By Deborah Karl-Brandt

Behind the Curtain

phone call

the stranger says

a familiar name

out for fresh air

on the wet asphalt

a dying worm

 

feel-good-tea

her birthday package remains

unopened

 

some things I will never know

did she really liked white roses?

 

one last time looking up her name in the address book

 

the woman

who wasn't my grandmother

someone sends his

condolences

Deborah Karl-Brandt

By M. R. Pelletier

Balcony chimes

& a wind among the trees—

my mind ringing

M. R. Pelletier

By Ron Scully

heat wave

even the terns don’t want

to come out of the water

Ron Scully

By Saumya Bansal

ocean blue sky blue ocean

Saumya Bansal

first flight just winging it

Saumya Bansal

By Robert Witmer

the widow's plants

dying in the dark

windows

Robert Witmer

By Refika Dedić

morning freshness

still on the window

pumpkin seeds

Refika Dedić

By Devoshruti Mandal

old memories...

still that flickering

midnight lamp

Devoshruti Mandal

By Kavita Ratna

blown fuse

Orion leaps

forward

Kavita Ratna

By Wilda Morris

looking both ways

before crossing—

a Canada goose

Wilda Morris

By Kathryn Jones

sunflower math

truth plus beauty equals

galaxies of gold

Kathryn Jones

By Alvin B. Cruz

his wife’s need

for some space

desert flower

Alvin B. Cruz

By Manasa Kaliki

sound of a seashell

silence in meditation

both infinite

Manasa Kaliki

By Chad Parenteau

The late summer rain

never calls, never writes, gets

visit over with.

Chad Parenteau

By Madhavi K

marching seasons

the garden gnome

stands to attention

Madhavi K

By Adele Evershed

orange crush

the long line to buy

MAGA hats

Adele Evershed

By Sharon Ferrante

I wander off…

how lovely this moment

without purpose

Sharon Ferrante

By Mike Gallagher

romping lambs

unaware of the closeness

of rosemary

Mike Gallagher

By Ram Chandran

strange —

this cloud looks like

Papa's profile

Ram Chandran

By Scott F. Parker

coffee and donuts

as i police

the sunrise

Scott F. Parker

where we are—

beyond us

only fog

Scott F. Parker

By Wilbert Salgado

crayon box

the kid´s imagination

sharpens

Wilbert Salgado

By Nitu Yumnam

departing train

the weight of

unspoken words

Nitu Yumnam

By Eugeniusz Zacharski

dead of night

an octopus turns off the valve

on the gas pipeline


Eugeniusz Zacharski

By Fatma Zohra Habis

isolation

alone with

artificial Intelligence

Fatma Zohra Habis

By Marjolein Rotsteeg

under the streetlight

two moths

dance away the night

Marjolein Rotsteeg

holiday abroad

a stray cat looking like mine

wants to make friends

Marjolein Rotsteeg

By Mona Bedi

forest bathing I slowly become a tree

Mona Bedi

blinking cursor —

the things I leave

unsaid

Mona Bedi

By Shawn Blair

paper airplanes

the crease at each end

of her smile

Shawn Blair

By Jennifer Isham

cancer diagnosis

writing now

with my left hand

Jennifer Isham

By Tsanka Shishkova

music

of calm water

moonlight

Tsanka Shishkova