BONSAI'a journal of haiku & other small poems'

Edited by:

Published by:

Journal Cover & Layout:

© 2018 Bonsai Journal. All rights revert to the respective author & artist accroding to terms in the publication agreement. No work featured in this issue may be copied, sold or distributed else where without permission. For all kinds of inquiry, feel free to mail at: Hellottamagazine@gmail.com

Gaelle Marcel & Shaan

The 13 Alphabet - Magazine

Shanaya Chowdhury & Shaan

www.the13alphabet.wordpress.com

Hello everyone,Greetings from ''The 13 Alphabet- Magazine'' and first let us thanks to all of you for your thundering response on our spring issue. It was our first attempt and your response encouraged us to take some extra efforts for 1st issue of "Bonsai".

As you all know what is Bonsai and our work is also same like bonsai. We also trying to bring huge and beautiful world of haiku poetry under our sky with your precious help, it's an honor to publish your poems through our journal.

Because of your contribution we've managed to come long way and with the help of yours we'll walk miles. The beautiful journey has just begun and we're sailing, trying to get as many as pearls we can get from your sea of poetry.

Thank you again. It isn't just a word but our all feelings are quenched in this word for your love & support. Our door is always open for your comment or any kind of suggestion. Feel free to be in touch with us. So, See you next time...

- Shanaya Chowdhury, Veer Kulkarni & Shaan (Barishal, Bangladesh)

Editor's Note

Haiku & Senryu

01 Christina Chin02 Ayaskanta Mohapatra03 Winston Plowes04 Pat Geyer05 Steve McG06 Sally Clark07 Mallory Rowe08 Angiola Inglese09 Eve Lyons10 Kate Alsbury11 Lucy Whitehead12 Slobodan Pupovac13 Joan McNerney14 Jane Blanchard15 Lisa Stice16 J. Farina17 D.V.Rozic18 Ben Grafström19 Eileen Sateriale20 Shayla Hawkins21 Ranjana kashyap22 Blessed Ayeyame

TABLE OF CONTENTS

23 Greg Sellers24 Julie Gomez25 Arik Benedek-Chaviv26 Katy Huth Jones27 Rehn Kovacic28 David J Kelly29 Peter Adair30 Somayajulu Musunuri31 Julie de Belle32 Goran Gatalica33 Lucia Cardillo 34 Ambre Burt35 Florin Golban36 Helen May Williams37 Linda M. Crate38 Michael Walker39 Christopher Stolle40 Sravani Singampalli41 Jake Cosmos Aller42 Joe Woodhouse43 Zvonimir Penovic44 Margherita Petriccione

(i)

45 Molly Murray46 Amanda R. Woomer47 JB Mulligan48 Bishnu Charan Parida49 Sujata Paul50 Ashutosh Meher51 Małgorzata Formanowska 52 Terry Sisti Maria Teresa 53 David Subacchi54 Mniko Chacha55 Marc J Cid56 Nina Kovačić57 Scott Hughes58 Brianne Bowman 59 Elizabeth Cockle60 Alyssa Trivett61 Antonietta Losito62 Ram Krishna Singh63 Zee Mink-Fuller64 Viv Brady65 Terry Wheeler66 Marilyn Ashbaugh67 Juliet Tamara Simpson68 Karen Downs-Barton

Haiga, Haibun & Other small poems

69 Smitha Vishwanath 70 Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan 72 Smudge 73 Winston Plowes 75 Marilyn Ashbaugh 76 Christina Chin77 Alexander Radison 78 Antonietta Losito 79 Tia Haynes 80 David J Kelly 81 David Jibson82 Zee Mink-Fuller83 Juliet Tamara Simpson84 Madhu Jaiswal85 Terry Wheeler86 Blessed Ayeyame 87 Basant Kumar Das88 Tia Haynes 89 Muhammad Khalid Khan90 Elizabeth Cockle 91 Larisa Rzhepishevska92 Jagari Mukherjee 94 Andy Lewis

96 Publication Calendar

(ii)

sleeping buddha magpie song penetrates solemn chants

______________________

toddler’s first pool divemother holds her breath

- Christina Chin (Kuching, Malaysia)

1

spring's last lettereyes get tearysummer sets in

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may's magicgives mohua dreameternal kiss

_____________________

scarlet huepreaches salvationlost in desire

- Ayaskanta Mohapatra (Sundargarh, India)

2

going to bed nowyour smile under my pillow arms getting wider

- Winston Plowes (Hebden Bridge, UK)

3

hieroglyph soundson an Egyptian cave wall- sacred ink texts

______________________

hearing his stammer mom eats all s's and z's- his alphabet soup

- Pat Geyer (East Brunswick, NJ, USA)

4

catch the falling vasehold it for a moment, thenwatch it slip away

- Steve McG(Blackpool, Great Britain)

5

white-winged dovesstartled into flightsurprising rising

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in barren tree branchestwo mourning dovesbuild their nest

- Sally Clark (Texas, USA)

6

dark clouds overhead morphing into winged omens diving for my breast

___________________________

last year decayingin the arms of the present while stars hold their gaze

____________________________

the moon moved downward and crashed into the bluest part of the ocean

- Mallory Rowe(Tallahassee, Florida, USA)

7

roundness-in the apple basketfull moon

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shades of blue-for how long againthe color of the sea

- Angiola Inglese(Pederobba, Tv, Italy)

8

cut corn stalks turn brownall things must come to an end-our sunflowers wilt

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hot day in the parkbroken fountain disappointsslide, swings, and snacks don't

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foggy sun settingfamily eats togetherfawns come out to graze

- Eve Lyons(Milton, Massachusetts, USA)

9

steadied for attackan eagle's outstretched wingssignal victory

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sensuous evening—young rain tree leavesalways first to bed

- Kate Alsbury (NYC, USA)

10

suddenly my breathbreathes itself, the world pausesthere is no one there

- Lucy Whitehead (Southend on Sea, UK)

11

gentle touchesshadows of tremulous leaves down the old road

________________________

old chimney nestthe first jumpin the blue sky

- Slobodan Pupovac(Zagreb, Croatia)

12

shy autumnal birddid you brush against the moonto get that pale down?

_____________________________

it is the white hourbetween deep night and soft dawn-even the wren stares

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what does this cat thinkstrumming his tail with such easeto these fugues of bach?

- Joan McNerney (New York, USA)

13

bee-loved jasminetiny off-white pinwheels ofnot-so-subtle scent

- Jane Blanchard(Georgia, USA)

14

all is gray this day—leafless maple, sky beforesnow, tea in my cup

________________________

this dappled night skybroth simmered for millennia-I drink it tonight

_________________________

small girl with small dogshe says, he makes me bravermilkweed seed with breeze

- Lisa Stice(Hampstead, NC, USA)

15

a book of poemsthe soul of a dreamerpossesses me

______________________

eagle's talonsfield mice cowerunder fallen blossoms

- J. Farina(Sarnia, Ontario, Canada)

16

the notice period-a flock of crows pushing downa centennial oak

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still waiting for himrarely a raindrop fallsonto a grass blade

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the end of tunnel-under a street lamp I soaramong the snowflakes

- D.V.Rozic(Ivanic-Grad, Croatia)

17

sad contemplation—staring at the rainthrough the coffee shop window

____________________________

chirping sparrowsplaying in young green foliagecups filled with sake

- Ben Grafström (Akita, Japan)

18

young buds bursting bloomnew born bird alights on branchbirth of spring season

____________________________

setting sun shadowcrabs and fish relax on wavesseagulls soar shore side

____________________________

warm weather marshesattract pesky greenhead fliesharass sun seekers

- Eileen Sateriale(Methuen, MA, United States)

19

watercolor skya mind as clear and hopefulas spring morning air

________________________

such a mysterythe small poem of myselfin the vast cosmos

- Shayla Hawkins (Detroit, USA)

20

lost in paintingbreaking the silencewindows chimes

__________________

taking reston misty mountainshuge clouds

__________________

fluttering aroundnew pink blossomstwo blue butterflies

- Ranjana kashyap(Himachal Pradesh, India)

21

monday morninga barefooted child stridingto school

- Blessed Ayeyame (Ughelli, Nigeria)

22

silence cracks, shifts, slides ice moves river, river, ice—spring urges lovers

_________________________

asphodels whisperas a wind rouses the fieldsleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep

_________________________

summer night in lovesigh of honeysuckle scentmoonlight unbuttoned

- Greg Sellers(Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA)

23

abandoned fieldbees buzz yellow flowers making honey mustard

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in the museum above the staircasequilted memories

- Julie Gomez (Brightwood, USA)

24

can die orcan dye fadedmemoirs of a geisha

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saliva dropsglowing on a hanging lip-vicious rage

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soaring gliderhuge shadow over land -rabbit's dashing

- Arik Benedek-Chaviv (Gyvataym, Israel)

25

red-orange cloud swirlsflavor the sun as it meltsdarkening the sky

- Katy Huth Jones(Fort Worth, Texas, USA)

26

stillness the wind chimes sing silently

________________

open window meditating with a fly

________________

between us only moonlightlast autumn leaf

- Rehn Kovacic(Mesa, AZ, USA)

27

at the corner shoppicking up local gossipwithout newspapers

- David J Kelly(Dublin, Ireland)

28

a gull soars overthe surgery and throws mea crust of the sun

__________________________

valentine’s day -caressing Liberace albums

- Peter Adair(Bangor, Northern Ireland)

29

onset of monsoonunder palm leaf umbrellasvillagers knuckled

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aromatic teain a chamomile gardentaste the difference

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tool set for toddler colorful palette and quillsart fair at class room

- Somayajulu Musunuri (Hyderabad, India)

30

five wooden canoes gleaming in sienna gold olive speckled nest

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five canoes at dusk coloured carvings by the lake automn at its best

- Julie de Belle(Pincourt, Quebec, Canada)

31

cherry blossoms -first transient sunraysall in pairs

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night fairy tale -a child repeats his mother's word

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soft spring rain -long pilgrimagein a snail's world

- Goran Gatalica (Zagreb, Croatia)

32

puff of lightdawn turns off the starsand paints the sky

_____________________

the last trainonly a scent of rosesremains in the air

- Lucia Cardillo (Rodi Garganico, FG, Italy)

33

red leaf spirals down Hits the waterfall, sparkling gone - vanished forever.

__________________________

like a will-o-wisp flickering between the trees, my muse eludes me

___________________________

waxy white blooms drop heady scent enveloping lovely Brides blossom

- Ambre Burt (Omagh, N. Ireland)

34

shadow of the fishermanaround the moon -rocking the boat

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cloudy sky -the cock crowsthe same song

- Florin Golban(Bucuresti, Romania)

35

I shall take my mauvenotebook into my nightmareto report at dawn

__________________________

late-afternoon sunilluminates crocus trailthrough snow-covered grass

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Raven sits on branchwatches for careless sparrows —ash panopticon

- Helen May Williams (Carmarthen, Wales)

36

white moon is singing weeping willow full of tearsa second winter

_______________________

ruby sun fallingkoi are swimming merrilythe falling sky sees.

- Linda M. Crate(Meadville, PA, USA)

37

old friends are so smartclose or far, they hear your voice and know what to say

_____________________

sickness may strike all but still it hits as a shock what was I thinking?

_____________________

easter falls, fall starts -what is wrong with this picture?try switching channels!

- Michael Walker (Perth, Australia)

38

open up, buddy—drink sunrise; sleep like honey:you’re tomorrow’s buzz.

___________________________

dulled darkness descends:Dad sharply yelling my name—echoes burn my heart.

- Christopher Stolle(Richmond, IN, USA)

39

scorching summer daysthe soothing cool onshore breeze the warm winter sun

___________________________

she has a traumaan open can and lost love the sinking old ship

- Sravani Singampalli (Visakhapatnam, India)

40

I met my late fate seeing her face in a bar and my fate ended

- Jake Cosmos Aller(Southern Oregon, USA)

41

over the sea darkening clouds -blues deepen

___________________

almost knowingwhere you arecloud-covered stars

- Joe Woodhouse(Barcelona, Spain)

42

the sun has risen –a drop of dew still hangingon the cobweb thread

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morning scenery;the birch tree's leaves still rustlingfluttering in dreams

- Zvonimir Penovic (Split, Croatia)

43

a suspended fog between ice and sun -reflection pause

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winter’s last moon fading in the sunrise –hospital window

- Margherita Petriccione (Scauri, LT, Italy)

44

medicate your pain camouflage exhaustion a modern woman

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winding up switchbacks –wings – sunslits through branches – a treetop jamboree

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tiger studded sky,clocks dripping on a coastline –questioning; Why not?

- Molly Murray(Helena, Montana, USA)

45

the great universebegs to be seen from withinit’s shining through you

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something is brokenit was once precious and finedon’t fret… it’s just me

- Amanda R. Woomer (Buffalo, NY, USA)

46

moonlight on the pond coins that shimmer and vanish yet this fortune stays

_________________________

the snows have meltedyet snow scatters on the grass

explodes on branches

- JB Mulligan(Washingtonville, NY, USA)

47

a brief summer squallin a cool afternoon smell of moist earth

___________________________

a sordid caterpillar converted to beautiful butterfly time metamorphoses.

- Bishnu Charan Parida (Jajpur Road,Odisha, India)

48

just children they laugh at my long gownrolling on the floor

___________________________

lifetoo mysterious to foretell earlier too beautiful

- Sujata Paul (kolkata, India)

49

smile on lipsshow the depth of joyface shinning

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blue sky abovesing the song of lifegreenery down below

- Ashutosh Meher(Bhubaneswar, India)

50

morning fogit is still therejasmine

__________________

funeral...on grandma's dressscent of jasmine

- Małgorzata Formanowska (Wrocław, Poland)

51

rainy air -the radio in the living roomtalk about heat

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the moon is growing -the shadow of our plumstill smells

- Terry Sisti Maria Teresa (Massa-Carrara, Italy)

52

old framed photographs recording our history stirring memory

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shining diamonds mounted on a ring of gold still her hand feels cold

__________________________

eyes like a garden where i wander eagerly searching for spring time

- David Subacchi (Wrexham, Wales, UK)

53

having an empireof attractive flowers’ homebutterflies will flood

- Mniko Chacha(Mwanza city, Tanzania)

54

around the desertnothing! nothingness for miles a sky full of stars

_______________________

beyond the lamplight the rain remains unseen, a-falling, phantom flood

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even now, it seems,though time has made us strangers, your face stops my heart

- Marc J Cid(Downey, California, USA)

55

return to the shorein the boat a muffled soundof a thrashing fish

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night in the orcharda wandering wind harveststhe juicy apples

- Nina Kovačić (Zagreb, Croatia)

56

Almost laughing, I swim as a fool, give myself to the glass ocean

________________________

Its tides turn our sandswe endure its abuse, dance in its radius

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Silent autumn wind lifts high a fragile red leaf It flies, never falls

- Scott Hughes(Macon, Georgia, USA)

57

Call me home againthe stars pleaded with the moon-as the sky darkened.

_______________________

Green, closed off to light –In the sunshine your heart stirs,Gold petals awake.

- Brianne Bowman (Hebron, Indiana, United States)

58

Inside a miniature bottle she gave birth to the grandest ship

- Elizabeth Cockle(Toronto, Canada)

59

My bed sheet escapeartist maneuver turned meinto a stranger

____________________

I sat on my bedas hardware store nail rainbaptized scarred pavement

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They slither in dustas a cat trills and the sunis a bit too loud

- Alyssa Trivett(Chicago, IL, USA)

60

family dinner-in the garden of Edenthere is a snake

____________________

glued uplike paper boxessome families

- Antonietta Losito (Mottola,TA, Puglia, Italy)

61

cold and naked in perils of water-stumbling boatman

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feeding spirits withlimbs of uncircumcised boys a Ugandan witch

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camouflagedher soft fall on bed--dappled back

- Ram Krishna Singh(Dhanbad, India)

62

earth and venus danceglowing orb being centerby design, not chance

- Zee Mink-Fuller(Burleson, Texas, USA)

63

In the beginning,God; the first misogynist. He created eve

______________________

Logging companycan't see the trees for the wood. sweep away the leaves.

_______________________

Maiden centuary;the sweet arrogance of youth knows no boundaries.

- Viv Brady(Omagh, N.Ireland)

64

two kilkenny catsfight until nothing is leftbut their twisted tales

- Terry Wheeler (Brisbane, Australia)

65

rampant narcissus—scan spots some new locations of her old cancer

_____________________________

remaining snow drifttender pink crocus push througha damaged ice rind

- Marilyn Ashbaugh(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)

66

In our love story,i rip off the blank pages sadly it is all

- Juliet Tamara Simpson(Gensan City, Philippines)

67

Waving overheadarborial stigmata

leaves crack sepel scabs

____________

My dusty mirror reflects a softened image

false realities.

- Sycamore

1.Small globule of lifeCarried aloft by breezesOne veined wing bears you.

2.Breeze born, spiraling.Small womb, your seed will bear fruitSend far your children

3.Brown, spent, brittle huskYour Gothic veined tracery Birthed wood monuments.

- Karen Downs-Barton (Swindon, UK)

68

What hand gently drew?Dainty, drooping curves that breathe-Tenderly sway in the breeze…

- Smitha Vishwanath (Dubai, UAE)

69

Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan(Rijeka, Croatia)

70

Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan(Rijeka, Croatia)

71

The tree on the hillHow pretty in the summerAs swallows fly around.

- Smudge (斑)(Blackpool, Great Britain)

72

Winston Plowes (Hebden Bridge, UK)

73

Winston Plowes (Hebden Bridge, UK)

74

Marilyn Ashbaugh(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)

75

Christina Chin (Kuching, Malaysia)

76

Mourning Diary

Mourning: I’ve learned that it was immutable and sporadic: it does not wear away, because it is not continuous.

— Roland Barthes

I sit at the International Delight Café on a frigid January afternoon in Bellmore Long Island, with its retro Coke signs and bottomless sundaes and think: you’d have liked it here. And just like that, I lose you all over again.

Like a scab caught, tornon the rough edge of memory,grief bleeds within me.

- Alexander Radison (New York, USA)

77

Wasted breath

Patner and sons for years, every one of them revolve around him. A black sun, a guilty generator, a prima Donna to please to prevent biggest problems. Looking at their faces, I think about Plato’s pilgrim clamber out of the cave of the world of appearances to see things as they really are, and I'm asking if it's really possible to change in this life.

so intensecomes to me aware -blue monday

- Antonietta Losito (Mottola, TA, Puglia- Italy)

78

The Kindness of Strangers

“She’s learning to talk isn’t she?” A kind middle age women smiles at my child who’s saying hi to every customer in the coffee shop. Too often I’m swept up in the minutia of protecting, teaching, and caring for my young. When I can remove myself from the moment and see the bigger canvas that I’m painting, I see how stunning it is.

warm muffinshow my hand slipsaround the mug

- Tia Haynes(Cuyahoga Falls, USA)

79

No performance

Pacing, as if with purpose, in front of an audience. Working without cue cards and ad-libs. Just covering the same ground in the same way, time and again. The audience sense nothing untoward. They just clamour for ever closer views of the jaded celebrity, armed with cameras and selfie sticks.

retracing its stepsalong a well-padded paththe tiger turns

- David J Kelly(Dublin, Ireland)

80

Origami

ephemeral childlightness of snowthe world is melting

The river ice has broken up early and a jam has formed, flooding the low bank for a mile upstream below the dam, threatening cabins that probably should never have been built. This happens every year but old-timers claim they have never seen it in February. The danger this time of year is that there could still be a hard freeze, worsening the risk. There’s talk of dynamiting the ice, but some worry that if blasting fails, it could solidify the jam, which would increase the threat to cabins on the high bank. The debate has created some hard feelings. At Amy’s diner, customers have taken to speaking in whispers and segregating themselves into high and low bank dwellers.

spinning west to eastearth folds in on itselfa white paper crane

- David Jibson(Ann Arbor, Michigan USA)

81

Burial

The echo of a dog barkingsomewhere in the city let meknow life doesn't end for all just because my world collapsedinto a freshly dug six foot hole

- Zee Mink-Fuller(Burleson, Texas, USA)

82

Watching You

Looking at you from a distance,Got me stuck always in tranceAnd it's very sad,that there ain't a chanceFor you to return the glance

- Juliet Tamara Simpson(Gensan City, Philippines)

83

Nirvana

People try to attain nirvana in various formsI try to find in the chaos of my life that's left behind,Sipping coffee , eating chocolates and penning down the utopia of life.Some softer emotions snuggling swiftlyRhapsodical and perpetual,Hearts abrim-Delightful evenings of groovy exuberance.Where affection lay in symphony-and soft giggles in silhouette, the only decore.

- Madhu Jaiswal (Kolkata, India)

84

Ian Fairweather

In the inky watersdark hymns aremurmuringmurmuringmurmuringto yourelectric blue eyes

- Terry Wheeler (Brisbane, Australia)

85

Love

let this fire risingout of the deepest of our heartvie with the darkness trying toeat up the light in our eyes

- Blessed Ayeyame (Ughelli, Nigeria)

86

ship in a glass jaryou and meour brief journey in double moon sky

solitude met sorrowfragments of a new love storybroke the decayed door openonly to retrace their steps

she to her guardianand he to his lonely bed

love isan addiction

of soulclimbing

alonea virgin hill

without stepsdark night

you arrange white flowers

on my wet chestcast away flowersfloat down wards

in Ganga river

- Basant Kumar Das (Bhubaneswar , India)

1) 2 )

87

Worth It

Upon seeing her newborn photo, my eldest asks, “Was I little?”“Very”“Am I still little?”“Always”warm embracethe years she’s soakedinto me

- Tia Haynes (Cuyahoga Falls, USA)

88

Green Eyes

Green eyes like ocean greenFull of beauty graceful teenAt a glance it can be seenShe is like a lovely queenWhen I saw I lost my heartI decided to neverdepartThen I carried her image alongOff and on I sing her song

- Muhammad Khalid Khan (Abbottabad, Pakistan)

89

The remains of us—stacks and stacks of love letterspre-digital promises to stay eternally yours,give all my heart, & say more than words,Forever and always,virtual as happily ever after.

- Elizabeth Cockle (Toronto, Canada)

90

If your shirt has no buttonand your trousers are roughened,if your jacket is so crushedand your carpet needs a brush,if you can’t find your clothesall the time you just curse…There is only one way out -to marry or divorce.

- Larisa Rzhepishevska (Odessa, Ukraine)

91

1) Essence

The scent of your perfume is on the pillows…Now, all pillows, old and new,Are fragrant like youAnd have your essence –Colourful and bold.

Every momentI spend with you, is a gorgeous jewelThat never grows old.

92

2) New Paths

I left behindDark woods of unfulfilled dreams –Knotted wild branchesThat I couldn’t identify at all…

There’s no needTo remember them now –Because, new pathsAre still open…

- Jagari Mukherjee (Kolkata, India)

93

1) The Lonely Poplar

She wears a crown fullof flowers, blooms orange and green,hoping someone sees.

Praying we’ll notice.Begging: Is she pretty, now?Is she worth our love?

94

2) I Hear The Streams Singing

I hear the streams singing.That subtle choir, serene in its splendor,babbling and cooing alongside salamanders and toads. Harmonizing with waterthrush—sun-sponge, diamond-skinned, meandering through pines.

I hear their words, fluid and free.A song that wasn’t meant for me alone, but for every creature, whom they call home.

- Andy Lewis (Lexington, Kentucky, USA)

95

SPRING (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE)

submission deadline: 30th marchpublication : 14/15th April

SUMMER (BONSAI JOURNAL ISSUE)

submission deadline: 30th Aprilpublication : 15th May

MONSOON (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE)

submission deadline: 30th junepublication : 15th July

AUTUMN (BONSAI JOURNAL ISSUE)

submission deadline: 30th septemberpublication : 15th October

WINTER (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE)

submission deadline: 31st decemberpublication : first week of-January

Publication Calendar

96

Contact: www.the13alphabet.wordpress.com