1407 UNTITLED HAIKU Contest // Sponsored by: Brian Strand
( 5th Place )
Written: August 28, 2025
dusk on the river
a heron lifts without sound
shadows drift behind
1404 Poetry Contest //Sponsored by: Brian Strand
( 2nd Place )
Written: August 14, 2025
lantern quivers dusk,
shadows twist like whispered secrets--
fireflies thread the sky.
. .
. | .
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`--+--'
/|\
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' '
we met at dusk in a diner on Mars
the stars were aligned and
the moons shone bright
~ at the very first glance
we knew it was meant to be
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
At dusk when my shadows quit me,
That’s when hundred arrows hit me.
So far some faceless folks fooled me,
My own close to heart now cheat me.
A feeling heart hails thee, my friend,
Come heart to heart, why audit me?
Come, pry unto my nightlong dreams,
Thence, for what I say credit me.
Dawn dawns, if dream deprived I wake,
Daylong your reveries greet me.
_____________________
Ghazal |18.07.2025| dream, passion, sleep,
Georgia peach dusk
beyond blue and cloudy skies
a bodacious kiss
won with a Southern accent
a drawl that draws one's eyes up
For a long time, the old barn had quite a lean
It was still shocking when it finally fell.
When you came around the bend
it was comforting to see it
blushing in the sunlight.
It was a great loss when it finally succumbed.
If it could speak
would it speak of great sacrifice
or hardship and Goodtimes.
Would it converse with antiques and machinery
or the shadow of a barn cat and a frayed tire swing.
The old farmer had quite a lean just before he past...
don't believe he ever retired.
He bounced up and down those dusty rows for half a century.
There was a lot of wisdom and a sprinkle of secrets in that lean...
a quiet ferocity coiled in those ancient-bronzed Mits.
He lived through two world wars and fought in one.
He served- fed and cleaned up the messes of the elite.
He prayed over and buried everything that he loved....
The city slag still called him simple and backwards.
There is something noble about an old farmer
securing his gate at dusk.
WHISPERS OF CLOSURE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the quiet hour,
when the sun dips low,
casting long shadows,
I find myself wandering
through the corridors of memory,
where echoes of happiness reside
lingering like the scent of rain on dry earth.
She thinned to vapour, blue as longing's edge,
while we searched skywards, calling her lost name.
Wind replied in whispers no one could catch–
just hollow notes strung on a frayed thread.
Now dusk repeats her gesture: palms upturned,
spilling light where her shadow once poured.
We drink the rain, still tasting her farewell.
MONOCHROME © Sara Etgen-Baker 2025
Sun slowly descends, and the world turns monochrome, like a black and white drawing on the Creator’s easel. I patiently wait for night with its renewing spirit. Nightfall serves as a metaphorical curtain closure, while dawn symbolizes a daily reopening, with the birds serenading harmoniously on cue.
dusk whispers, night falls,
shadows stretch across the sky—
day’s breath vanishes
dawn’s silent embrace
cradles the fragile and bold
a promise of hope
Atop the edge where silence leans,
A figure stands — the dusk between.
No name, no face the canvas shows,
Just wind that hums what no one knows.
The sky explodes in molten fire,
A final gasp of day's desire.
It stains the clouds in crimson breath,
A masterpiece that flirts with death.
Does he await or does he grieve?
Or dream of flight he can't achieve?
The brushstroke speaks, but not too loud —
He’s part of sky, yet not a cloud.
He watches time with open chest,
The sun, the fall, the endless rest.
Yet still he stands, the final spark—
A question burning through the dark.
Your call resonates like a lost echo among the shadows of dusk,
Deep within me, like spring water flowing towards distant lands.
My heart, boundless and mysterious, responds silently, naive and gentle,
As the sleepless twilight creeps again through the misted windows.
The lilac and currant bow their heads gracefully in the evening wind,
And my silent homeland whispers the call for me to return home.
Your call, my bittersweet sorrow, resonates in the echo of distance,
And I, wandering among shadows, seek my way on unseen paths.
I know our meeting will be fulfilled under the blue sky of night,
Our prolonged separation will find solace in the light of the hidden moon.
Distant bells remind me of the road I have traveled,
Raising the dust of dreams, searching for you among eternal memories and longings.
Your call at sunset, my melancholy will find its way to you,
And the promise of reunion will be sealed by the quiet of the night that envelops us.
In the flow of time, under the starry sky, I will keep my promise,
For my heart, once called, cannot remain far from you.
An isolating darkness looms:
A numb yet tingled skin;
And residues of twilight's gloom,
As walls unseen close in.
This place feels sharp, yet vague and stale;
The clash stirs strife within.
My fingers click and spread—a snap!
So faint—I fear I'm dead.
Insipid airs invade my lungs:
The voices haunt my ears;
Adrift in dreamlike black, undone,
Alone, still lacking fear.
Commanded, guided, commandeered
My soul is tugged then shoved;
My anger swells, for loss so sheer,
No helm, no sense, bereft.
To think, therefore to be—I blare!
The real is mine to snatch;
I’ll walk into the tunnel’s flare,
My exit door unlatched.
across rippling lake
cousins casting
half blue moon
Twilight was the time of day
as well they do concur
about the hour of crepuscular dusk
or evening if you prefer
there in the gloaming
altho' the light was slightly dimmer
I took a look at the situation
and saw more than quite a glimmer
of absolute absurdity the altercation confrontation
as if every nation were to follow the Law
of Exact Retaliation an eye for an eye
we'd all be sightless both you and I
or Reciprocal Justice a tooth for a tooth
for in truth me and you'd
have nothing at all with which to chew
and all done in the name of what
I'll only surmise
it's just for man to prove he can
if so it could be our demise
as we would find
unable to feed we'd go hungry
while the blind lead the blind
p
i t
g r
e i
o l
n l
s
at dusk ?
questions ?
I cannot ??
answer ?
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