Our first Touchstone Award Nominations from the – Issue 01, Spring 2026
evening prayer fades
the dust of marigold
in my palms
— Dr. Anish Kumar Gupta, India
faded marigold —
the bride’s father lingers
at the doorway
— Vaishnavi Ramaswamy, India
second day of snowfall…
the warmth of your
(c)love mulled wine
— Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania
balmy spring day
a toddler in the yellow hat
almost stands
— Keiko Izawa, Japan
summer stars
a pushcart vendor sells
his last mango
— Neha Singh Soni, India
lone beach stroll
wave after wave
of old grief
— Chen-ou Liu, Canada
creeping jenny
recalling names
more slowly now
— Leon Tefft,USA
angel’s wing mushroom
not a flutter
on the ultrasound
— Adele Evershed, USA
Nominations from the Issue 02 – Summer/Monsoon 2026
carpet of parijat –
orange stems
of a childhood sky
—Vishal Prabhu, India
shrinking lake
the throaty rasping
of a raven
—Louise Hopewell, Australia
summer heat i become the mirage
—Mona Bedi, India
mirror pond
a water strider skates
through the sun
—Deborah Karl-Brandt, Germany
rocking in sync
for a long evening talk
strawberry moon
—Randy Brooks, USA
mud flats
the uncharted geography
of her mastectomy
—Adele Evershed, USA
afterlife
the blues
in a conch
—Biswajit Mishra, Canada
laundry day
slow-moving piles
of clouds
—Julie Schwerin, United States
sowing rice
a mother sings to the child
on her back
—Jahnavi Gogoi, Canada
beech tree canopy
the rain
that doesn’t reach me
—Ruth Holzer, USA
