As we enter the second edition of QuillMark, I am thrilled to present this evocative selection of poetry from the pool of equally impressive contributions. Each poem was a testament to the unique use of language and imagination, reflecting the creativity and richness of our IQC members. With each issue we grow together as a writers’ community. Thank you all for being an important part of our literary journey. May the spark and flow of our poetic thoughts never cease. The five poems in this issue explore diverse themes– of a woman’s identity crisis in Aditi Dasgupta’s ‘Top Soil’, of translating a memory capsule from the Rann of Kutch into poetic verse in Kinjal Sethia’s ‘To the brown-eyed girl at Kala Dungar’; of young love playing out in the streets in Revathi Siva Kumar’s ‘In The Street’; of exploring the slipperiness of truth and time in Tess James’s ‘Truth’; and the depiction of loss via images of an empty garden bereft of children at play in Ashni Mohnot’s ‘Ghosts in the Garden’. These poems convey powerful messages in elegant words and strong imagery; their vivid and unique perspectives have left a lasting impression on the editorial team. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did. Before proceeding to the wonderful words of our community poets, I leave you a short Haiku by Katsushika Hokusai –

I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms.