Live Encounters Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Four
November- December 2025
A Photo, poems by Maria Miraglia.
A Ladybird
My mind always at work
thoughts after thoughts
memories and emotions
are a heavy burden
A walk along the sea
is what it takes
the murmur of the waves
their slow pace
rhythmically repeating
and the seagulls flying overhead
dancers on an amazing stage
their cries in the open air
music to the ears
A ladybird on the top
of a daisy petal
and my gaze captured
by the bright hue and
the perfection of the tiny shape
elegant in her eye-catching livery
all at once
I can hear the silence
there admiring the little creature
my thoughts gone up
with the seagulls
to dance with them
A Photo
I held you in my womb
nursed you
lovingly watched and
observed your every move
from small to large
and the memories
still evoke the same feelings
of when you said the word “mom”
for the first time
of when I heard
your first tooth break through
while sucking at my breast
How tender you were
when your eyes first met a cat
or enchanted you watched the birds freely fly
every small creature next to a larger one
you named mother and child
your gentle nature showed
in everything you did
so kind and mindful
I still recall the hours
spent learning to write
my hand guiding yours
across the page
but little by little you grew and
I began to see
the adult of tomorrow I dreamed about
and spun myself stories
You were beautiful
and wise beyond your years
and with your manners
you garnered smiles from all
even the nuns at the kindergartenand later at school
strict with others
were smiling with you
and always accommodating
Haw many the memories
this photo tells us
I could write a book
an essay on a mother’s love
a love that gives
expects nothing
and simply waits
Only You
Listening to the rain
that, beating on the roofs of the houses
sang strange melodies
Or enjoying on your skin
the warmth of the sun
that the wheat fields
flooded with its yellow rays
while listening to the chirping of the birds
among the bright foliage
of the olive trees
Only you
staying captivated
by the babbling of the foaming streams
did not notice the time passing
nor did you catch any sign
from the mirror
such was the hurry to care for this
and that
Now
Images of the past
tell you of the time
that flowed
unaware it was life you let go
The sun warmed the countryside
the rain cooled the air
the thunder and lightning told you
that one more winter had arrived
that a day was dying
and a new one was rising
Now that wrinkles
mark your face
you return with your mind
to that woman of once
always interested in so many things
and ask yourself if that was
the best way
to consume your time
© Maria Miraglia
Maria Miraglia is a poet, essayist, translator, and peace activist. Her commitment to human rights and peace activism is evident in her long-standing membership in Amnesty International, ICA, and the International Observatory for Human Rights. She is the Vice President of the World Movement for the Defence of Children, Kenya, and the founder of the World Foundation for Peace.
She is a founding member and Literary Director of the Pablo Neruda Association and a member of several editorial boards of international literary magazines; Member of the International Writers Association; Member of the International Academy Mihai Eminescu; Honorary Member of Naciones Unidas de las Letras; 2018 Poet Laureate, WNWU; and World Poet Laureate and Golden Medal 2020 – Xi’an, China. Miraglia got her most recent award, “50 Women Memorables Europea”, at the Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome. She writes in Italian, English, or both languages.
Her poems have been translated into over thirty languages and are featured in more than one hundred anthologies worldwide. She can skillfully intertwine emotions and creativity, philosophy, logic and reason, giving her poems an air of new beauty, which also got her the most recent award, “50 Mujeres Memorables Europea” at the Pontifical University Antonianum, Rome.