Partha Sarkar

bird twitching 

its tail—waves

in the sun.

—Partha Sarkar

John J. Dunphy

outdoor nativity scene

one of the Wise Men

facing the wrong way

—John J. Dunphy

his last road trip

my friend arrives

at the cemetery

—John J. Dunphy 

Vickie Yiannoulou

old bedroom

a bassinet holds

one tiny sock

—Vickie Yiannoulou

Anne Fox

woodpecker poem…

the clickety-clack

of his old typewriter

—Anne Fox

Oscar Luparia

licking a stamp

the flavor

of nostalgia

—Oscar Luparia

homemade bread

a handful of sesame seeds

for the sparrows

—Oscar Luparia

Miriam Sagan

thunderclap—

the ghost of my cat 

hits the bed

—Miriam Sagan

Elliot Diamond

icecaps

with sprinkles

sweating

—Elliot Diamond

László Aranyi

dirty spider's web

the creeping hourglass

etched in all of us

—László Aranyi

Mishti Choudhury

keeping an eye

on me

this moon

—Mishti Choudhury

Shine on, a haibun by David Ngo

Amid the rhythm of machines in the ICU, you ride the relentless tide of a stroke, each breath straining to fill your fading lungs—all for one thought: the uncertain future of those left behind. 

    twilight...

    the fading flicker

    of a spark 

(in memoriam, my late mother Ling Boey King, 1936-2025)

—David Ngo

Read by Oana Maria Cercel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGyGZEgvO-A/?igsh=cnphZ3E2eGVuM2lx

Michael C. Roberts

—Michael C. Roberts

—Michael C. Roberts

—Michael C. Roberts

M. R. Pelletier

 soap opera 

my neighbor sings 

in the shower

—M. R. Pelletier 

Jackie Chou

winter sparrow 

the cashier declines 

my food stamp card 

—Jackie Chou

Steve Van Allen

seven starlings 

on a wire 

melting in november rain 

—Steve Van Allen

Jerome Berglund

tipsy snow 

whenever a car passes 

I flinch

—Jerome Berglund

Joshua St. Claire

precession of the equinoxes 

my hands reach 

middle age

—Joshua St. Claire

Joanna Ashwell

votives 

by the window 

early shadow

—Joanna Ashwell

night chrysalis 

lost in the snow 

forest stars

—Joanna Ashwell

Tuyet Van Do

red tinsels 

on neighbor's fence 

wind chimes tinkling 

—Tuyet Van Do

j rap

birthday song 

a balloon floats 

above the moon

—j rap

inside his silence an echo of dad’s

—j rap

descending the peak 

by full moon 

rock fall

—j rap

Editor's Note: forthcoming texts, editorial team (2025)

Dear contributors and readers of Cold Moon Journal,

I am delighted to be taking over from Robin and writing this first post, and to announce that from hereon, I'll be adding the texts chosen for publication in February (Robin may well continue adding some previously accepted texts due to them getting lost). 

I'm joined for my editorial duties by Oana Maria Cercel, who along with being co-editor, will also be responsible for social media promotion of your work. We'll choose two texts each month for the Touchstone Awards, leaving us 6 choices at the end of the year for a bit of wiggle room (we'll submit 30 each year). We'll announce these Touchstone Nominations at the end of each month on Instagram, and on the website at the end of the year. Follow the IG here and Facebook here. If you post your work, please tag the account! 

Here's Oana's bio: Oana Maria Cercel is simply a shrewd human being that fears what mankind is capable of, given our inability to accept our fundamental connection to the abundant quality that already exists.

Some of you may have noticed that after our first editorial screening of the texts, where I think a poem could be a better fit through a little tweaking, I will suggest this over e-mail. This means, please send only up to five texts in total, made up of haiku/senryu/tanka/mini-haibun/haiga/photos. 

Without further ado, let's read some poetry! 

Thank you,

Timothy and Oana