Essay from Chimezie Ihekuna

Housewifery

ben24

It is an obvious fact that the smallest unit of any society is the family, chief resident of a home (not a house). Of course, the head of the house is the man but the home-maker is the woman. Though a man may acquire magnificent edifices to his enrichment, it takes a ‘good’ woman to make them homes.

However, the reverse is the case in our contemporary world of civilization where husbands and wives are in pursuit of enhanced convenience at the expense of home building, monetary gains at the expense of physical and mental development of their family members (especially children) and other seen interests. Unequivocally, these discrepancies have truncated stability in most homes thereby constituting inauspicious divorce and estranged issues and eventually broken homes.

At this point, an instance will be necessary to explain the importance of a ‘good’ home-maker, a woman (precisely a wife). A law is passed into a country’s constitution as its recognition. Without the functionality of the executioner, what is the essence or potency of the law? Similarly, a man, the head of the house, can (only) practically pass the instructions to be executed by the woman. Without this, the home will undoubtedly be in shambles. Come to think of it, the executioner is a trained person equipped with the skill of properly executing or acting appropriately on laws passed. In the same vein, a woman or better put, a wife is nurtured with the necessary physical, mental and spiritual empowerment, recognition to deal with issues that face the home. What happens if the woman is not equipped with these empowerment recognition over the years? The answer can be likened to a plant without a functional nucleus. That plant is a phantom!

Continue reading

Poetry from JD DeHart

Ash

Creature of smolder,
a dream put out.  Smoking
into the air.  Tickles
the nostrils.

That’s ok.  It wouldn’t
have been my dream
anyway.  Lost heat.
Years-ago lack of reality.

A pile of ashes fittingly
left as a tribute to
something that used to be,
but (being matter)
hasn’t disappeared yet.

Continue reading

Poetry from Michael Robinson

Some Place 

For Donna Simons 2017

 

I’ve been someplace special,

Where the sun speaks to the moon,

While the mountains listen.

 

I’ve been someplace where my soul dances,

And my heart speaks in its native tongue,

Some place where I come to life.

 

Some place where my Mother,

Sings with her soul,

And I hear every word.

Continue reading

Poetry from Joan Beebe

A PEACEFUL WALK      
          

A renewal of spirit seems to take place

While following a path along a meandering brook.

Walking through a forest of beauty and serenity

One’s mind is filled with the sights and soft  sounds

Of nature’s  peaceful  surroundings.

Time stands still and you are enveloped

Within the outstretched arms of  trees as if

Welcoming a friend,

The brook we follow has a sound of its own –

Like a beautiful melody of joy.

For a few moments, one is mesmerized

By the feeling of being one with the

Natural  rhythm  of a forest so alive.

As the brilliant sun sends its golden rays

Upon the canopy of green above us,

One hears a quiet whisper of this forest –

It is the gentle wind flowing through the trees

And sheltering us as we end our Peaceful Walk.

Poetry from Arnab Kumar Roy

Rape

 

 

Walk,

Road ahead,

The leering hyenas (rapists) waiting,

To taste a piece of meat (human flesh),

They are thirsty,

Rolling tongues,

I can see.

 

A nasty stare,

At my body,

I feel so dirty.

 

Taking a step,

I walk back,

Are they coming for me?

Continue reading

Poetry from Rus Khomutoff

Vintage ghosts of

joy and sadness

a saccharine statement

the highest expression of the autopoetic force

the incarnation and withdrawal of a God

declaration of hither swarms

accretion of the torrential becoming

instances emancipated from

all anxieties and frustrations

in the anagogic phase

made dizzy by the hybris

a regular pulsating

metre of recurrence

Continue reading

Literary Contest for Nature 2018!

The Literary Contest for Nature is back for 2017-2018!
We continue to encourage writers from around the world to create poetry and short
stories to recall the importance of supporting nature as our mother
and cradle of humanity. It is a creative process that seeks to
stimulate new writers, creating a valid opportunity that can create
bridges for their future.
This year also offers a small monetary prize
to support the purchase of writing materials.
Do not forget to participate, for more information see: