By Keith Evetts

Forbidden Planet

my little daughter

wants to go there

Keith Evetts

A former biologist and retired British diplomat, Keith Evetts has published papers in Nature and other scientific periodicals, and long-form poetry in The Oxford Magazine and elsewhere. His haiku and related forms have appeared in Wales Haiku Journal, Frogpond, Blithe Spirit, Prune Juice, Asahi Shimbun, Cold Moon Journal, Failed Haiku, Heliosparrow, Mamba, Fireflies’ Light, Haiku In Action, Cattails, World Haiku Review, Presence, Poetry Pea, Sonic Boom, MacQueens Quinterly, and at The Haiku Foundation; and award-winning cherita and gembun in The Cherita books and the Gembun anthologies. Listed in the top 100 European haikuists, he hosts the haiku commentary feature re:Virals at The Haiku Foundation. Married, with five children, a grey parrot and a sense of humour.

By Orrin PréJean

late morning nap my dreams much like snakes in a snake pit

Orrin PréJean

Orrin PréJean, from Port Arthur, Texas, came to EL Short Poetry around 2006. In 2013 he began writing tanka and has since published two collections of tanka. Orrin now focuses on the history and current practices of senryu and is a senryu poet with his first ebook collection of senryu titled October’s Kid.

Featured Poets for July

Announcing our featured poets for July:

Orrin PréJean

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

Keith Evetts

2022 Dwarf Stars Award Nominees

Congratulations to these talented poets nominated for the 2022 Dwarf Stars Award:

Julie Schwerin

Pippa Phillips

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

Their poems from Cold Moon Journal will be published in the upcoming anthology.

Good luck to the 120 poets who will appear in this anthology, topping out the 1371 poems considered. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) will announce the winner after August.

By Lucia Cardillo

old window ...

the silent embroidery

of a spider

Lucia Cardillo

By Elena Malec

solo guitar

living on a shoestring

budget

Elena Malec

By Marilyn Ashbaugh

resting in the frog's throat summer rain

Marilyn Ashbaugh

By Stephen Jarrell Williams

under the sea

yesterdays of time

soaking in the wash

Stephen Jarrell Williams

By Herb Tate

silent workshop

grandfather still

at the lathe

Herb Tate

By Anda Marcu

clear summer night

beneath the floral canopy

a toy left behind

Anda Marcu

By Alvin B. Cruz

snow angels

our wings

almost touch

Alvin B. Cruz

By Susan Burch

blending in

with the curtains

at the party

always the wallflower

never the life

Susan Burch

By C.X.Turner

however low

the sun persists…

rising daily

C.X.Turner

By Susan Bonk Plumridge

raindrops

rolling down windows—

still the sparrows 

 

Susan Bonk Plumridge

By Refika Dedić

the sky over Ukraine

in the basement silence

rain of bullets

Refika Dedić

By Karen A VandenBos

Cup of jazz flavored

With a shot of muddy blues

Setting lips on fire.

Karen A VandenBos

By Tiffany Liz Mackay

sleepy seaside—

a seagull

announces its presence

Tiffany Liz Mackay

By Nancy Brown

rain lilies

in a nearby field

brief constellations

Nancy Brown