M. R. Pelletier

old coat

who will you keep warm

when I am gone?

—M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

 soap opera 

my neighbor sings 

in the shower

—M. R. Pelletier 

M. R. Pelletier

winter solstice

my beard lengthens more quickly

than the day

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

dark skies

leaves drop to the bench

where I read

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Hushed conversations—

sparrows listen

from the eaves

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Balcony chimes

& a wind among the trees—

my mind ringing

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Heat wave—

   thanking the oaks

   that line the street

M. R. Pelletier

Recess—

   the schoolyard sparrows

   hide


M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Space station—

   who hears the mouse’s

   frightened squeak?

M. R. Pelletier

Kitchen window—

   a stray dog

   in the front yard

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Closed wings—

   the butterfly disappears

   into a tree

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Three hours

before the alarm—patterns

                              in the ceiling

M. R. Pelletier

Sunday in the park—

   a sermon

   of barks


M. R. Pelletier

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

M. R. Pelletier

Mid-morning lull ...

   the barista busies himself

   with a broom

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Interstate—

   questioning

   who I am

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Time lapse—

   how age reshuffles

   memory’s frames

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Empty nest—

   a hole through it

   to sky

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Talking to myself—

   the volume of

   a cardinal’s feathers

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Ceiling fan—

   all the café’s conversations

   cut to pieces

M. R. Pelletier

 

*

Heatwave—

   there’s more talk

   of planting trees

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Beach read,

   sand trapped in its pages—

   the secrets she keeps

M. R. Pelletier

M. R. Pelletier

Monsoon—

   overdue library books

   float in my backpack

M. R. Pelletier

2023 Touchstone Nominations

Congratulations to these Cold Moon Journal poets for their 2023 Touchstone Award nominations:

Brad Bennett
Susan Burch (2)
Keith Evetts
Mark Gilbert
Louise Hopewell
Govind Joshi
Ellen Kom
M. R. Pelletier

Good luck, all!