Alvin B. Cruz

reading his epitaph

I have fought

the good fight

a leaf drifting

down the stream

—Alvin B. Cruz

dawn fishing

he catches

a glimpse of stars

—Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

table for two

the melting candle

between us

—Alvin B. Cruz

cherry blossoms

in late spring

the tree i planted

though i will not sit

in its shade

—Alvin B. Cruz

another home

in ruins

winter deepens

—Alvin B. Cruz

the letter

that never reached you

wisteria blossoms

—Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

strumming

her ex-lover's guitar

silent rain

Alvin B. Cruz

one year sober

a dozen roses

in a wine bottle

Alvin B. Cruz

claw machine

all the ways

of letting go

Alvin B. Cruz

another year...

yesterday's rain

in the wheelbarrow

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

a love letter to keep forever stamps

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

day moon

the fear of being known

inside out

Alvin B. Cruz

on a train looking out

the window

I wonder

how much of life

has passed me by

Alvin B, Cruz

More Touchstone Award Nominations

Congratulations to these talented Cold Moon Journal poets for their 2024 Touchstone Award nominations:

Biswajit Mishra

Stacy Taylor

Bipasha Majumder (De)

Bryan Rickert

Sharon Ferrante

Mark Hendrickson

Jerome Berglund

j rap

Sharon Martina

Rita Melissano

Alvin B. Cruz

Scott F. Parker

Xiaoou Chen

Jay Friedenberg

Susan Burch

Alaka Y

Mohua Maulik

Wendy Cobourne

Adrian Bouter

Alvin B. Cruz

finding peace

in a lonely place

desert lily

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

his wife’s need

for some space

desert flower

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

news of a friend's passing summer clouds

Alvin B. Cruz

bedtime stories

grandma reads

the palm of my hand

Alvin B. Cruz

clouds drifting further tests

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

folding

paper dolls

mother tells me

what it means

to be a man

Alvin B. Cruz

his twin sons

coming out

double rainbow

Alvin B. Cruz

enough said soundless wind chimes

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

words we said too late lilacs

Alvin B. Cruz

insomnia

yesterday’s rain

still falling

Alvin B. Cruz

rain after a long drought mother’s remission

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

in the woods

a loneliness silenced

by birdsong

Alvin B. Cruz

hospice window

moonlight enters

without permission

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

used poetry book

a skeleton leaf

on a love poem

Alvin B. Cruz

writer's block

he stirs his cup

of tea

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

heavy snow

her bereavement leave

runs out

Alvin B. Cruz

sand between my toes...

i carry the sound

of waves

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

what i really meant to say false spring

Alvin B. Cruz

death poem

pouring my last

cup of tea

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

from season to season the silence of grief
 

Alvin B. Cruz

Nominations for the Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2023

 

Our Nominations for
 the Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2023

January:

improv class
a student makes up an excuse
for being late
Andrew Markowski

February:

mating hedgehogs
we tell our little kids
they love each other
Keith Evetts

March:

frayed jersey —
those knitting classes
i never took
Rupa Anand

April:

slow hop
outpacing
the snail
Jenn Ryan-Jauregui

May:

earth day…
dandelions decorate
the lawn
Nancy Brady

June:

hailstorm
alley-drinkers take refuge
in a dumpster
John J. Dunphy

July:

washing line
a tiny spider snug
in the spring of a clothespin
Ingrid Baluchi

August:

half-empty cinema –
a moth flutters in and out
of the projector beam
Roman Lyakhovetsky

September:

After midnight
the spider and I don't want
a cricket in the room
Dejan Ivanovic

October:

buzz cut
we get it before
chemo does
John Pappas

November:

warrr
Adrian Bouter

December:

in no particular order falling leaves
Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

in no particular order falling leaves

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

war death toll climbing roses

Alvin B. Cruz

*

an eye

for an eye

in war

nothing but

darkness

Alvin B. Cruz

Alvin B. Cruz

what we leave behind shooting stars

Alvin B. Cruz