THE JOURNEY OF WORDS

"RESTLESS SOUL"

Resonance of the spirit within

Beyond bourne destiny profound

Inner wain of soul such adage

Resound ascertain in abeyance

Journey commence persistence

Confound, abound as equitant

Dearth may vibrate, may swain

Yet, like restless soul astound

As melody voyage after image

Horizon alight in resemblance

Sounds may rife in difference

Barren passage within reverant

Restless soul, world as appertain

Fallen dreams thou in surround

Dimness abound thine envisage

Sphere of animation utterance

Yearn descend thine existence

Restless soul, destiny corposant.

© JOEL ABERNASOR Philippines

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"SIN OF WAR"

I have no home for me

Driven away by tyranny

A stranger in my own land

Buried deeper in the wain of sand

Decades of living in prison

Hated for no other reason

Consumed by anger like a poison

The world has become silent in unison

Bombs came relentlessly raining

Innocent children, women, and old

Nobody is for everyone to get hold

I run, I scream, I hide

War is so rife for a ride

Along the piles of rubble and dust

Rummage for supplies so dearth and scarce

But among the scorned, I rise

Stop the fear and don't be nice

No more silence in the night and day

Resilience, defiance, resistance;

The key

You cut the pillars just for today

We will spread like mushrooms day by day

Son, when the time comes, I will die alone

Bourne everything in the tablets of your bone

We will be free!

Someday the blood that has been poured

A swain will sprout like a new day that unfolds

The sound of the guns will be silenced

And bombs will be flushed and get drenched

I am going to sit on a couch

Broken arms, bleeding profusely I slouch

In my last breath, I will laugh

I will throw a stick in my hand versus their tanks

Dignified, resisted, and tough.

© FLOYD GALE CABUS

Philippines

---

"THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS"

Passing through the rugged high

mountains of Tanzania

I could only hold my breath and gasp

Looking down from the edge of

the narrow roads

Holding my pen for a moment in sheer shock

I watched astonishingly down the deep abyss

And through my journey of remarkable words

I paused to wonder at the beauty of

my verses

For here I was enchanted at the end of

my bourne

As I sat on this very slow going wain

Unable to jot my words any further

As the dearth of the English grammar

words hit me hard

And as I moved on the unbelievable

ravine nestled on the next curve of the road

A swain over a half-naked lass

having a romantic affair,

I swayed my torch away from this

unholy sight

And made my wain move harder down

the mountain road

And I could now no longer hold my pen

any more

As I settled aside on the narrow rough road

Holding the torch in one hand

while the other held the pen

My wandering thoughts were all jotted down

and all the essentials seen, put to rest

on verses

With all that summed the rife

activities murmured about

reporting on the local news by a final journey of

truthful words, a captivating journey

through the mountains of Tanzania.

© SHABBIRHUSEIN K. JAMNAGERWALLA

Tanzania

---

"THE WAYFARER"

Here I am, about to head this way

To where the path is untrodden

Alone, heading toward a realm of choices

Of a gripping intent to unearth the enigma

Rife with the onset of life's occurrences

Of a bewildering crossroad

Perplex, like the mysticism of riddle.

Here I am, embroiled in a dizzying ripple

Grappling for the bourne to invigorate and pacify

The frantic motion of a merry-go-round

With a wain of burdens to slow down

Disoriented, lost, entangled in a silky web of emotions

The spirited mindset of a swain

Vehement in his resolve to cross

The labyrinth of confusion and uncertainties

The twists and turns of this journey.

I am a traveler, traversing across the pitfalls

and abysses

Over plateaus, valleys and deserts

Amidst a dearth of purpose and reasons

My feet are pained and calloused

By this journey's wear and tear

It's still a long, winding trek, far and away

Until I finally reach my rainbow's end.

© GUS PEREZ AMIO

Philippines

---

"WHEN THE STARS ARE BOURNE OF DEARTH"

I will ride on this wain - wailing in my veins;

I'll fly to the stars, hushing

laybrinthine Mars.

I'll stay by my swain: joyful sorrow,

steeped in pain -

When the stars are bourne of dearth.

I will pull death from dearth -

dying in disdain;

I'll hum howling hymns to hostile,

gentle rife.

I will echo eerie embrace -

etching my dark wain -

When the stars are

bourne of dearth.

I will sigh in this thigh of crocodile tears - extra mile;

I'll laugh in the lush, loquacious lyrics -

a frowning smile.

I will fain feelings fully - a fathom,

furtive force -

When the stars, when the stars are

bourne of dearth.

© EMMANUEL CHIMEZIE Nigeria

---

"PATHWAYS THROUGH SILENCE"

Along the ancient road where thoughts are rife,

I wander lost, a swain who seeks his truth,

as memories of love reclaim their youth,

and sorrow grips the fragile edge of life.

A weary wain rolls on through paths uncharted,

its wooden wheels groan under time's great dearth,

while silence binds the vast and distant earth,

and every hope feels cold, dim - hearted, parted.

Yet somewhere far, a brighter light is bourne,

a glimmer through the fog where dreams ascend,

where language blooms, unbound by loss or scorn.

I journey forward, drawn to find the end,

where words like stars break free from night's forlorn,

and each step taken lets the darkness bend

© CONCETTA PIPIA

U.S.

---

"WHEN WILL I LEARN TO SAY NO"

The swain in me waits for the dawn to break

To rise from this rife darkness

muscles do not relax

bones do not bend

the earth beneath my feet, shakes.

I wet the hands with flood of eyes

to wipe the fog from the old mirror

chain of customs chokes my chest.

the world to me is a box of lies.

Longing for the day I can say no

and dust the burden off my head

Dearth of emotions cast a spell

all is dark wain, I have no bourne to go.

© RAFIYA SAYEED

Jammu/Kashmir, India

---

"MY BOURNE"

Despite the death of supporters,

I take on every opportunity

To reach my long-term bourne.

I load the lessons I learn along the way

Into my horse drawn wain,

Strengthening my mind with wisdom.

Writing into the language of the soul

Can be hard most of the time,

But rewarding to the souls seeking

love's wings,

To those seeking solace to heal their broken heart

To those struggling to break free from fear's chains,

To the travelers needing guidance as to which

way to take

To reach their destination or achieve their own goals.

every little success fills my heart with joy

Like the maiden's kiss does to the swain

despite the many obstacles I have overcome,

I have to admit that every step I make

Gets me closer to reaching my bourne,

Now that I found out that there are souls out there

Considering my work to be a beacon of light

Helping to dispel darkness little by little

From a world where envy and hate seem to be rife.

© GHEORGHE LAURA

Romania

---

"UNTITLED"

Their sweet love has blossomed

Rife with love and care

Bourne into eternity

No dearth or lack of flair

The young swain found his rose

Wain hitched to the stars

True love, its destination

The universe composed.

© TONY CARTY

Ireland

---

"WORD'S BOURNE"

The journey taken with each letter,

Syllable, utterance, string of words,

Sentences, questions, better

Than any book or movie bringing

A scene, rife with action,

Tone, expression, wonders,

Stain the bourne with a soup,

an affliction of the swain's love

as he conquers.

His love's heart is an expressive word

Melting a heart or breaking it.

Enemies having 'words' lead to a flood

Of hate transcends the bit

Of love, empathy, compassion

Belonging in hearts carried in wain

Transporting over adulation

Imposed in forced social media

that'll rain.

Down subjugation in words, a dearth

of confusion

Decrying the need for love, laughter,

Cheer, and compulsion to integrate

As you stay true to your power

Words used carefully or they hurt

Artfully in ways that leave behind trauma

That you wish to avoid, as you flirt

With how you and the other are impacted.

© MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB

Canada

---

"JOURNEY OF WORDS"

When will my mind's hullabaloo come to a halt?

The creaking sound of a wain Journeying train of thoughts

Traversing all terrain quagmired in disharmony

A path littered with acute shards of dearth

Daily cravings for oyster sauce

Lingering pale shadows of joy

Your silhouette cameo

On the city's muted roaring silence.

A script written to set free,

From the fetters of sombre state.

When to sit still?

To distill essence of existential void,

The deep ontological question,

As entropic forces are rife at work.

The pilgrim's wayfarers,

Unruffle the peacock's feathers

A posture of pride, prejudice.

The swain in cosmic connection,

Tickles the inner man to love.

The universe suffers more in

attachment

Breaking free from attachment,

the ultimate bourne of faith.

A deep-flow from within,

Saturating, spiraling, overflowing

Benign paradox of polarity,

and tonic-gusto mindset

The aeonic presence to enlighten,

the dark side of the moon

Pervading stillness, in sounds of

leaking silence.

© DAVID MAZONDA

Zimbabwe

---

"THE LONE WANDERER"

With intense wanderlust

I live like a gypsy

Sometimes I am sobre

At times I am tipsy

I started my journey

In quest of unknown bourne

A passage rife with woes

Has made me so forlorn

I need a companion

A swain to be precise,

To ease my uphill trek

In search of paradise

It's bliss to walk as twain

Holding each other's hands

Passing through hills and vales

Enjoying sun and sands

But I'm a lonely lass

There's a dearth of passion

In me for I have lost

A sense of elation

No charm remained sans you

In travel, on each turn

I had contemplated,

Why should I not return?

My wain is full of goods

Needed for mind and soul

They'll help me to achieve

My predominant goal.

© DR. SUDHA DIXIT

India