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Muse Whispers Volume 2 - Now Released

Introduction

Little inspirations peeking in our spirits
Small determined voices speaking ideas
sublime
(Shadows Across Time by Sandra McDowell)

If Muse Whispers Vol. 1 was about ‘poetry’, then Volume Two is about ‘people’. Each piece in this book tells a story, about its author and about the circumstances in which it was born. The poems here speak volumes about their poets’ lives, thoughts, feelings and urgencies. Poetry is but a vehicle; the ultimate destination is Expression.

Once again, as in Vol. 1, writers converge from all across the globe; there’s someone from everywhere, it seems. We have people from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, USA, Canada, Philippines, UK, Egypt, Australia, Ukraine, Uganda, Netherlands, New Zealand, even Trinidad & Tobago. There are moms and dads, kids, grandparents and some creative couples too. There are professionals and there are amateurs; but glaringly similar between all is the enthusiasm to write and the burning desire to reach out.

*

Xhosa blood. Zulu blood. Boer blood.

English blood. Forever blended

Osmotically together

(Blood by Chris Ingham)

The topics are diverse, once more, but there’s a change in the mood. A war’s taking place in today’s date, and a lot of poems deal with the unnecessary devastation and inane destruction of war. (The Great Game by Randeep Wadehra, Hey Joe! by Jay Frankston, and many others). Striking through the adult notes are two young minds living continents apart, Lara Appelbaum (14) and Tanya Puri (12), who write of the losses to humanity in a war torn world. Following close on the heels of war, there is patriotism, heartfelt and true (Freedom by Gynith Roberts), and sometimes, cynical and wry (Freedom by James Dinverno). Another preoccupation is death (I Had A Dream by Marjana Gaponenko, Strange Thoughts by Sara Hassan, and others), and our ways of dealing with the death of loved ones (Forever In Our Hearts by Rahul Baweja, Suppositions by Nita Callender, and others).

*

she has suffered breakdowns before, she has,

counting black sheep in her sleep, she does,

her night sweats smell like the dew;

all praises be to the Muse

(The Muse by Diane Manning)

Even social issues have changed shades. New darker secrets abound in the 21^st century closet. Crimes against children stare starkly at our consciences. We’ve got child abduction (Where Are The Missing Children? by Sandra C. Winter), child marriage (Wayside Idol by Soni Somarajan), child abandonment (Dear Dolly by Linda Hill), child molestation and illegitimacy (Holy Child) and child abuse (Scars by Donna Wallace). Then, as adults, we’ve got cosmetic surgery addiction (Superficially Complete by Mark Shirley), communalism (You Are The One - My Aziz Is Not A Fanatic by Lajan Joseph), life in a terrorism-torn state (One Peaceful Night by Maha Hosni Noor Elalhi), rash and dangerous driving (Road Rage by Mari Rose Baur D’India), shootings on city streets (Dead Boy by Dr. Deborah A. Ferber), and environmental degradation (When She Will… by Eric Yep).

*

Compassion or destruction - it is our own choice
An ounce of love can lift the weight of discontent

(Our Own Choice by Lewis Robert Winter)

On a more positive note, and somehow out of this pessimistic current world scenario, emerge stoicism and unwavering faith. Many poems talk of God and religion. There’s no religious or geographical limit to these thoughts. God is everywhere and is a constant support to our troubled souls (Jesus Rose by Tanya M. Testi, The Voice of Silence by Donna Lynn Myers-Cornett, and others). The twist is that, today, He too has to be politically correct (Under God by Vickie Eubanks).

*

Are ye the music:
My ear eager to hear;
That gently brings in mystic
Thoughts of heaven near?

(If I Be Not False by Dharma Kishore Raja)

 

Love features, of course, and so do passion and desire. As ever, they resonate through the generations; our youngest lover is 17 and the oldest 72. All shades are discussed, from pleading (The Shielded We by Lora Ann England, Chimera by Sasha Walker) to consummation (8:00 AM by Caroline Mae Higby, Bride of the Nile by Mona Mohamed, and others), to conflict (Me and My Life, the Distance by Bernadette Pereira) and heartbreak (Spoke a Pillow to a Tear by Belinda Dunbar, and others).

*

dark fringes of life
cool moments of heat
clouding above existentialist questions -

(The Truth… by Archana Sinha)

Then there are introspective poems, helping their authors heal wounds and grow, and bidding a reader to understand and accept (Snail by Shyam S. Santhanam, Return by Nicoletta A. Poulakida, and others) and the debate that ensues from a good long bout of serious contemplation (Body and Soul by Sanjay Trehan). There are even poems about poetry itself (Written Pictures by Sharron Tyrrell, Tears in Utero by Zachary Rodriguez, and others). If it’s on our minds, it’s in this book.

*

...nothing can ever be this good until it
is understood that the beauty of creation
lies within the creator

(When It Implodes by Eileen T. Waldron)

Ultimately, like I said, Muse Whispers Volume Two is about people. It reminds and reinforces that we are all so very different surely and yet, somewhere inside, we are all the same. We all go through trials, we all suffer pain, we all taste joy, we all fear our personal monsters, we all learn and grow, and we all contain infinite amounts of love. By expressing our thoughts and emotions, we’ve brought our worlds a little closer and interlaced them with our common humanity. And thus, with our Muses whispering in our ears, our diverse voices send out a united prayer for peace and harmony on our beautiful planet.

  ~~ Aekta Jerath ~~

For more information goto  www.musewhispers.com/vol2

 

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