In a winter night
I lay on the ground
Touched by the cool breeze
I watch the moon from the wooden gaps
Feeling like the hard floor
Is as soft as my mother’s lap
In mom’s dairy
changes soil to soil
Attaining rebirth every single time
Before moving with their new life
Whenever someone speaks in their mother tongue
They become a dear one
And for a short moment
I am a closed book.
In the past, we were the best.
The present is unspoken.
I lost my precious memories.
Our life was full of happiness –
Now it’s unspoken.
My world has grown so small.
But I have learned so much from you.
Me and my mom
Playing with seashells
In a dream
Seashells vague like a memory
When will I realize
That I’m alone now?
I’m Manasa Reddy Chichili, a poet and short story writer from Hyderabad, Telangana. My haiku and tanka have been published in several journals such as Under the Basho, Mainichi Haiku, Awen, Atlantean Publishing among others. My longer poems have also been published on PoetryPotion, The Wise Owl and Neccheli. My haiku was nominated for the Touchstone Award (2025), and I have also dabbled in writing haikus directly in Japanese (in haikutown.jp).