25th August, 2026

Featured POETRY ...

MIRROR OF THE MIND

By Anju Kapoor

I see myself in the mirror every day,

And what do I find?

A few frowns and a dry smile,

A few bruises and pain in my swollen eye.

Tethered feelings do not ride fair,

Weathered in thunder, dark stains adhere.

Emotions within me shriek,

Dreams to me appear terribly bleak.

I say sometimes to myself,

I write the best, when in a somber state.

Self-reflection is my mirror;

I ponder often what defines me clearer.

I know tests in life are very rough—

Good, bad, and ugly make a part of us.

Trying to hold on to what is not in my reach,

Making myself miserable - my bearing comes unhinged.

ABOUT THE POEM: This poem gives voice to the silent battles often carried within. It reflects how emotional pain and self-reflection coexist, and how writing becomes a means of processing and surviving insoluble dilemmas concerning health of the mind.

ABOUT ANJU: Anju is an avid writer and a visual artist. A Banking and Finance post graduate from the University of Mumbai, she has been a resident of Bahrain for almost 24 years. She is a bilingual poet, writing both in English and Hindi. Her sensitive emotions lends an illuminating voice to her poems. Pen and paper are her wings and rhymes her lifeline. She is also a Visual Artist, and enjoys Ekphrastic painting on canvas with a colourful visual description. She pursues her hobbies in cooking, gardening, and is an Indian classical dancer trained in Kathak. Her poems have been published in many anthologies, in English and Hindi, and shares her poetry on various Global Literary Platforms.

Facebook: @Anju Kapoor

Instagram: @Anju 13

Featured POETRY ...



IF ONLY FROM A DISTANCE

By Mark O. Decker

Storm clouds,

send your song away;

Too long, now, have I listened,

so intent to find your meaning;

I am a young man

who knows too much;

Too much, and too little 

of the rest;

Now, I see, the foreboding

Is not your noise and thunder;

It’s the frailty of human kind,

the miserable state

of we mortal's minds;

While I stand, unhuddled, alone,

I sense that this wretched state

has a beauty all its own,

which make it worth living 

if only from a distance.

ABOUT MARK: Mark has been writing poetry for over fifty years. He has self-published several books in order to preserve his words in posterity for his three children and ten grandchildren. For fun, Mark publishes two poems a week on Instagram, and has developed a diverse following of his friends and family. After working in the business world most of his adult life, he is enjoying writing poetry and sharing poetry with others who are touched by his words. Mark grew up in a small, blue collar, farming community in eastern Ohio, and has written many poems about nature, family, his childhood, and growing up in the rugged foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Instagram:@okeypoet

You can read Mark's other poems: WOE’S WILY APPETITE, COPING, and SEARCHING, in PTSD.

→ PTSD is the EIGHTH in the acclaimed Poetry for Mental Health book series! ←