Sakura by Rekha Valliappan

Narrated by Rekha Valliappan

Rekha Valliappan, "Sakura" — Illustration by Sue Babcock

the staggering beauty of the earth,
edge-blown, lithe, a-flutter; bathe

in sakura. languish to a pinking sky,
every bud the ghost of a moment

movement, leaf bud, shifting in shades,
magenta, carmine, cherry blossoms, rose

pink of dianthus, blush peach in branches,
wind stirs around fuchsia, amaranth,

we will pass into coral, cerise,
gliding traces oblivion leaves behind.

BIO: Former college lecturer in India and Malaysia, Rekha Valliappan earned her M.A. in English Literature at Madras University and her LL.B. (Hons) at University of London. Her works are published in Eastern Iowa Review, Thrice Fiction Magazine, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Coffin Bell Journal, Intellectual Refuge, Indiana Voice Journal, Friday Flash Fiction, Third Flatiron Anthology, The Ekphrastic Review, Scarlet Leaf Review, and others. She won Boston Accent Lit’s Short Story Award and was named in Across The Margin’s Best of Fiction List 2017. Recently she has been shortlisted in Ouen Press Short Story Competition 2017. She lives in New York and volunteers her spare time to the community.

Issue 52 is the ultimate issue of Liquid Imagination. John Arthur Miller (we called him Jam back then) had a dream, and made it a reality. He dreamed of Sophia, his muse, and how she would help him create a fusion of art and stories and poems and music. Sophia was on the cover of Issue 1, published online in the fall of 2008, and in memory of those days, she is on the cover of this last issue. For fourteen years she has kept Liquid Imagination in her heart, but now it is time for her to rest.

It’s been an unbelievable journey for me, and I have made so many friends. Of course, number one is Jam. And Karl Rademacher who helped me build my first website and made Silver Pen come alive. Kevin Wallis was Liquid Imagination’s first Senior Fiction Editor and what a great job he did! His selected stories embodied the vision of Liquid Imagination. John C. Mannone, our Senior Poetry Editor, has been a powerhouse, selecting poetry that is both beautiful to read, as well as thought provoking.

Brandon Rucker composed music for the site and was a poetry editor, and Bob Eccles was the voice of Liquid Imagination for many issues. Past poetry editors also included Sherri Ellerman and Chrissy Davis.

We had a series of highly talented fiction guest editors between 2014 to 2019, including AJ Brown, Samuel Barnhart, Perry McDaid, Maureen Bowden, Edwin Riddell, Gary Fields, and Shah Khan. Edwin Riddell moved on to be Senior Editor from 2019 until this very last issue.

And I cannot forget the hundreds of authors and poets and photographers and artists whose work we were honored to publish. I hope you will browse through the old issues and enjoy experiencing once again the wonderful variety of stories and poems published over the years.

For fourteen years we’ve read thousands of submissions, struggling to select the best ones to publish from all the great ones submitted. I sincerely thank all who made Liquid Imagination such a success, and a great joy for me. I’m very proud of the magazine and of all of the people who contributed in so many ways. I wish every one of you the best that life has to offer.

Signing off with a full heart
Sue Babcock
Publisher, Liquid Imagination