(Daily Dipolog Glimpses) Written by ROSEMARIE MIRANDA With magic trumpets they stand in attention Angels of Christmas wait for instruction On their rightful places and destination Magic Christmas lights excited to blink For passers-by to stare, admire without a wink. How they wish for happy, normal times When children frolic flashing smiles. The season is not complete without angels And the merry tinkling of church bells. May this Christmas bring cheer to our hearts. Photo taken by Rosemarie Miranda

We wish everyone here at ILA Magazine, a safe and Merry Christmas.

Written by Leah Dancel The glory of the morning mist Looks dainty in the east, Morphing into ethereal glow; Its delightful sight meets my eyes: The vision of God's beauty as seen in the sky. The cornfield is wet with dewdrops Some nestling on every leaf hat laughs For each sweet refreshing reverie How happy am I to greet this new day! Nearby, I heard the skywards singing. Belting a melancholic song that rings in the air. Their plumage are in molting spree Into a melange of variant colors. Up into the sky they fly, Brushing a palette shade of pastel blue. Soon the sun slowly rises As gently it creeps into the light. Beneath the veil of purplish blue halo, Softly it spreads the ethos of Nature's glow.

Written by Sher Chandley The Arms of Shadow in the blanket of deep night I look upon a sickly moon glimmering in a misty sky shedding embers of scanty light. Sleep is out of reach in a night time daydream I run free into the forest into the twilight under the trees squat down in a deep reverie Constant with the silence exuding proud freedom offered by my core I am insensible to all pain that is happening to me a feeling of light like levitation such as occurs in dreams. My soul sheds its weight in melody and rhythm of a purer, sunnier life I am elevated and impelled by the permanent, the infinite into the absolute timeless in the cold hour before dawn comes salty disturbances like burning gusts of wind cutting a path in my quietude like a falling, winding stream raging in a torrent downhill I am still awake when day leaps into the sky the red rim of the sun rises over shoulders of dark land colors of waking earth returns as the shadows of my night melt my wonder drips to warm, comfortable beds having a hot, tasty meal by the cheeks of a red fire while the wind howls outside the rain twirling upon the roof. There is a whirring in my mind as my wonder leaks and shifts to conscience thoughts on the poor and sickly the cold and hungry biting fingers in the bitter blue No sooner I try to close my eyes my mind and body reels forcing me to open them again toss, turn, sit up and lie down the lightening dark dazzles me into a dead heavy like lead in an instant, a dread lightness I cannot walk, I float drift like a gossamer the ground is a cloud, the air a current, like a river carrying me to and fro transported on the breeze twixt a castle of rude plenty and sombre, meagre hut My eyes are wide open to the pain of poverty I know its unnecessary my eyes are open I am wide awake It's raining blood I am blown away, away on cloud carried by the wind into the reaching long arms of a travesty of shadow.

Written by ADELISA LISA ATANASOVSKA A cold wind blows from the north the cold shots like a revolver Guards around the frozen heart home, of the red bud... He hid the roads with ice which leads to those areas and no one knew it what is hidden in the heart. Time hid the secret while the bud waited for help. Destiny intervened she gives to the south wind, the evidence solid from south to north he moved to fight the battle ensued by the will of God... Two titans collided, many wounds were bleeding, the earth and the heavens trembled while the fire of rage blazed. Destiny was just waiting for that she melted the ice with fire. The path leading to the heart appeared the sun of love warms all, with the rays of freedom. Open the bud of its own petals. It became a rose, with the most beautiful color. The flower of love in the heart blooms again to love, the most sacred duty in life.

Written by Elaine Yanni Fink Eternal blaze from heavens pyre, Suttee of brilliance. Reflections of heavens desire, Never ending warmth Lighting the heavens above. The stars sparkle incandescent The moon's silvery gleaming The Sun's luminous splendor shines smoldering with grace. Angels coruscate beacons cascading light and love. An ardent tribute of wondrous light... God's blessings flows fortuitous upon this auspicious Earthly expanse. Fire blazing radiantly, Divine sanctions flow freely from above. Prismacolor Premiere Pencils Drawing by Elaine Yanni Fink

Written by Mohammed Hamim Depression comes forth from my mind My heart broken, I became blind No access to hide my agony and find A beautiful heart to embellish my mind. No pathway, refuge and opportunity To eradicate my anguish and anxiety To diminish my sentiments and his atrocity To be a brawny partnership again with full fidelity. The world became atrociously bitter Everything seems more faker Every star commenced to glitter My heart still wants to be better. Every aspect of my body wants to be in appreciation Every footprint wanting to be utilized in satisfaction Every breath wanting to be inhaled in right situation Everything has been terminated, shattered by depression.

Written by Dr. Gita Mohanty Map in your eyes and dust on my face Long miles I measured with my feet, but I'm not here to race, Competing with me, I'm at my pace, With every bit of evolution, I'm looking for my best If you are passing by, You are allowed to put your hand on my shoulder. I'm not reluctant for a friendly gesture I may lag behind, or I may run ahead of time, If anytime you need a hand, that would be my prime, As I have no fear of competition, So I don't mind, I"m ahead or behind, Anyway, I know it's circle, Where there is no beginning nor is there an ending. In my journey, I'm not bothered about anything. Photograph of Dr. Gita Mohanty

Written by Dimple Lobo Corcino Opina You were leaving along with your feelings, Somehow I understand but it's still hurting. I don't want to hear what you say, for it pains me more What's the use of knowing the reason when love is gone? I'm lost in the shadows of our dreams, Hardly hit by its shattered broken pieces, In a time of deafening silence, I poured my tears, Gulping the scream of pain in my quivering voices. I am now the midnight of forgotten memories, Whose life shattered into broken pieces, Where laughter is so fancy and expensive to taste, Where flowing tears are just an ordinary scene of my lonely place. If I hide my scars in the reflections of the mirror, For I want my tears appreciates my broken smile.

Written by Steven Fortune Your very walk is an imprisoned tango awaiting my advancing pardon Your motion is a crimson cotton candy waft shaming sun-defined clouds Your burgundy-enwrapped calves are not a magnet to the glaring of an idle or a humble looker There are eyes and then there are imaginations saddled with insinuations Your anatomy is a majestic elevator lifting me to heated heights Up I go from lower body to bewitching bosom Every pore connecting my pulsating plane of skin erupts in little flushes of unlocked sweat as your presence singes all surroundings into charred irrelevance Advances overlap like tectonic plates signalling a meeting of abrasive rhythms as my royal flushed hand is shown. © 2021

Written by Sarala Balachandran When I see you My heart sings of joy A joy which cannot be explained I want to play my old guitar Bringing alive, old feelings Rhythmically I will dance With the thought of you And the pink rose you gifted me As you watched me play in silence But your eyes were full of feelings I could see And you held me close We both danced We were stopping the dance We said just one more time One more chance One more hour of beautiful love How well the time passed It was dawn again Our feet ached dancing But it was a lovely feeling Of being together The whole night and more It was a lifetime enjoyment For both of us

You escorted me as the road led As a traveler I just explored the endowment Of your country bestowed Upon by a sheer dream I wondered to hear your pamper To not travel twice In your small but wonderful country When I whiffed the fragrance of lavender Hard for me was to bid farewell I embarked on journey Back to where I started with an obscure mark As I travelled back through your pamper The fragrance of lavender engraved me With the recurrence of your country I should take a one way air ticket, the mind said And, garner a heart of lavender With a sheer permission I could drown in your blessed country And find a clarity behind your pamper. © Hum Ale Photography above taken by Poet Hum Ale