Here we feature the work of two very talented poets who participated in a Word of the Week (Lief) Sestina challenge we offered on our Facebook Group in November and whom we chose as "Best Entries".

A Sestina is a 39-lined poem with a repetition of 'end-words' in 6 stanzas and an Envoi at closing. The Envoi must include remaining 3-end words in the poem (with 3 recurring words) appearing in the final 3 lines. Historically, Sestinas were originally written in iambic pentameter, but in modern times, lines are written in any length, with writers choosing to write in rhyme. We left this choice up to the writers, whether they wanted to rhyme their poetry or not. "THE AUTHOR'S MIND" Prepare to travel into the realms of these fantasies,
A seemingly handed light years away to the galaxies.
The worlds create in an author's mind now flawlessly written,
So vividly colored, splendidly enacted for men to be enlightened. As he searched in lief for the words he needed to describe,
The exact scenes and to publish it as a book when the time is ripe.

Every chapter taking its turns and plots they turn ripe,
Product of his creativity in divulging into such unique fantasies.
Taking years even it is creation, to perfectly describe,
That may take the readers to his different worlds or galaxies.
Thrilled as they are, bringing the element of surprise to enlighten,
The book housing a part of his mind, his masterpiece was well-written.

Words woven as a work of art, detailed and captivatingly written,
Every moment of the story sparking twists that ripen.
An addiction it becomes, more of being enlightened,
And enslaved you become in the author's worlds or fantasies.
And the moment you realize the beauty of it like the different galaxies,
Made you speechless, such world is difficult to describe.

A fairyland it seems if you were to describe,
Asking how the author had it magnificently written?
To make such travel possible to his own mind of explosive galaxies,
Had he known to enslave the world when the story is ready and ripe?
As you travel once more to the author's bizarre fantasies,
You become puzzled, thrilled, and more of being enlightened.

A game of thrones that spun its webs across the world it enlightened,
Houses of warring families to allies and trickery to describe.
Still a story that based itself in either of man's histories or fantasies,
That seemed to be better than real history and more convincingly written.
Making every watcher or reader expecting twists to make the plots ripe,
As they travel from one world to another to new forms of galaxies.

Reaching the story's end and to the last galaxies,
Finally closing in to the end of being enlightened.
But cliffhangers birthing to more series in time to be ripe,
As every fan restlessly waited, their excitement is difficult to describe.
Expecting the author to come up with beautiful ideas to be written,
To take them once again to his vivid worlds of intertwined fantasies.

His untamable galaxies that are undeniably not easy to describe,
To again enlighten the world with his masterpiece so artfully - written.
To take his fans to his fantasies again when the time is ripe.

© Rhoanne Lampacan Boado Philippines "ASSURED" Just seeing tractor smoke on tulip field
My dreams of century old home assured
I would as lief stay here forever free
In colors, days will flit on wings of joy
Of butterflies, of bees, of birds and kids
A destiny of space, of soil and sky.

In comfort verily I paint the sky
In rhyme so well does speak the furrowed field
From far and fair abode the baas of kids
My neighbors homestead also stands assured
So even if the weather's cross, it's joy
To live here cold in winter yet so free.

By spring before the earth is truly free
Of snow the hues of golden morning sky
Awakens crocus blooms to burst in joy
A miracle for open hearts afield
Refracting thousand rays of hope, assured
To make farm life so good for any kids.

Exuberance in every step of kids
Luxuriance aburst in buds so free
The continuance life so well assured
The dance of starlings fills the twilight sky
Poetic summer all on fragrant field
Hydrangeas, hollyhocks in rainbow's joy.

When green becomes so bright with autumn's joy
The promised fleece of warmth has grown on kids
A waft of cooler zephyr over field
With whispered febrile. note, migration's free
A feather falls for me from up the sky
A gift to hold, their coming back assured.

Their welcome I sing glad for love's assured
As begins again one more year of joy
Expectantly I scour the changing sky
And soon the kids have grown to have own kids
Great winters spell in songs good life is free
Sea waves from far are even heard afield.

Assured through faith and grace for men and kids
The cycle joy creates around so free
So does the sky at ease above our field.

© Loreta C. Bande
Philippines