Issue 1 - June 2025 - Tanka sequence

The Birth

gleams of light
in a shadowed pool
I reach
into its bottomless depth
drink from the mystery

pursuing
the notes of a golden lyre
at the meadow’s edge
I find Erato’s wreath—
myrtle and rose

petals
scatter on the breeze—
pillowy glyphs
full of fleeting promises
yield only silence

I wait patiently
among the tasseled grass
a dragonfly’s
translucent wing
mirrors a hidden realm

sunset
over the mountains
cinnabar and fire:
threads stitched
in a timeless poem

Dru Philippou, USA