By Fatimah Akanbi I waved from afarLike every other dayAnd you tipped a hat to meAs to all other strangersBut I never knewI'd wake up to find youBidding the castle goodbye Saying adventure awaited outsideYou turned a new chapterAs you set sail on the seaWhile I'll forever beThat open book you'll never readBut I'll wave … Continue reading Your Lady from Afar
mercurial reverie
By Leonardo Chung in the blackened abyss i hear a voice: a harlequined peacock a fiery blaze of sequinsin echoes of notes like stars an orchestra ofsupernovas a sculptor of soundscapesa singer of requiems of rhapsodies now hold on to that cosmic tie and ignite the tail of that chameleon let’s soar on wings of … Continue reading mercurial reverie
Bearing South-West
By Paul Tristram Down through the edge of Devon,over the Tamar River…to needle the moorland mists,where you are nevermore than 16 miles from the Coast.You can feel Life’s Pace change as you pass by The Jamaica Inn… and head onwards to the Heart.I’ve roved these railways,and sped along the A30 road,nigh-on a quarter of a … Continue reading Bearing South-West
Joy
By Hossein Hakim Joy is like a kind bird, takes me to places I likenear a river with trout, a forest with animals ora beautiful waterfallJoy makes me happy that I am alive, can seethe dance of butterfliesjoy can take me to the places nearby or to thesky near the cloudsJoy enables me to love, … Continue reading Joy
A Dead March for a Funeral
By Mike DC Current The procession came through todayIt’s black and white and red all overThey said you looked amazingBut I just couldn’t lookNo, I couldn’t lookMe all in black, you all in whiteFeel as lucky as a two-leaf cloverAnd the clouds are telling meI should have stayed in bedBut my bed is dreadLaid down, … Continue reading A Dead March for a Funeral
river red gums
By James Aitchison grey sentinelsrising from forgotten creek bedsspreading lovetwisted rootstussling the rockholding storiesremembering old stormspraying water will againthis way come James Aitchison is an Australian author and poet, whose work has appeared in Australian Poetry, Quadrant, Aesthetica Review (UK), Poetry for Mental Health (UK), Stray Branch, Literary Yard, Black Poppy Review, and many more. … Continue reading river red gums
A Rhyme about Summertime
By Alex Andy Phuong Comparing a fair maidenTo a glorious summer dayCan complement a complimentIn a very beautiful way,And offering praiseAnd admiration Can definitely raiseAnd improveWhile inspiringOthers to move,And while living underneath A celestial sphere,There could be timeTo make the mostOut of summertime,And dare to do so much moreThan simply compare,And demonstrate the willingness To … Continue reading A Rhyme about Summertime
Smarts
By John Sierpinski You had the smarts to finishall your homework duringstudy hall in high schoolmuch to your sister’s chagrin.(she had to bring her work home)Later, you aced drafting inthe community collegealthough you wanted to workwith your hands, tools, figure things out. You becamea cable guy technician untilthey thought you were havinga stroke, were diagnosed … Continue reading Smarts
5 a.m.
By Toko Hata The distant houses under the ice-blue skythe wisp of dawn fizzed and eroded until the sky, the townscapewas all oneI pressed the palmonto the radiatorthe tips crackledThe world on the other sideof the line was awakebut my town dreamt, still. Toko Hata is a university student in London. She is currently studying English … Continue reading 5 a.m.
No Words
By Olumide Holloway (King Olulu) Lost,Not in a wilderness,Perhaps within elements.Danger lurkingyet safety guaranteed.Cliff climbing,Harness unused,Ropes un-needed,Eyelids shutYet stumbling not.Not touching,Yet feeling.Not saying,Yet heard.Not doing,Yet achieving.Floating,No strings,No limits,No barrier.Lightweight,Yet un-carry-able.So very heavy,Yet lighting comes second,makes the word “swift” incomplete.Missing parts,Yet whole,Complete;Needing and needed,making oxygen fight for attention.Words, not enough,but heartbeats are bursting eardrums.Dreams,Living,Breathing,Reality, now scripted.You … Continue reading No Words
Academy of the Heart And Mind 