‘DECEMBER’

Felix Valentino Salmoran (he/him) is a poet, photographer, and musician of Mixtec ancestry. Everywhere he goes, Felix travels with at least one kite in the trunk of his car. When he’s not writing poems or flying kites, he’s in the garden with his husband, building a fire to gather round with friends, or beating his high scores on Clone Hero. His work appears online and in print: Poets.org, Oyster River Pages, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere. Felix is currently pursuing his MFA in Creative Writing at Randolph College. Find him on IG: @kite.wings

DECEMBER

In it I feel the sense of memento mori.
Autumn here quits, season of sweater takes the lead.
Moisture too low in air forsooth dries out the skin,
Serene sun shining in dazzling gold lasts not long;
And nights growing longer give space to sit and brood,
Giving a subtle pause to the cacophonies.
At times, feels as if it's the period in line,
Reminding repeatedly those chances I missed;
But then seems as if it's just another comma,
A time to compose our scattered minds for new days.
In vacant air descend slow the usurper mists,
Dusk too soothing falls sooner with the setting sun;
Yolk lingering high above turns by time blurry,
Ardour swells ‘neath quilt hugging the cold bolster tight.

Zahir Hossain Baidya is a student of English Honours at Fakir Chand College under Calcutta University. He tends to write things down when his emotions get triggered, be that in a pathetic way or in a very sweet and mesmerizing way. He writes and composes poems to let go of those intense thoughts that cause some kind of chemical reactions in his brain. His poems, including 'Parasitic Jaeger' and 'Sinister Sense', have appeared in Parcham and KabitaLive.