GLIMMER OF HOPE

By Jackie Chou

I find a glimmer of hope

not in the fierce fireball

of the afternoon sun

But a fragment of a broken mirror 

glinting on the sidewalk 

that tells me that someone 

has journeyed here

I find a glimmer of hope 

not on the whole pie face

of the full moon

But a window lighting up

on a faraway mountain

that tells me somebody 

has opened the curtains 

I find a glimmer of hope 

not on the evening gown

of a debutante

But in the eyes of a friend 

when I hand her

a gift-wrapped box 

of cookies 

I find a glimmer of hope

not on the golden carriage 

of a chivalrous prince

But the laughter 

in the voice of a lover

when he answers 

my phone call

It is in the everyday things

the rocks that are not gemstones

the spoons that are not silver

I find glimmers of hope

THE HOLE IN MY LIFE

By Judge Santiago Burdon

There's a hole in my life 

where all the happiness leaks out

Doctors tried to fix it with medication

Which produced poor results

So I made a hole in my arm 

to replace what I had lost

Used all of everything I found.

Nothing could fill the void.

Next ambition, compassion gratitude and pride 

also spilled out and exited my life.

A toxic depression filled the emptiness inside

What remains is a hole I made in my arm 

And an addiction I struggle to satisfy

created from a madness 

that I prescribed.

IT'L BE ALRIGHT

By Jason Kirk Bartley

It's going to be alright.

Do not lay your armor down.

Do not give up the fight.

Don't abandon your brother.

It's going to be alright.

Don't lose your focus.

Do not lose your sight.

I tell you brothers and sisters that

It's going to be alright.

Be an encourager.

Be someone's lifeline today.

Help the downtrodden get back on

their way.

Help the weary gain their strength.

This we'll all do and go to any length.

May you know that you are noticed.

May this kindness not go in vain.

May we help you through your problems,

and be your umbrella through this latter rain.

We'll sit here with you in the midst of life's fight,

But I tell you brothers and sisters it'll be alright.



I BORROWED HIS CALM

By Garima Sachdev Kapoor

He knows before I name it.

Before my breath shortens.

Before the room feels too loud in its stillness.

He follows me less today, not clinging, not alert

But he is present in the way only those who love without agenda can be.

I pause.

The kind of pause that isn’t rest, but refusal.

The world stands there, expectant,

And I simply can’t answer it.

So I sit. I let my eyes rest on corners, on dust, on nothing at all.

Time ticks away, even that is too loud for my ears.

Paper waits. 

But what comes out is not poetry, it is order pretending to save me.

Boxes. Numbers. Priorities. A list of things to do,

A list of things that worry me. 

A map for a body that wants to disappear.

The urge is simple and horizontal.

To stop negotiating with minutes.

Tasks stack themselves loudly.

Water, plates, surfaces, files.

The future knocking with clipped impatience.

My body curls inward, instinctive and tired

The sound rises that rises in my throat stalls there, even release feels expensive today.

This isn’t struggle, it’s exhaustion after too much courage.

I lower myself to his level.

Hands find fur, warmth, steadiness, smell

I whisper to him what I cannot tell myself.

His eyes do not fix me; they do not ask me to improve.

They simply stay..kind…accepting…loving

I lean into his weight and borrow his calm.

Eventually, I stand.

Not energetically, just… upright.

Air returns to my chest.

Another thing begins.

The list. Time. The day inching forward.

He remains close, a quiet understanding between us

Together,

We stay.

ABOUT THE POEM: "This poem was written from a moment of emotional overwhelm, when anxiety made ordinary tasks feel impossible. The distress lived in my body, in the urge to stop, to withdraw, to be held. At the centre of the poem is the quiet presence of my doggie, whose attunement offered grounding without trying to solve anything. Through his steady, non-verbal companionship, Iand incredibly high EQ, he is able to regulate me enough to continue moving through the day one small, manageable step at a time."

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