Cold Moon Journal

Cold Moon Journal
Photo c. Alf B. Meier

Monday, April 15, 2024

By Neena Singh

forest trail

an elk’s antlers

point the way

Neena Singh



garden swing…

a lingering day

on cloud nine


Neena Singh

By Mona Bedi

the lives we endure swirling tea leaves


Mona Bedi



how slowly the night descends lullaby moon


Mona Bedi



spring equinox

the time it takes to fall

out of love

Mona Bedi

By Joanna Ashwell

in the red

nowhere to turn

from a zero balance

Joanna Ashwell



the lost years

tightly packed away

out of sight

in case I crumble

beneath the sorrow

Joanna Ashwell



no longer fitting

into my hometown

I wander around

unpacking the edges

of loneliness

Joanna Ashwell

Friday, April 12, 2024

By Eavonka Ettinger

open door

just a slant of light

as the sun sets

Eavonka Ettinger



the length

of kneading paws

my catnap

Eavonka Ettinger



eucalyptus shedding what's forgotten

Eavonka Ettinger



the muchness

of a rose garden

your lips

Eavonka Ettinger

By Stephanie Zepherelli

crashing thunder

doors bolted tight

against ill omens

Stephanie Zepherelli



empty flower box

a mom and pop store

boarded up

Stephanie Zepherelli



lonely path

looking for memories

i never had

Stephanie Zepherelli

By J. D. Nelson

windy day & night

I’m too tired to stay up

too anxious to sleep


J. D. Nelson



she gives me three words

to remember for the test

brush, sunshine, & chair


J. D. Nelson



forgotten coffee

no time to run back inside

before the bus comes


J. D. Nelson

By Sharon Ferrante

a rough day

I sit down

with yesterday


Sharon Ferrante



calm night

I rest on a string

from his guitar

Sharon Ferrante



I watch you

cut through smoke

changing

a small room

with a saxophone


Sharon Ferrante

Thursday, April 11, 2024

By Robert Epstein

a flower does not talk

. . . and yet

this fragrance

Robert Epstein



my shrinking life

I never did own

a little black book

Robert Epstein



bee sting ––

I thought I knew you

better than that

Robert Epstein



at home

snuggling in bed

with the wrong book

Robert Epstein



old wooden bridge

how you keep me

hanging on

Robert Epstein

By Robert Witmer

spring wind

a bamboo hubbub

rubs against the sky

Robert Witmer



a small boat

asleep in the waves

the fisherman tracing stars

Robert Witmer



chiseled

from marble

the hand of a slave


Robert Witmer



behind her eyes

so many rooms

a breeze through rose curtains

Robert Witmer

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

By Nalini Shetty

broken mirror

a fractured self

stares back

Nalini Shetty



city park

every bench has

its own story

Nalini Shetty

By M. R. Pelletier

Squinting

through pinholes in shoeboxes—

kindergarten eclipse

M. R. Pelletier



Small talk—

   he answers her questions

   with one-word replies

M. R. Pelletier

By Mile Lisica

sky in the water

two moored boats

share the silence

Mile Lisica



I close my eyes

to feel a little more

the depth of the sea

Mile Lisica

By Joshua St. Claire

what is and isn’t the moon behind stratocumulus clouds

Joshua St. Claire



end of greatness

winter sun spent

among the hemlocks


Joshua St. Claire

By C.X. Turner

tiny pebble

warmed by the memories

of summer

C.X. Turner



morning sun

on a journey

of becoming

C.X. Turner

By Maurice Nevile

bank queue

stretching well beyond

the welcome sign


Maurice Nevile

 

 
train station

the smokers lined up

against the wall


Maurice Nevile

By Francoise Maurice

retired

he completes his profile

on a dating site

Francoise Maurice



east wind

the yellow of dawn

at the window

Francoise Maurice

By Stephen Jarrell Williams

the last songbird

on a mountaintop

singing to the world


Stephen Jarrell Williams



empty railroad tracks

sunflowers reaching skyward

between the steel rails


Stephen Jarrell Williams

By Chen-ou Liu

midnight snowfall

the nonstop blaring

of a car alarm

Chen-ou Liu



gathering shadows

ten more people ticketed

for sleeping rough

Chen-ou Liu

By Mark Forrester

cavern walls—

humming a tune

from another time


Mark Forrester



morning mist

a few swans sleeping

on the pond—

still giving each other

the silent treatment


Mark Forrester

By Ravi Kiran

turbulence

the art of balancing

black coffee


Ravi Kiran



a second look

at the first impression

red mushroom

Ravi Kiran

By Tony Williams

partial sight

his life

in a goldfish bowl


Tony Williams



hailstorm—

my hand stuck out

to feel the sting


Tony Williams

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

By Nitu Yumnam

earthen pot

the shape i take

shifting homes

Nitu Yumnam

By Elliot Diamond

shadow dance

the coyote howels…

a karaoke moon

Elliot Diamond

By Jennifer Gurney

on the edges

of my periphery—

you live

Jennifer Gurney

By Kathabela Wilson

I took the dragon

by the tail held onto it

my compass

circle after circle in sand

it drew me inward

Kathabela Wilson

By Olinda Ninolakis

Y is why

not an ypsilon

all Greek to me

Olinda Ninolakis

By Mark Gilbert

cherry blossoms

and then some snow

April fool

Mark Gilbert

By Stephen Toft

moonlit snow

a fox prints

her own poem


Stephen Toft

By Samo Kreutz

gentle dawn ...

the haiku remains

unfinished


Samo Kreutz

By Manoj Sharma

pendulum swing

I let the memory

heal


Manoj Sharma


 

office window

the ascending aroma

from the alley bakery


Manoj Sharma



long night

the lonely baying

of a stray dog


Manoj Sharma



March wind

a drifting leaf settles

on my shoulder


Manoj Sharma



ancestral well

remembering

my foremothers


Manoj Sharma

By Timothy Daly

stale bread we can’t break the silence

Timothy Daly



blackberry bush this bitter departure

Timothy Daly



the side they don’t see of me half moon

Timothy Daly

By Jackie Chou

no water lilies

but rock reflections

in the winter pond

I look for beauty

in the cold and gray

Jackie Chou



a stone Buddha

on the garden path

reminds me

it was many years ago

I last lit incense

Jackie Chou



two blue-tailed birds

hopping in and out

of a fallen tree

all the things I cannot name

on my midday walk

Jackie Chou



the sky tonight

bereft of the moon

and stars...

I write a love poem

about airplanes

Jackie Chou

By Anthony Ward

Did I waste myself on excess,

Wanting too much

Until it became too little?

Anthony Ward


 

To see the moon and hear the loon

Is to feel what night is made of

Anthony Ward



Leaves dance to the rhythm of the rain

Anthony Ward

By Noga Shemer

above or below

i will always be here when

wildflowers return

Noga Shemer



how many, he asks

infinite, is her answer

azalea petals

Noga Shemer


 

leave the door open

so I may hear you trying

not to disturb me

Noga Shemer

 

 

i worry for you

but you've been through this before

daffodils in snow

Noga Shemer

Sunday, April 7, 2024

By Debbie Strange

the world careens

from crisis to crisis  . . .

pumpkin toadlets


image and words Debbie Strange

 
 
 


vegan picnic

three scoops of daisies

in my cone

image and words Debbie Strange