submitting to publishers. Her first try was accepted, and she now has 124 that have been published. She is a board member for the county historical commission and the local museum.  She sings in a chorale and her church choir and loves family gatherings.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

An Ability That Shines Like Gold--By Ndaba Sibanda--Saudi Arabia

An Ability That Shines Like Gold

Thanks to a creative German doctor
who initiated a sports contest in 1948
for Second World War combatants
who had injuries to their backbones,

one of the largest global sports events
roared into life, and since then it takes place
every two years alongside the Olympic Games.

(The Paralympic Games is an event at which great athletes fly their national flags high as they exhibit their sublime skills at their best sport in spite of a common thread marked by a disability. When Paralympians compete in swimming and rowing events in the water, or on the track in wheelchair- racing and on blades, or in wheelchair basketball, and rugby on the court, or in skiing on mountain slopes or cycling in the velodrome -- what the spectators marvel at is pure world-class sportsmanship and individual ability!)

Ndaba Sibanda is a Zimbabwean-born writer. His poems, essays and short stories have been published in Africa and the USA. Ndaba currently lives and teaches in Saudi Arabia. Of his career, he says, "writing is my life, and my second wife".

A quest for garter snakes--By Meg Smith--United States

A quest for garter snakes

From a field guide,
to a dream --
they led me, and I
invoked them.
Tribe of bark,
and yellowed grass,
I know them.
All around are jump ropes
and jokes,
a splintered bleacher.
And we have only 15 minutes.
But, I will find them
I will find them in the yellowed grass,
the bleached sun,
the calm of the page,
and our dream.
The noise will fade,
and we will become as one.

Meg Smith is a poet, journalist, dancer and events producer living in Lowell, Mass.
Her poems appeared in many journals and anthologies. As a journalist, her coverage has been honored by the New England Newspaper And Press Association. She produces the Edgar Allan Poe Show, and published a second book of poetry Dear Deepest Ghost, available on Amazon.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

April Activity Feature--Acrostic Poems--Hosted By--Jack Horne--Whispers’ Activity Feature Editor

It was delightful to read all your acrostics, and to see where your imaginations led you. Many thanks to everyone who participated.
                                                                        Jack Horne
                                                                        Your Whispers’ Activity Feature Editor

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Primroses 

Promising warmer days and
removing her flattering green wraps,
invitations are sent out to bees and insects.
Morning visitors arrive early
refreshments await
of overnight rain delicately
served in her centre piece, then as
earthworms helpfully clear away
she settles for a siesta in the sun. 

Annie Jenkin, England 

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WORDS

W onders
O  f
R  ichly
D  eserved
S  ignificance

Pat Geyer, United States

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I Love You

It was you who saved me from the ennui.

Languishing in a sea’s decaying lull
Oblivious, I, to your arioso –
Verses that waltzed on a floral leitmotiv
Each syllable soaked in love.

You sang to me by the moons bay
Over the waves that crashed in tempo
Under the stars where we bid solitude adieu.

Feby Joseph, India

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Spring

Sweet scented blossom
Perfume fills the air
Rejuvenating the world with colour
Irises wave in the wind like purple flags
New life everywhere
Get out and enjoy the spring sunshine!

Jan Allison, Isle of Man 

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Swan

So beautifully swims the fleet!
Webbed feet cut the water as oar.
And wings raise to the sky as sail.
Necks sway as hood of snakes. 

Partha Chatterjee, India.

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Easter 

Easter is a very happy time of year
As some celebrate Jesus our dear
So many will be resurrected clear
This Son of God, died with cheer 
Every human is now void of fear
Remembering He coved our rear

Yancy Lee Dalton, United States

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Impossible

Impossible is the day
Meandering in indecision
Proving I know little
Of what constitutes
Social mores
Supposedly not difficult
In others' estimation
But I dither
Lost in too much thinking
Empty of positivity

Isha Wagner, New Zealand

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Image

I’m trapped upon a field of white
My tears invisible,
Anchored here by light
Ghostlike, intangible;
Escape comes with the night.

Nick Spargo, United Kingdom

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Questions

Questions are not answered
Until fully answered by yourself.
Everyone is always
Searching for
Truth, but
Indeed, by the words 
Of others
Never will your truth be 
Satisfied.

Linda Imbler, United States

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Angela Lee

Angela is my life
No better friend in the universe
Greatest Love of all
Every Day I thank God
Love of my life
Angela My Soul Mate
Love of my long life
Everything I ever desire
Everything I ever needed

Jake Aller, United States

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Circle

Continuum of love
In joining our hands
Reaching out to God
Concerns shared in faith
Living in the light
Eternal spring of hope

Karen O'Leary, United States

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Whispers

Whispers breezing through the kingdom
Heard and understood by the wise
Insightful are words of wisdom
Speaking, quietly, without lies
Perchance a truth to set one free
Enslaved by chained conformity
Rebel against the status-quo
Special message so few may know.

James Dean Chase, United States

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SPRING

Spring sunrise through pink clouds
Pastel purples streak through
Rays of orange and reds
Into a sky - light blue
New day dawns - flowers bloom
Grand, the Earth's, rainbow loom!

James Dean Chase, United States

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Poodle

Paw prints
On my heart
Old dog
Delivers
Love
Endlessly

Barbara Tate, United States

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Touch 

Turning a blind eye was not the solution to
Overcome the drawbacks which life bestows
Upon its unwary innocent victims.
Creative communicative touch gave
Hope to the grateful followers of Braille.

Paul Callus, Malta

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Curiosity

C onfident little explorer
U sing her talent to sneak
R apidly and silently
I n her dominion
O f her eyes-wide-open
S acred territory
I ntolerant to all, who are
T he uninvited ones
Y es, that's my darling cat

Inge Wesdijk, The Netherlands

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Tapestry

The curtains on the window
Are interwoven,
Part of it is knitted.
Endless hours were spent
Sewing on the fringe.
Time has yellowed the colors,
Reminding me we are all
Yearning to connect.

Mary Bone, United States

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Whispers

When night time appears
Hope is nearby-
It overcomes my fears.
Shadows on the wall,
Permeate my mind.
Eerie sounds are just creaks,
Reverberating the walls
Silence prevails.

Mary Bone, United States

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Encore

Every time I’m on the stage,
Numbness overcomes me.
Catcalls in the back,
Or loud noises
Render me-
Enveloped and speechless.

Mary Bone, United States

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Thunder

The light fades and
Hundreds of birds seeking shelter
Under leaves and branches
Nature seems frozen in time
Dark and leaden clouds send lightning from far
Endless rain lets
Rivers rise and flood

Gert Knop, Germany

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Compassion

Considering the pain
Others may endure
My mind and heart cannot again
Pretend it doesn’t matter.
Against the wrong 
Standing strong
Speaking for the other
I offer self - I’ll not condone
 One attack against another.
 No one stands alone.

 Debbie Felio, United States

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Sanctuary

Somewhere safe
Accepting of all
None turned away
Care is the call
Theology is love
Understanding the fear
All could be lost
Regardless how dear.
Your brother, your sister, your neighbors are here.

Debbie Felio, United States

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Butterfly

Better to be a butterfly
Under a blue sky
Than to be a mole
That lives underground
Eating grubs and worms
Rather than luscious pollen 
Favored by hummingbirds
Loved by butterflies
Yummy!  Yummy!

Elizabeth Howard, United States

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Spring Snow

Silent
Prayers
Ring
Inspire
New
Growth

Still
Nights
Of
White

Kelley White, United States

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Luscious 

Love;
Unending.
Scintillating;
Crystalline;
Intrepid.
Overflows;
Unfeigned,
Subjugates.


Dr. Upma A. Sharma, India

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Sumitra

Saying that invisible and unseen is God,
Ultra divine powers I saw in my mother's lap,
Mannequins could turn alive with her one touch,
Inspiring and motivating is her immense love,
Tolerance and patience is she embellished with,
Reminisce the times she nurtured me in affection,
Admire His blessings for me on this earth !!

*Sumitra is my loving mother's first name, God bless her. 

Dr. Upma A. Sharma, India

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Tulips

Tulips on an April morning . . .
Unrivaled display of spring blooms
Little turbans topping tall stems
In the park, a sight to behold
People pausing in the moment
Scent mingling with the morning air.

Mary Gunn, Ireland

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Betrayal

By sole reference to self
Every senseless sense in my soul
Tells me to surrender them
Relocate them
Aid them out of this land
Years of their polite possessions
And loyal longings, by self
Love, I dispatch them.

Denis Barasa, Kenya

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