Showcase: The Accidental Meeting + Astoria + Her Heart + The Essence Of It All

Edited by Palak Tewary

This week’s Showcase turns its gaze to the quiet evolutions that shape us. The pieces gathered here explore how transformation doesn’t always arrive with fanfare: sometimes, it whispers, nudges and gently reorients us.

These works invite us to honour those subtle shifts – the ones that gently guide us towards who we are becoming, one small change at a time.

As you read, may you find traces of your own year – what softened, what strengthened and what now opens space for the year ahead.

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We are often reminded of how small, unexpected moments can reveal just how much – or how little – we’ve changed. The Accidental Meeting captures one such moment: where a brief encounter with the past stirs old emotions and exposes the quiet evolutions of the heart. In this fleeting crossroads, the poem reflects how time tempers, sharpens and sometimes humbles us.

The Accidental Meeting

You turned the corner, saw her there.
You couldn’t believe your eyes.
Her face a little older now
but beauty never dies.

You hesitate and wonder if
you can hide before she sees,
but no, too late, her eyes meet yours,
your movement starts to freeze.

She smiles, the one that all men love,
you’re drawn back in once more.
Your heart is lost within her gaze,
it’s like it was before.

She speaks with her angelic tones,
no music sounds so sweet.
You wonder why she left you then,
your life seemed so complete.

You lift your hand and give a wave,
And wait for her reply.
You don’t think that she’s seen you though,
So now you want to die.

At this point you realise
she’s really on a call.
You’re just a shadow from her past,
dejection casts its pall.

© Ray Miles, 2025

Connect with Ray on Facebook: facebook.com/ray.miles.507

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Next up, Astoria reflects that quiet evolution – how a town, once rooted in industry, now leans into tourism; how a journey, nearly finished, invites reflection on where we’ve been and what we carry forward. In this light, the poem becomes a snapshot of transition, reminding us that even simple travels can mirror the turning of a year: a pause, a look around and a quiet readiness for what comes next.

Astoria

They came to see the sight
By bus and car and bike
They jogged and even walked
Because someone gave the shout
For we docked on wharf so bare
No waterfront did stare
Gangplank down to a grating sound
Name blazon on water tower round
The logging and the fish had gone
Hopes that tourism will be strong
We went ashore but not by bus
We take a taxi much less fuss
One street has novelties galore
And beauty parlors by the score
The coffee’s good and hot and strong
I wish I could take a pot along
There’s little history left to see
So it’s back to the ship for Joe and me
To lay on the deck in bronzing sun
Our cruise nearly over it has been fun

© Lucy Brown, 2025

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Her Heart captures the quiet battles, the ashes we emerge from and the small but powerful renewals that guide us into a new beginning. In its imagery of burning, lifting and returning, the poem reminds us that transformation doesn’t always thunder – it often whispers from within, urging us toward the next version of ourselves.

Her Heart

Damned if I do
Damned if I don’t
Up and over the damn
rage rises
overflows and fertilises
the forgotten lands
sparks rain down from my wings as I take off..
Twisting my neck and spine.
Breaking down the calcification
To ashes.
Lighter I soar
From smoke filled rooms.
I bypass the raven
Taking her heart with me
My beak pierces the veil
Shuddering and shaking
Its clings
Like oil, anointing my limbs
Gliding through the firmament.
Growing weary from searching
My nature collects all that burn.
I dive down, after the fallen.
Lifeless Leaves sticks
To me.
Mapped out to be
I know the way
Ready. To Rest.

In a nest of burnt scripture,
Ashes of my former vessel.
A seed within.
I clutch the key,
I look to the mirror
In the next rising,
It will not fail
For now I hold her heart.

© Silviya Vijeyaruban, 2025

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Finally, The Essence Of It All turns our attention to how growth often begins in stillness and that the simplest elements of existence, movement of days, the breath of the earth and the gentle evolution of awareness can guide us into the year ahead with clarity.

The Essence Of It All

The miracle of the world. Tempo of existence. 24 hours and
365 days of movement. An unassuming seed,
the kern of life. Murmuration against the sky. Tangible vibrations.

The essence of it all.

A reflection within the self. The seasons. The weather.
Water embracing land. Connection.
Beings, living, breathing without boundaries.
The Earth a home.

The essence of it all.

Evolution in growth. Rain through light
a rainbow’s signal. Greed’s envy and ego
can blind the truth. Awareness in the now
filling lungs and exhaling, letting go of things.
Strength in nature, in the shape of energy.

The essence of it all.

© TAK Erzinger, 2025

Connect with TAK on Instagram: @takerzinger

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