fiction
The Kingfisher
for the mythological magnitude
of his courage and his yearning;
the bird that thirsts for the fruit of the depths
is given the moxie to dive into the unknown
The Morphos
clear of vision & pure of heart; the prism that snatches
sapphires of pure thought from thin air & offers them
to the world with an open heart.
listening to the shape of light without speaking,
she is given the most beautiful color of all.
The Oyster
the mother whose pearls are born of pain;
she is the artist, the poet of the sea
whose patient paintings of liquid nacre soothe
and turn the irritant to a gem
The Mockingbird
the bird with no color becomes Everybird,
and with humility, mimicks the canon
the studious little mime- stealing nests, stealing songs!
our little gray polyglott sings the language of Babylonia
The Fox
the light-footed flame, the dapper minx
whose cunning never verges on the Machiavellian!
he flaunts his fancy tail, like a showgirl twirling her marabou-
then with a wink, points you along your way with his muzzle
The Otter
hey, you buoyant little weirdo,
you squirmy brown clown!
two little eyes sparkle over a furry frown- then zingo,
he flips a trick & sends the whole cosmos reeling-
what a guy
The White Ant
the true group soul;
in whose marching minstrel show
sings the body electric-
free of will, the singular white ant
bows to the queen
The Silkworm
o little bombyx mori of the mulberry,
the fruits of your labor so ceaselessly exploited-
yet your commercial viability detracts not one whit
from the quality of your artistry!
like Annie Lennox you travel the world
& the 7 seas. & like the sufi,
you never stop spinning
The Mustang
sun-kissed maverick who chases his own destiny
whirling, with the slim gold speed
of Brancusi’s bird- fly
on hot-blooded wings!
The Gazelle
the air-fawn
whose light-footed dance transforms
a desert voyage into a sand-dune ballet;
a choreography to rival the pirouettes
of any prima donna of the Mariinsky
The Swan
the mute trumpeter
who knows a love so profound
as to sublimate song
she, the Sattva Guna that walks
among us in a couture gown
A+HRRA award summer 2023
The Summer 2023 Arts + Human Rights Research Award will be open to submissions this summer (approx. 14:51 UTC June 21 2023 - 06:50 UTC September 23rd 2023). The topic of the Summer 2023 A+HRRA is AI, Computer Logic, and Human Rights.
th_Eroses, an arts publication www.theroses.xyz, is awarding $100 for a work of artistic / literary research that addresses or concerns human rights in conjunction with this season's topic, AI, Computer Logic, and Human Rights. The term 'research' here is intended to indicate the process of creation, exploration, and discovery, rather than the compiling of archival facts and/or materials, although the compiling of archival facts and/or materials may be a part of the process of exploration and discovery, or a part of the process of shaping the path or direction of discovery. This is intended to be an open-ended premise, to support the range of work that may occur in artists' and writers' unique processes.
From the UN:
"What Are Human Rights? Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination."
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights
Successful submissions may, but are not required to, focus on investigative, process-based exploration and material discovery. Successful submissions may couple rigorous (or subjective) analysis with documentation of investigative, process-based exploration and discovery. Submissions do not need to be factual; forms of literary fiction, subjective expression, abstraction, choreography, and/or non-narrative presentations will be considered as well. Submissions in all languages and media are welcomed.
The goal of this award is to amplify artistic voices that inquisitively and critically approach the pressing issues of our time, to create a habitat where a unique form of creative journalism can thrive, and to provide th_Eroses readers with artistic / literary insights into key issues.
Please note: If your work is submitted and selected for the award, you consent to the publication of your submitted work by th_Eroses now and in the future. Not all submissions will win the award; there may be one submission chosen, or multiple submissions, or none of the submissions. Selected submissions will receive an email of acceptance and next steps.
Please submit work to theroses.directors@gmail.com with "Entry: Arts + Human Rights Research Award" in the subject line.