By Mona Bedi

the lives we endure swirling tea leaves


Mona Bedi

how slowly the night descends lullaby moon


Mona Bedi

spring equinox

the time it takes to fall

out of love

Mona Bedi

By Joanna Ashwell

in the red

nowhere to turn

from a zero balance

Joanna Ashwell

the lost years

tightly packed away

out of sight

in case I crumble

beneath the sorrow

Joanna Ashwell

no longer fitting

into my hometown

I wander around

unpacking the edges

of loneliness

Joanna Ashwell

By Eavonka Ettinger

open door

just a slant of light

as the sun sets

Eavonka Ettinger

the length

of kneading paws

my catnap

Eavonka Ettinger

eucalyptus shedding what's forgotten

Eavonka Ettinger

the muchness

of a rose garden

your lips

Eavonka Ettinger

By Stephanie Zepherelli

crashing thunder

doors bolted tight

against ill omens

Stephanie Zepherelli

empty flower box

a mom and pop store

boarded up

Stephanie Zepherelli

lonely path

looking for memories

i never had

Stephanie Zepherelli

By J. D. Nelson

windy day & night

I’m too tired to stay up

too anxious to sleep

J. D. Nelson

she gives me three words

to remember for the test

brush, sunshine, & chair


J. D. Nelson

forgotten coffee

no time to run back inside

before the bus comes

J. D. Nelson

By Sharon Ferrante

a rough day

I sit down

with yesterday


Sharon Ferrante

calm night

I rest on a string

from his guitar

Sharon Ferrante

I watch you

cut through smoke

changing

a small room

with a saxophone


Sharon Ferrante

By Robert Epstein

a flower does not talk

. . . and yet

this fragrance

Robert Epstein

my shrinking life

I never did own

a little black book

Robert Epstein

bee sting ––

I thought I knew you

better than that

Robert Epstein

at home

snuggling in bed

with the wrong book

Robert Epstein

old wooden bridge

how you keep me

hanging on

Robert Epstein

By Robert Witmer

spring wind

a bamboo hubbub

rubs against the sky

Robert Witmer

a small boat

asleep in the waves

the fisherman tracing stars

Robert Witmer

chiseled

from marble

the hand of a slave

Robert Witmer

behind her eyes

so many rooms

a breeze through rose curtains

Robert Witmer

By Nalini Shetty

broken mirror

a fractured self

stares back

Nalini Shetty

city park

every bench has

its own story

Nalini Shetty

By 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

By Mile Lisica

sky in the water

two moored boats

share the silence

Mile Lisica

I close my eyes

to feel a little more

the depth of the sea

Mile Lisica

By Joshua St. Claire

what is and isn’t the moon behind stratocumulus clouds

Joshua St. Claire

end of greatness

winter sun spent

among the hemlocks

Joshua St. Claire

By C.X. Turner

tiny pebble

warmed by the memories

of summer

C.X. Turner

morning sun

on a journey

of becoming

C.X. Turner

By Maurice Nevile

bank queue

stretching well beyond

the welcome sign

Maurice Nevile

 

 
train station

the smokers lined up

against the wall

Maurice Nevile

By Francoise Maurice

retired

he completes his profile

on a dating site

Francoise Maurice

east wind

the yellow of dawn

at the window

Francoise Maurice

By Stephen Jarrell Williams

the last songbird

on a mountaintop

singing to the world

Stephen Jarrell Williams

empty railroad tracks

sunflowers reaching skyward

between the steel rails

Stephen Jarrell Williams

By Chen-ou Liu

midnight snowfall

the nonstop blaring

of a car alarm

Chen-ou Liu

gathering shadows

ten more people ticketed

for sleeping rough

Chen-ou Liu

By Mark Forrester

cavern walls—

humming a tune

from another time


Mark Forrester

morning mist

a few swans sleeping

on the pond—

still giving each other

the silent treatment


Mark Forrester