The contest winner for January is Raj. For his 2 versions of "Turning The Pages". I hope you will all join me in saluting him for fearlessly posting his poem in more than one form........stan

Turning the Pages (January Contest)

While setting the calendar on the mantle
the past fades ever so slowly
I clutch hard on memories
till they too recede like low tide
leaving behind
pebbles and shells
scattered along the shores
some smooth some frayed
like memoirs etched
on pages of my diary
to be shelved

I'm startled from a reverie, when
the wind chimes,
church bells and crickets
strike the score of do re me
at the stroke of midnight....
(Part 1 ree verse)

Looking back is history
future holds the mystery
weeks, months remain the same
keep coming again and again

Nukes may rule the roost
while peace needs a boost
everyone knows that for sure
hope this year holds some cure

Pages of my diary are craving for the ink
will it be less of grey and more of pink?
time has now come to refill my pen
with more of hope and less of pain
(Part 2 Structured Western)