A Bald Eagle at Occoquan Bay NWR, Virginia. Photo by Sohan

Sitting in the desk next to the gorgeous Diamond lake

Waiting for eagle to take break

I kept waiting to catch their first sight

Until the blue sky turned to dark night

Unable to catch eagle’s glimpse

I turned over to magnificent lunar eclipse

Bright and shiny were her lips

As I clicked my Nikon SLR to take her radiant pics

I heard the two opossum’s hiss

Trying to get blissful kiss

All of a sudden the darkness turned to beautiful morning

As I saw the eagles storming

Through the winds off the mountains

Chasing their preys in nearby surroundings

Down in the middle of a deep glacial river

Was a golden crisp catfish with light blue color

Who happened to be the eagle’s fancy dinner

That lasted well over one hour in a cold January winter

Full of food was the lethal eagle

Who then flew like a vicious criminal

Leaving me alone in the middle of a deep river

While I started to ponder if I could be an eagle

That flies high in the sky

Like a fast and furious guy! 

An old piano

Standing in a desk of piano at St Mary’s Church was a bottle of water

Which I bought for half a dollar

As I played my piano left to right

I heard thunderstorm in a dark night

That sounded like a meteor strike

It left me scared like a lion’s sight

While I tried to fulfil my insatiable appetite

Half a bottle of water I drank

The other half left my mind blank

To God I thank

Back I went to my piano lesson

Which brings a whole lot of deep compassion

As the US economy heads into another recession

While I try to get out of multi-year depression

A mysterious forest

Hi my name is Mr. E,

And I live with my family.

But, I have to pay a fee

To keep some bees

To sting the fleas

Which I always see

And try to harm me.

But don’t worry, 

I can just climb a tree,

Or go for a ski

Which isn’t free, 

But at least I could flee.

Now I have only three

Of the five bees.

Now, I found a key 

And somehow lead me to the sea

It made my bees feel lazy, 

And made me sleepy.

Then, a lady 

Woke me early

While I felt dreamy.

Then, I realized I was free.

Some say I am a mystery,

Probably because I am Mr. E.

–

by Sambridh Barakoti

Mourners from the Ladies Waist and Dressmakers Union Local 25 and the United Hebrew Trades of New York march in the streets after the Triangle fire. Photo from Kheel Center

March 25, 1911 was the day

When the fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City was underway

600 workers were sewing clothes at the factory floor

Trying to save their life escaping through window and door

Locked was the exit door with iron key

Unsatisfied with the management were employee

Surrounded by four stone pillars

The building had no fire sprinklers

As the fire started in a rag bin

Employees had nowhere to step in

Struggling to breathe fresh air

Some people jumped through window in midair

Only to land dead at concrete in despair

Others tried to break the door

Looking to get out of fire smoke

As the fire ran through the ninth and tenth floor

Some people collapsed next to the closed door

146 workers in total died of fatal burn

While their loved ones painfully yearn

For 11 minutes was all it needed

To fight the fire and get expired

Youngest victim was 14 years while the oldest was 43 years

Both victims left the world with eyes full of tears

Old rocking chair

I had a rocking chair

Which I brought from Goodwill dear

It was such an amazing chair

Where I sat down to drink a can of Corona beer

To hear the flow of Iowa river

Move from west to east in the sun’s atmosphere

Across the river were a boyfriend and a girlfriend

Looking to get their first kiss

Only to have it missed

Unaware there was a hunter

Shooting at the sandpiper

Down went the sandpiper fluttering its wings

At the couple’s shiny feet

Pounding her heartbeat

Took her only 60 seconds

To lose her last breath

A lake in winter

Gaze at water in the lake

It’s a beautiful Christmas break

It may be December and a windy icy day

But look at the sky

The birds still fly

Gaze at water in the lake

Where the geese still walk as they graze

Gaze at the trees in the park

Where the birds sitting in the trees

Singing the song like its summer

While it may still be December

Look at the prairie grass

Full of contrast

Look at the sky

It’s so high

I wish I could fly