#sijo — Public Fediverse posts

If we remain, or: The last machine

A Sijo

the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

If we remain, or: The last machine

A Sijo

the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

If we remain, or: The last machine

A Sijo

the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

If we remain, or: The last machine

A Sijo

the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

If we remain, or: The last machine

A Sijo

the future glows with aspirations
though none know if we remain;
signals cross the sleepless skyline
in languages no throat has formed;
what if the last machine looks back 
and finds its makers gone?

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 440

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a vast futuristic city glowing with towers, traffic, and airborne vehicles, yet no human figure is visible anywhere.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

To bone, or: Breathing between words

A Sijo

these I have loved: suggestion 
the silence breathing between words; 
restraint pares these thoughts to bone 
what stays withheld gathers force; 
absence opens into abundance—
all these have been my loves 

d’Verse poetics: The great lover

At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write a list poem beginning with “These I have loved:” that celebrates the ordinary things we treasure through precise, sensory details. Continue the catalogue at length and conclude with “All these have been my loves.”

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

The view, or: The distance

A Sijo

these heights gather scattered paths
into one broad field of motion;
what I once touched seems distant now
almost beyond discernment;
perspective is not belonging—
I begin my downward climb

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 439

For RXC, Reena invites us to compose poems inspired by this visual image of a solitary cottage and fruit tree perch atop a towering rock spire, overlooking a vast, distant landscape beneath a bright, cloud-dappled sky.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Thresholds, or: Between escape and morning

A Sijo

night deepens, yet I stay awake
bedtime feels replete with loss;
exhaustion pulls me under late
dreams grant relief from consequence;
caught between escape and morning
I resist the thresholds

d’Verse poetics: “My God, It’s Full of Stars”

At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write a poem in which the imagery and experience of night shape a central emotion, memory, event, or reflection.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Search history, or: Hyperlinks

A Sijo

Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

W3 poetry prompt

For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Search history, or: Hyperlinks

A Sijo

Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

W3 poetry prompt

For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Search history, or: Hyperlinks

A Sijo

Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

W3 poetry prompt

For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Search history, or: Hyperlinks

A Sijo

Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

W3 poetry prompt

For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Search history, or: Hyperlinks

A Sijo

Leon Wieseltier posed questions \\ while poring over manuscripts;
then, years later, I followed links \\ to essays, chapters, printed texts;
my mourning became a map \\ for other lost wayfarers

W3 poetry prompt

For this week’s W3, Jaideep invites us to write a three-line poem showing how a cultural tradition and modern technology meet, interact, or create something new.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

A part, or: Me, while my fingers

A Sijo

fifteen years, the band a part of me 
while my fingers thickened; 
a tiny chainsaw bit the gold 
cool water checked the mounting heat; 
my bare hand showed the coming change 
before we told our daughter  

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Before the words, or: Through the sorrow

A Sijo

we told her on Friday evening 
and tears arrived before the words; 
she listened through the sorrow 
then said some part had long sensed this; 
her wisdom held the hurt and truth; 
my new rooms were Grandma’s once 

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I s, or: T the piled possessions

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

–Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)

books claim the couches first
furniture and playthings take the rest;
I sort the piled possessions
keeping only what earns its place;
less now gathers greater weight
a stanza steadies in the air

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 438

For Reena’s RXC prompt, she invites us to explore juxtaposition by responding to one of three quotations about luxury, simplicity, elegance, and refusal, or by creating a similarly contrasting statement of our own. We may use juxtaposition directly or indirectly and reflect on what luxury or simplicity means to us personally.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Quiet currents, or: Thin webbing

A Sijo

a child tests a toy flashlight
against one thumb’s thin webbing;
skin brightens to copper-red
quiet currents seem to course;
somewhere, beneath the sinking sun
a dark hull glides through crimson hues 

What Do You See 348

For WDYS, Sadje offers us a photo by Annie Spratt (Unsplash) of a silhouetted boat gliding across a calm river glowing red-orange beneath a sinking sun, while dark palms frame the horizon.

As always, Sadje is eagerly awaiting our responses!

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I walk, or: Carrying less

A Sijo

sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I walk, or: Carrying less

A Sijo

sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I walk, or: Carrying less

A Sijo

sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I walk, or: Carrying less

A Sijo

sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I walk, or: Carrying less

A Sijo

sandals, Middle Eastern tan lines
earbuds playing Billy Joel;
the old words sound and sound right
yet their teenage listener has blurred;
midlife's now loosening its grip
I walk on, carrying less

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Abandonment, support, or: Hope

A Sijo

our planet spins off balance
against the inflamed ether;
any raised hand can signal
abandonment, support, or hope;
intentions remain unknowable
until the catch or crash 

Reena’s Xploration Challenge 437

For Reena’s RXC prompt, she invites us to compose poems inspired by any of the three panels in this image (I was personally drawn to the third panel):

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Arakan, or: Jerusalem

Poetry Partners 268

‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano
• Anowar Sadak

Arakan, or: Jerusalem

Poetry Partners 268

‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano
• Anowar Sadak

Arakan, or: Jerusalem

Poetry Partners 268

‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano
• Anowar Sadak

Arakan, or: Jerusalem

Poetry Partners 268

‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano
• Anowar Sadak

Arakan, or: Jerusalem

Poetry Partners 268

‘A Refugee’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I am a refugee
Not by choice,
But by the cruelty
That stole my homeland.

I was born in Arakan,
Where my parents dreamed
I would grow up in peace.
Instead, I inherited fear,
Burning villages, gunfire,
And nights without sleep.

The world calls me a refugee.
Before that, I was a son,
A student,
A dreamer
Who believed tomorrow
Could be kinder than yesterday.

I do not ask for pity.
I ask for justice
For every child forced to flee,
For every family torn apart,
For every homeland
Reduced to ashes.

Though I live far from home,
Arakan still lives within me.
Its rivers, memories,
And the voices of my people
Travel wherever I go.

So I keep writing,
Because my voice cannot be silenced,
My identity cannot be erased,
And hope is stronger than exile.

I am a refugee
But this is not the end of my story.

One day,
I will return home
As a free Rohingya,
Walking with dignity,
Peace,
And hope.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

my people carried Jerusalem
through exile, psalm, and hunger;
today’s broken borders reveal
old longing in new faces;
from Arakan to elsewhere—
the uprooted share one heart

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano
• Anowar Sadak

The ghost, or: The silence

A Sijo

for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

W3 poetry prompt

For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

The ghost, or: The silence

A Sijo

for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

W3 poetry prompt

For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

The ghost, or: The silence

A Sijo

for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

W3 poetry prompt

For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

The ghost, or: The silence

A Sijo

for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

W3 poetry prompt

For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

The ghost, or: The silence

A Sijo

for one year, Kaddish gave my loss
a borrowed ancient voice;
then silence marked the threshold
between mourning and forever;
I withdrew after the last amen
but returned to words as breathing

W3 poetry prompt

For Benji’s W3 prompt this week, he invites us to reflect on the quiet we long for, and what happens when it finally arrives. He asks us to consider the uneasy space after busyness, obligation, noise, or familiar chaos has ended, when freedom may first feel welcome but later reveal loneliness, memory, regret, or unexpected clarity.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

Poetry Partners 267

‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano

Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

Poetry Partners 267

‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano

Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

Poetry Partners 267

‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano

Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

Poetry Partners 267

‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano

Elsewhere, or: Tomorrow

Poetry Partners 267

‘Just One Hour Before I Die’, a poem by Anowar Sadak

I do not ask
For a lifetime of happiness.

I do not ask
For wealth, power, or fame.

I ask for only one gift—
Just one hr

Just one hour
To know what freedom feels like.

Just one hour
To breathe the air of peace,
With no fear following my footsteps.

Just one hour
To stand with dignity
On the soil of my homeland,
Without being called a stranger.

Since the day I was born,
I have known violence
Better than peace,
Exile better than home,
And survival better than living.

I have buried dreams
Before they had the chance to bloom.
I have carried memories
Too heavy for any child to bear.
Yet my heart still refuses
To stop hoping.

If Allah grants me
Just one hr
Of freedom, peace, and dignity
Before I die,

I will bow my head
In endless gratitude.

Because even one hour
As a free Rohingya
Would be worth
More than a lifetime
Spent in fear.

That one hour
Would heal wounds
No one else could see.

That one hour
Would tell my soul—

You were born human.
You were meant to live free.

And I would leave this world knowing,

This is what it means
To finally live.

• Anowar: https://anowarsadak.wordpress.com/

A ‘Sijo’ by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

another refugee in the news
another person's fate;
today's comforts surround me
built upon chance circumstance;
I've inherited no guarantees
beyond this current moment

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

List of Poetry Partners

• Murisopsis
• Judy Dykstra-Brown
• Jennifer Patino
• Mike L. Utley
• Barbara Schaefer
• Ron Rowland
• Cheyenne MacMasters
• Rae Cod
• Eric Erb
• Chris Reilley
• Jim-
• Selma Martin
• Vidah (Chavi)
• varityteller
• Veera
• Kunjal Gupta
• Coco
• Lov Verma
• bodypositivefemme
• Steven S. Wallace
• Shay Simmons
• Constance Bourg
• C. L. Barton
• Madamchryzl
• Sangeetha
• Jo
• Audrey Duff
• Gillena Cox
• Yasmin
• Martha Anewa
• Malalai Khan
• Adam Taylor
• trE
• Cindy Georgakas
• Punam
• davidatqcm
• Orion Foote
• Susi Bocks
• Mister Bump UK
• Kate Blake
• Freddie Omm
• kittysverses
• enchantedwords
• Saint Gaona
• Alan Steinle
• Karina Lutz
• Sarah David
• Beka Tucker
• Maria L. Berg
• Colleen M. Chesebro
• Jane Aguiar
• Jan Beekman
• royalpalmtree
• Marian
• M Jay Dixit
• Ken Hume
• Naa Lamiorkor Boye
• Reena Saxena
• Bridget
• Ash Evan Lippert
• Mike L. Utley
• Hadizat Motherconfessor
• Murisopsis
• Cindy Georgakas
• Swathi Rao
• Freya Pickard
• Harshi
• LaMon Brown
• Nomad
• Vedran Markovic
• The.Richard.Braxton
• Kim Whysall-Hammond
• Jeff Flesch
• hutschi
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Anca
• douryeh
• enchantedwords
• Kerfe
• Puvanesvari Rajan
• MistyBlue
• Henry Mworia
• Anna Smit
• Larry Trasciatti
• Sarah Cope
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Robert J. Jr.
• Rosemary McMahan
• Iswar Kar
• Mapule Somo

• Anne Morrigan
• George Ellington
• J. P.
• Christine Bialczak
• Shalini Kathuria Narang
• LaToya Williams
• Maitreyee Telang
• Amelia Michelle Nicol
• A. J. Wilson
• Nick Pipitone
• Myrna Migala
• Kathy Labrum McVittie
• Dawn Pisturino
• Eugenia
• Tea Solon
• Marion Horton
• Hassan Safdar
• Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
• Eileen Backman
• Suzette Benjamin
• Candace
• Tarlie Francis
• Aishwarya Kannan
• Michaël
• Mary Anne Abdo
• Benjamin Nambu
• Scotti Woolery-Price
• Ara
• Sean Matthews
• Joy A. Burki-Watson
• Filipa Moreira da Cruz
• Di
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Christine Bialczak
• Rob Kistner
• Michaël
• Sarah Cope
• Stephanie Malley
• musingsbymac
• Verne Ivars Krastins
• Brandon Ellrich
• Tallisman
• kalabalu
• Kunjal Gupta
• Malalai Khan
• Mary Anne Abdo
• M. Snyder
• Sherry Lens
• Barbara Dean Aliaga
• Devine Success
• Veera
• Maria Pavlova
• Kevin L. Perrin
• Alex Budris
• Wm. “Mark” Parry
• Rayla
• Rayla
• Artem Miachin
• Jeff Lee
• Artem Miachin
• Tanmay Philip
• Dee
• Tricia Sankey
• Cassa Bassa
• 3L
• Charles
• WickedLizzie
• L. M. Montes
• Marsha Ingrao
• WickedLizzie
• Jan Beekman
• Neha Singh
• Kaci Rigney
• Kaci Rigney
• Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
• Gareth David Ogilvie
• Marvin Tordillos
• Jaideep Khanduja
• A. J. Wilson
• Kiri Salazar
• Sadje
• Destiny
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Jaideep Khanduja
• Kaci Rigney
• Jan Beekman
• Karima Hoisan
• Melissa Lemay
• Kriti
• Susan Strasser

• Melissa Lemay
• Ancy Johny
• Destiny
• Komaljeet Kaur
• Melissa Lemay
• Thomas Kutzli
• holley4734
• Claudine
• Rose
• Braden
• Caroline Cooper
• Melissa Lemay
• Kajal
• Melissa Lemay
• Nolcha Fox
• Parisa Radpey
• Nolcha Fox
• Kelley Morris
• Nolcha Fox
• Lesley Scoble
• Andrew Wilson
• Shepherd-at-Large
• Jennifer Russo
• Sassy
• Sassy
• Nolcha Fox
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Diana Coombes
• Sassy
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Marja
• Teresa Sargeant
• Moyosola Olaniyi
• Jan Beekman
• Tea Solon
• Nolcha Fox
• Ladysighs
• Sassy
• Sircharlesthepoet
• Leona Cicone
• Suzanne Brace
• Tuba Sarwat
• Stephen J. Frankenberry
• John Ogunnubi
• Stephen
• Writer Ravenclaw
• David Joseph
• Akanksha Gupta
• Anthony Aquino
• Celestial Kreationz
• Dawn Minott
• PebbleGalaxy
• Donny Lee Duke
• Peter Bouchier
• Joe Linker
• Washed Woman
• Nolcha Fox
• Robert Jahner
• John Holding
• Ashley
• Writer Ravenclaw
• Sarah Dodd
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Melissa Lemay
• Sambhav
• Tia Jain
• Ooko Tonny
• Sakshi Singh
• Satish Warrier
• Fred
• Benjamin Nambu
• A. J. Wilson
• Svein Børge Nygård
• Vincent Shades
• Marja Blom
• Heather Mirassou
• Kim Smyth
• Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
• Rusty Walker
• Catherin J Pascal Dunk
• Marja Blom
• Indira
• Suri
• Kaci Rigney
• Pat Alderman
• Gwen Plano

To look ahead, or: To know

A Sijo

one ordinary moment 
refuses to let me go; 
countless mornings drifted by 
while I fought to look ahead; 
there's a man I've come to know 
standing scarred, recognisable 

What Do You See 347

For WDYS, Sadje offers us a photo by Doruq Pasha (Unsplash) of a shaft of warm sunlight falling across a simple wall clock, drawing my eye to the quiet, unceasing passage of time within an otherwise ordinary room.

As always, Sadje is eagerly awaiting our responses!

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.