Across the wandering life’s dynamic domain,
we traverse on the footprints of fate.
The tortuous pathway we pave for us
in the uncertain topography of life
meanders to the formless fortune
where it takes the ordained shape,
We trudge aimless with nebulous ambition
on the fated course of ambiguity,
across the illusive hues of the sunset horizon,
where we get caught in the confining clutch
of the storm clouds of providence
as captive of the toxic milieu.
The night unfolds its fiery face
within the insight struck by thunderstorm,
every heartbeat finds the scars engraved by chance.
The shadows of deceit dance with intent
within the melting conscience clouds,
truth revealed in lies is hidden in the shine of the stars.
The surreptitious dreams we design
dazzle with the stellar glow
with heaven’s secrets coded for one and all.
The whisper of celestial silence articulates destiny
for the mystified travelers following
the tune of the singing stars.
Emotions and images get lost in the meanders of my mind.
Quick, sit at your keyboard, the messages are impatient.
Lay down the ideas as one hangs a handkerchief on a clothesline.
Sentences crash onto the white of a page for a birth.
But before all that, weeks spent watching the world change.
But before all that, days and nights with opposing dreams.
Above all, writing lines of thought that will become tomorrow’s poems.
Above all, forcing the release of words trapped in a spider’s web.
A spark, a trigger will be the prelude to creation, its genesis.
Diving into the pantry — rest for ideas, for chimera, for every resonance.
Will you be a universe or an introspection, a flash or a revolution.
Despite this cerebral storm, visions collide: a mobilization.
Returning to origins, seeing oneself again as a child, sometimes a tree or an ocean.
Becoming a thinker or a moralist, finally not knowing, just searching oneself.
Feeling a kind of urgency to offer a message or a perception.
But before obtaining those epigrams that form a hymn,
Always — and above all — inspiration.
Joël Charvillat
Time meanders, drifts idle in the midst.
Sinuous it undulates so not to stagnate.
One breath at a time, barely survives.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Fragile resolve aspiring
to capture the remnants of rainbow,
weave the lattice of life
with spectral ribbons of rapture,
turns into a self-destructive
psychosis syndrome
that fails to fling
the insane illusion
in the cloud of dreams,
for it has hypnotic leverage
on the mind,
mangled by sensual storm.
Wedged by the splitting bevel
of the slashing time,
the frail fragments of failure
get lacerated from life,
scatter on the pensive path
to the realm of rainbow,
yet untraveled,
meanders marooned
in the debris of derelict dreams,
disappear down the deep sinkhole
of dusky oblivion.
In the lucent mystique mind,
transmuting thoughts
flicker on
ebony emotions.
Absolved of self-qualm
psychic crystal sparkles
in sagacity stars’ aurora flare,
traces the prime trajectory
from the cosmic soul’s
nebulous abyss within.
In the mesmeric meadow
of the inner topography,
seraphic shadows dance mystified
with gorgeous sequined glitter
of the sensuous stardust
in the tune of
buoyant bliss.
The discernment mindscape
makes the montage
of the existential rainbow.
Sometimes I feel a loosening,
not a rise or fall
but a sideways slip
into the body’s secret dream~
the one it keeps folded
behind the pulse.
Inside, everything is surreal.
The ribs bloom like pale petals,
opening and closing
with a slow botanical breath.
Capillaries curl like red vines,
twining around thoughts
I haven’t had yet.
I wander deeper,
past the soft machinery
of muscle and memory,
where neurons spark
like tiny bioluminescent fish
darting through a midnight reef.
The heart meanders by~
not beating, but floating,
a warm, wandering lantern
in search of its own echo.
I follow its glow
into a chamber~
where cells gather like pilgrims,
trading stories in chemical syllables
I almost understand.
Here, my body feels ancient~
a living archive
of every dream, wound, wonder
I’ve ever carried.
And as I move through it,
I realize I’m not leaving myself
but meeting myself
in places I never knew existed.
An inner-body experience~
not escape,
but entry
into the surreal biology
that has held me
all these years.
the westward wind wafts
meanders the miles and moons
fair lips finding ears
Eight long decades I’ve taken
To know this life’s touchstone like truth:
Man loves to live anywhere
But at life’s battle-hardened booth.
Yea, we scarce want to be
Where life for reason has brought us,
And wishing to migrate
There, there to fish for no cause.
Old age, as is inevitable,
As it brings me to brood,
And mind being unstable,
Ambles back to my childhood,
Which, without the least of doubt,
One of the pleasant most,
Though not always sugarcane sweet
That be chewed till void of its boast.
I recall still when I was there—
A child in flesh and blood and mood,
Not an apparition of thought,
My thoughts centred oft on adulthood.
Today I wonder, not just childhood,
Life’s every stage is such a swell time,
Which, when one gets older feels good,
But mind meanders, reason nor rhyme.
Not at life’s battle-hardened booth…
It’s taken me eight long decades
To know this life’s touchstone like truth:
Leaving all jewels, man chases jades.
__________________________
Musings | 06.05.2026 | age, birth/brood, childhood, old, quatrain
Distance—a corroded lamp by the street,
Some trees incline in a windless shush,
A narrow, lone path meanders between.
And there—a red house, austere and still.
At times, I stand by its broken gate,
And pause where silence thickens
I listen—though nothing moves or stirs,
The evening descends like a vague veil
Over the roof, the branches, and the dust.
Like a fool, I remain in taciturn awe
The dusk gradually engulfs the lone place.
I cherish the notion you might have come,
And sit here long in a numbed trance.
If you ask me why, I could not elucidate.
I live a dream no one can see
Awakening doesn’t interrupt it
This dream meanders seamlessly
Like chapters in the manuscript
I haven’t finished reading, though
I can rewrite some episodes
The most important ones, to show
That I’m still on a boat that floats
Out in the sea, but the next day
I’m waking on a landing plane
I’m always coming home to say
How much I love you, but again
I fail my little home to find
But your sweet breath I feel quite near
You could’ve hugged me from behind
But neither you nor I are here..
A small stream gurgles,
a cool brook babbles,
the river meanders along.
The sea waves crash,
the universe whispers,
it’s all part of nature’s song.
Life gently meanders to the ocean, a humming brook,
Across every delightful corner we lived, through every nook.
Cherish precious jubilant moments enlightening my day,
Savour success with humility, feel hopeful all the way.
Life presents arduous struggles for mortals on earth,
No escape from trials and tribulations, encountering is worth.
Learn how to survive best despite facing hurdles,
We don't cease to live because of challenges and obstacles.
A demanding journey - love, kindness, empathy steer us through,
We continue moving, heads high, towards goals in our hearts grew.
For the fascinating world around me, a promising year is in sight,
Bringing fresh hopes and dreams, igniting soul-searching light.
My thankful heart beats and trembles, pining with anticipation
Imagining what the future holds for a new generation.
In my dream spreads wings a harmonious white dove,
Justice for all, peace to the world, a rainbow of love.
I don’t know if we two were planned
But either I’m not sure
If we were just an accident
A chemical allure
You’ve gone to past time of each day
I can extend them longer
I’m here, where we used to stay
When our world was younger
Too soon it has to stop its turn
Tomorrows run has frozen
Your photos speak of no return
With images you’ve chosen
You live remembered, and who knows
What does it mean, to be
A memory that comes and goes
Inside and out of me?
What’s going on, I’m not aware
The only route I roam
Meanders round the same square
Shop, pharmacy and home
You’ve gone, and I can’t say me too
I’m on the other side
As always, still I wait for you
To take me for a ride
Show me your recent place of stay
Although it must be old
We’ll meet again one sunny day
I’m sure this was foretold
If you were here by now, my love
You’d see I’ve passed your test
We couldn’t get us close enough
But even so, we’re blessed.
What would be left of me, no one will notice
I’m not lamenting, for I take it as a fun
My life’s astray now, floating like a lotus
Sometimes it buzzes round the flowers in the sun
Along the quiet shady waters goes my shadow
The way meanders up the hill a bit too steep;
Then it descends down to your grassy meadow
Where we picked up forget-me-nots in happy sleep
Oh, what a joy! - you sang that song so sweetly
And I was clapping, trying to sing along
Boxed down and gone, we never die completely
I'm glad to know we’re finally at home
Its no more than a dream, this whole lifespan
One dream is over, then another comes to play
I am a carbon copy of that man
You used to know, and you’re exactly like my J.
In silhouette of fervor hovering
That meanders vivid upon the night
The hum of music from so long ago
Romances the air... a twirl, a lyric
While tunes of mist stir of rhapsody
Along the harbor to fling and gently play,
A rhythm of craving beats, as lips intone
love's silent quiver, still as secret whisper;
From this earnest heart deepened by time
When dulcet songs of wind now fondle
Breaths' charmed trails gushing on- and on--
And words become an impassioned call
Deepening my hymnal interludes;
As our mellow kiss jangles like chime of bells
Slithering like a windblown mantra
....Luring my beloved at sea to come home.
A soft wind lifts the curtains.
light spills across the wooden floor.
dust spirals in lazy circles
and the quiet hum of the house
feels like a gentle heartbeat.
I step outside
the earth smells of wet grass and stone.
a bird’s song cuts through the stillness
small, specific, lively
and i bear in mind I belong here.
The sun melts my skin
the world extended, slow and planned
shadows bend and bow
a leaf meanders, holding the gleam
and i am awake, completely.
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