Journey of the Heart

  Amor Fati by Hafsa Mumtaz In the library of my raconteur heart, I highlight the word, 'experience', and  Plunge into the pond of my past, Holding the cobblestones turning them And gazing at its unruffled face, at the Satiny carpet under the waves in flux Where brushwood lies vitiating the pond, But I like the mess on the sleek mat Of patina covering the soil, slippery like A slime coverture. The mirroring palm Of the pond - a panorama of clouds Scudding and melting into a fire rainbow Of the moments stored in the vault of time. I see my faults searching for a hideout In these colors fighting each other. I strew on them the scraps of acumen That calls these bits of past I learn  Plenty from, 'My mentor'. Hafsa Mumtaz,   aged 22, is an emerging Muslim poet from Pakistan, and a graduate of English Language and Literature. Her poetry has been published in  Visual Verse ,  The Rising Phoenix Review ,   Women’s Spiritual Poetry ,  The New Verse News ,  Poetry Potion, Autumn

  Autumn by Joy Sheridan I feel them all – my dreams Like Autumn leaves leaving September On a soft-scented drift A memory of summer. I feel them all – my dreams Where love has gone, it does not mean That an expelling has meant an ending, Merely a change. Love can never ever die – should that Heaven forbid the thought, be Then there would be no more, And no more would you hear these words As I pronounce them. I feel them all – my flames, my rosebuds, My daisies, my hyacinths, my tiger lilies, My gentle weeping snowdrops, my daffodils, My white lilies – I feel them all. My flames – lighting the high reaches On those other planes,  Where the light of Heaven is the light of day And in the night, when the stars are at play I feel them even deeper Through that blue-black cloak Of Perfect Love Like mists these fingertips  Will trace their forms. Their names, their lovely smiles Until we meet again . . . Until we meet again . . . (October 8th, 1985) Photography by Daniel Krakan Joy Sheridan:

These past few months have been filled with change for me. After a long struggle with his health, I lost my dear husband, my best friend of 40 years. He was a strong and spiritual man, and even on his worse day saw the glass as half full. Knowing that inspires me each and every day to do the same. He told me once that I had an angel “sitting on my shoulder.” If I didn’t feel it then, I do more than ever now. For the past 10 years I have worked in a healthcare and rehab setting with amazing people who support me and lift me every day, and did the same for my husband the many times he was in their care. But recently, without even realizing I was even searching for a change, I had an offer come to me that I could not refuse. I will still be in healthcare, in a different setting closer to home. In my heart I felt both urgency and need to accept this offer. I’m sure it is the “angel on my shoulder” that led me here. This will be a big change for me, but I carry the memories and friendships

  How to be in Love with the World By Carolyn Chilton Casas                Breathe in, knowing we are made of all this… , “Eagle Poem” by Joy Harjo       It helps to start with a curious mind. Then, lace up your hiking shoes and take to the temple of the hills. Gaze anew at the landscape as if  you had just flown in from Uzbekistan.  You know, the way new arrivals  see everything beautiful  for the first time.   Breathe in the wafting scent  of sage, flora’s hallmark fragrance. Pause to bow down to  tiny yellow flowers at your feet. Tilt your head back to scan  for hawk nests in the open palms        of lofty eucalyptus branches. Soften your ears to a songbird  answering his love’s call  from the opposite ridge.   See how you are a perfect piece of it all. See how you can say yes to being the lens through which a field of grace passes.           Then, oh then, you will feel what it is like  to be deliriously in love with the world. (Scroll down to view a video illustration of the poem)

  Even the Ocean by Yina Rojas No one said  they were sorry  for the things that happened to me,  They guilted me for how I reacted.  I pushed it all down, with a gulp of water, with years of tears. But even the ocean caves-in and allows the storm to pass.  It waits for the tide to settle with grace and patience.  I bite my salty lips,  get up and keep going, waiting for the chaos to settle, hoping for patience and grace  to liberate me.  Yina Rojas:    Life and love enthusiastic, Yina  uses life experiences to share with the world through her writings. Her writings are anywhere from traditional poetry to free verses with a punch, right where you need it. She has been writing for as long as she remembers and continues to do so because ‘when you appreciate what life has to offer every day, one can find inspiration in the small things.’ Connect with her via   Threaded by Rojas   on Facebook,  Instagram ,  Twitter  and TikTok, where she shares her daily inspirational writings.  *For submi