By Françoise Maurice

Riverside

the constant stare

of the old fisherman

Françoise Maurice

By Anthony Lusardi

rolling meatballs

her sunken eyes

her dilated pupils

Anthony Lusardi

By Michelle V. Alkerton

initialism

disease progression

now four letters

Michelle V. Alkerton

 

*

 

food bank line

empty hands

holding her place

Michelle V. Alkerton

By Bryan Rickert

zoloft down the rabbit’s hole

Bryan Rickert

*

 

wild hops it’s complicated

Bryan Rickert

By John Pappas

surprising our grief the cuckoo clock

John Pappas

*

 

day’s end

pouring himself four fingers

of darkness

John Pappas

By Reid Hepworth

tracking footprints in the snow jury duty

Reid Hepworth

By Barrie Levine

the paper napkins

paper thin—

soup kitchen

Barrie Levine

By Vasile Moldovan

in the airport

butterflies and planes

ready to take off

Vasile Moldovan

By Priti Khullar

old friends

old gossip

I return younger

Priti Khullar

By Susan Lee Roberts

trailside daisies

my fingers itch

to pick them

Susan Lee Roberts

*

 

gnarled branches

battling to be seen—

family tree


Susan Lee Roberts

By Deby Cedars

Fruit from a fruit stand.

Green mango on the windowsill

Ripens perfectly.

Deby Cedars

By Stephen Toft

early blossom

the bus driver stops

to adjust his mirror

Stephen Toft

By JL Huffman

morning mist

Sandburg’s pale cat

paws the windshield

JL Huffman

By David Cox

thick blue sky–

a school bans

rainbows

David Cox

By Pris Campbell

I thunder

down the dirt road

he chases dust

from the wrong car

for one more kiss

Pris Campbell

By Steliana Cristina Voicu

jasmine moon –

the pond reflecting me

inside your arms

Steliana Cristina Voicu

By Ram Chandran

plucking the weeds

she thinks

of her estranged husband

Ram Chandran

By Chen-ou Liu

waiting alone

in this cheap motel room

all night long

the vacancy sign

blinks on, blinks off ...

Chen-ou Liu