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

-----

henna-haired girl

no longer my student

a 14-year- old bride

first published Failed Haiku, A Journal of English Senryu

-----

a sea breeze

children drawing sails

on the sand   

first published The Heron’s Nest

-----

happiness

a childhood snow sled

waiting for winter

-----

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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