Contemporary Literary Review India | Print ISSN 2250-3366 | Online ISSN 2394-6075 | Impact Factor 8.1458 | Vol. 10, No. 3: CLRI August 2023
Ashok Bhargava
Mirage
A freshly washed dress
With an exotic flowery print
Hanging loose on a line
Sways in the spring breeze.
A busy honey bee
Attracted to its colors
keeps coming back
Ignoring its sensory instincts.
We humans
Retain our illusions too.
Early Spring
how to restore brotherhood
after years of hostility
between the long-time foes.
with hands in loam
lay out seeds
in curated rows.
carefully water it
as the gentle mist
blows through the fingers.
persuade the afternoon sun
to guard the freshly
imbedded seeds.
let the sprouts
grow into tender vines
flowers into crop
that fills
the empty stomachs
with love, peace and dignity.
About the author: Ashok Bhargava is the founder of Writers International Network Canada (WIN Canada), an organization that recognizes writers, poets and artists of diverse backgrounds and genres on yearly basis. As a bilingual poet he writes both in English and Hindi, published six collections of poems including his latest ‘Riding The Tide’ which was on surviving cancer. He was an honored guest to literary conferences in Turkey, Italy, India, South Korea and the Philippines, recipient of Poet Ambassador Award, Poets without Borders Peace Award, Legendary Poet Kalidasa International Award, Nehru Humanitarian Award, Pandora Collective’s Good Citizen Award, and Nehemiah Leadership Award.