Hello dVerse regulars and first timers! Welcome to Poetics, this last Tuesday of May.

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But first an announcement about the dVerse Anthology. You can be a part of it!

Call for Poetry Submissions: Krisis: Poetry at the Crossroads (Working Title)

In celebration of our 15th anniversary in 2026, dVerse Poets Pub invites poets from around the globe to contribute to our upcoming anthology, Krisis: Poetry at the Crossroads. Rooted in the Greek word krisis, meaning a pivotal decision point, we seek poems that explore moments of transformation, choice, and change.

Submission Period: April 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025

Full details here; https://dversepoets.com/coming-soon-2026-anthology/

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I hope you all have submitted your poems as the last date is fast approaching. If not, this challenge may just help you write on the topic.

Some time last year, I read an article in a newspaper (in India) that grey divorces were rising here. This caught me by surprise. Divorce is still not very common here and in the middle-aged and elderly population, more so. Though these days most young people are marrying for love, arranged marriages are still the norm. But for the previous generation love marriages were unheard of. In that article, most interviewed couple were in their fifties and sixties who had hoped to fall in love with the person chosen for them. Some did fall in love with their spouse and some tried to make it work any how. But after spending more than two decades together they felt they were incompatible, were drifting apart, or continued only for the sake of kids and now with kids settled, they decided to part ways. It was not an easy decision, nor was it mutually arrived at. Today we are not going to get into the causes of divorce nor talk about whose fault it is. Sometimes two good people find the burden of marriage stifling them.

What I noticed most was the tone of regret in all the interviews I read. Some regretted not taking the step earlier, whereas others regretted that a seemingly stable relationship in which they had invested so much, had come to an end.

“God pity them both! and pity us all,

Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these: “It might have been!”

(From Maud Muller by John Greenleaf Whittier)

Understandably, there was also anger. Especially when the decision was taken unilaterally. Anger that instead of planning retirement, they were planning on a life of loneliness and uncertainty. There was anger at being left high and dry at a crossroad.

Angry am I for all the times I tried to hold your hand and you pulled it away.

Angry am I for wasting all my time on you, for all those memories made that you hardly recall.

Angry am I for forgiving you for hurting me (more than once).

(From Angry AM I by Field of Moons)

Shall I follow the stream

Or cross the sea,

Strive for a dream

Or let life be?

(From Crossroads by Ocean Mis T)

Those who had already been divorced for a few years and had tried to build their life once again spoke of reconciling with the ugly reality of life. For who can wallow in anger or self pity forever! Sometimes it becomes necessary to move on for the sake of kids.

That were like memories of you—but now

We’ll out, for the world lives as long ago;

And while we’re in our laughing, weeping fit,

…since you were gone,

My barren thoughts have chilled me to the bone.

(From Reconciliation by William Butler Yeats)

Finally, every interviewee spoke of forgiveness for their own peace of mind. None wanted to carry the weight of bitterness to their deathbed.

“And whom do I call my enemy?

An enemy must be worthy of engagement.

I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking.

It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind”

(From This Morning I Pray for My Enemies by Jo Harjo)

For today’s poetics challenge, I would like you to write a poem about any pivotal moment in your life that left you with gnawing regrets or you could cover the entire gamut from anger to forgiveness and reconciliation. In short, you will be writing about a krisis in your personal life.

For those who are new to dVerse:

• Write a poem (in any form) in response to the challenge.
• Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr. Linky below
  and remember to check the little box to accept the use/privacy policy.
• You will find links to other poets, and more will join so please do check
  back later to read their poems.
• Read and comment on other poets’ work– we all come here to have our poems read.
• Please link back to dVerse from your site/blog.

Mr. Linky will be open till 2.00 pm, 29th May.