Featuring the work of nine poets "MORNING'S QUIET RETURN" The night, a hand long folded in prayer, loosens its fingers, lets go of the dark. What remains is the hush before becoming, the sky unfastening its veils of ink. A bird, astonished, lifts its song - not knowing if it mourns or welcomes. Somewhere, light gathers in slow procession, hesitating at the threshold of the earth. You are not here, yet the air is filled with you, your name written in the breath of the wind. I place my hands upon the fading night, feeling its weight, its quiet surrender. Nothing leaves without a trace of longing - even the stars have softened in farewell. What is morning but the body of absence, rising with the certainty of return? Light unspools in threads of gold and dust, weaving through the branches, the fields, my hands. And I, still part of the vanishing dark, stand within the dawn, listening for you. © CONCETTA PIPIA US "HAUNTING NIGHT OF A DREAMY DAWN" Graceful and delicate rays from fainting shade touched my dainty emotion with a soft kiss on my smile! Impassioned moments came! Day illuminated due to your hug, candle of your presence shining bright Wax will shed its tears down, sorrowfully, until we light next week! Even the glow became invisible. Desperately robbing each other's hearts With lots of expectations and dreams! Let's not dissolve the precious hours by our past grievances and mistakes Only our feelings will lustre the day. Luminosity for each other's emotions isn't satisfied as gloomy air is entering! Darkness has come with a sharp edge to cut our meet into pieces, cruelly! Heart bleeds painfully as you walk away! © SONAL RAO India "SANDUNES" Sand dunes blown by the wind Time passes through the eye of the thread Scorching heat keeps burning on my head Heaps of wounded scores of the undead Sand dunes, sand dunes kisses the dawn In the middleland where I have grown Early prayer echoes every morn Until it's dusk, it's always shown Sand dunes, sand dunes painted with red Tons of bombs rained over my head Sand dunes, sand dunes hurry up There's a tempest brewing in my teacup Drenched by the blood of those who care Giving up is the last thing I can't dare Sand dunes, sand dunes where is your song Buried in desert sands all day long Is death where should I belong? Oh, sand dunes funneled in the bong. FLOYD GALE CABUS Philippines "THE SULKING EMBERS OF LOVE" The jealous sun is at its game again Stealing the night, and leaving the lovebirds Exposed to the vagaries of the dawn, Winking with vicarious pleasure in the eastern sky. The riverbank is slowly flooded with people The waters, which sparkled like silver flakes under the moon, Has taken on a golden hue And the moist sand, held onto the feet of the young lovers. Fear made her feet unsteady, and she nearly dragged herself On the dew drenched grass, wetting her dyed-red feet. She didn't have time to bid a proper goodbye to her beau, And looked back, furtively, at his receding silhouette in the morning haze. The spell has splintered, she covers her face, and speeds up her stride The anklet bells jingle in sympathy, as if empathizing with her fate. The curious gaze of people, she ignores in haste. The night has melted, but the embers in her heart are still sulking. © KALUCHARAN SAHU India ** "HEALING SLEEP" I'm sailing, floating in delta waves Drifting off to a surreal place The midnight hours seduce and paves The way to where my memory plays Games with my illusions while awake My weary soul bathes in a healing sleep Wallowing in a restorative cruise Tightly holding on to night's embrace Venus glowers as aurora sneaks Bering an orchestra of jazzy beats My snug niche delightfully shatters Under the birds' cheerful chatters Whirlpools create a chasm on my cheeks Hearing the rustling leaves' merry gossips A fire ignites deep within my heart My recharged spirit it kicks start It's now easy to say goodbye To restful night, and hail the sunrise As blossoms of hope colour the skies. © MYRTLE REYES EVE TEJADA Philippines My wanderlust mind explores dark skies On a vesper walk gazing up high Feeling the zephyr of earth's dew My nocturnal being widely aware To enjoy the serenity to compare Whilst still in its quiet slumber Bemused the late nights wonder Soon dawn arrives near the hills A light glow peeps behind a mill Not yet seeking the warmth of daylight Its beauty outshines only during twilight I bade adieu to the dawn at night As the universe welcomes morning light Pigeons cooing loudly as the sun rise Birds, fowl and creatures awaken with cries. © GLORIA MAGALLANES-LOEB US "AUBADE TO MONA LISA" The dawn,
A fracture on the wall The canvas, cracked and old, Portray a chipped Mona Lisa Of weathered faith, and beauty's slow decline. Her gaze, once bright, Now softly seems to shine, A fading light that mirrors in My heart The gentle sorrow, Of the impending part Of slumber's peace. The colors softly shift, From shadowed grey to gold, A sunbeam's gift That spills across the canvas, The painted face, a hint of afterglow And as the light climbs higher, I arise, To greet the day, reflected in her eyes. © SHEILA ANN PACKIRNATHAN Malaysia "I'LL BE BACK SOON!" The night gave us so much adrenaline And then, it sneaked out of the sight Like a thief that gets out quickly from a house Being afraid to be caught in the act. The dawn came, like a cold shower that wakes up Shaking up all the loving agony of our bodies. Duty calls, a phone call is echoing in the bedroom A message text for a taxi, at such a rush hour I'll be back soon, keep our love between the sheets! © BOGDANA GAGEANU Romania "SUNRISE" Every day, without fail, the sun rises It shines its intangible rays, like fingers Caressing your skin, body and limbs. Everyone of them ends in special memories, As each day brings in new events. Sometimes, those are sad and lonely, Others are depressing and gravely Affect your humor and oddities. They can take you into a dark abyss Of despair, and return with cheers, Inspire you to believe in one more sunrise, That lifts you above the murky fogs, Into clouds, of such pristine whites That their glare overpowers, While your fogged windows, from your breaths Show your anticipation forwards To one more unbelievable sunrise, That becomes your muse for life's Unending wonder, transience and colors. Rainbows of which come out after the rains, Reminding those bogged down to rise Rise to the challenge of beauty and lived lives. © MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB Canada