I am yet to take a good photo of the moon

that does justice

to its stirring, quiet luminosity

amidst the inky sky

and the tips of the city's silhouette.

I like this reminder

that the best things may not

always fully and satisfactorily fit

into a frame or screen

and to have seen and felt

and held that moment

in my heart and mind and body

is enough.

Ronita Chattopadhyay (she/her) is an Indian poet who finds refuge in words. Her poems and prose have appeared in numerous online literary magazines in her country and elsewhere. This includes The Hooghly Review, Roi Fainéant Press, Akéwì Magazine, Setu, RIC Journal, Porch Lit Magazine and in online and print anthologies by Querencia Press and Sídhe Press. She also journeys with words in her work while supporting not for profit organisations in India. And she loves books, mountains and tea.

My words

comfort me and

maybe, they can help you too.

Maybe, this is all we can hope for.

These marks on paper and screen

and those spoken

to another heart and ear

that is sometimes caring

and sometimes not

and sometimes both.

I am living with the alphabets

and what they create

and the spaces between them.

There can be a quiet joy here.

There is refuge.

I hope you find both too.

Ronita Chattopadhyay (she/her) is an Indian poet who finds refuge in words. Her poems and prose have appeared in numerous online literary magazines in her country and elsewhere. This includes The Hooghly Review, Roi Fainéant Press, Akéwì Magazine, Setu, RIC Journal, Porch Lit Magazine and in online and print anthologies by Querencia Press and Sídhe Press. She also journeys with words in her work while supporting not for profit organisations in India. And she loves books, mountains and tea.

A CHILD’S FIRST BREATH

First breath is

a butterfly

alighting on

whoever upraises him

from doctor

to nurse

before it finally

comes to rest on a mother’s lips.

First breath is

inhaled,

exhaled,

shared in the moment,

as wings hold steady,

all flight is deferred.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, North Dakota Quarterly and Tenth Muse. Latest books, ”Between Two Fires”, “Covert” and  “Memory Outside The Head” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Birmingham Arts Journal, La Presa and Shot Glass Journal.