Roman Lyakhovetsky

morning drizzle -

the smell of hay dust

off my rucksack

—Roman Lyakhovetsky

forest shortcut—

a drop of my blood

on the cyclamen

—Roman Lyakhovetsky

Pitt Büerken

two lovers

moonlight shows 

them  kissing

—Pitt Büerken

J. R. Wilkerson

 an idle waitress

when

no one

else watches

the perfect

moonwalk

—J. R. Wilkerson

Chen-ou Liu

cold moon

in the web of barbed wire

a refugee child's gaze

—Chen-ou Liu

jolted awake

from a recurring dream

I murmur

is my immigrant past

this black hole of what-ifs?

—Chen-ou Liu

first snowflakes ...

a lone refugee girl

pirouetting

—Chen-ou Liu

Steliana Cristina Voicu

waltz dress

stops waving…

her blue eyes

—Steliana Cristina Voicu

spring insomnia…

morning sun caressing

my baby's face

—Steliana Cristina Voicu

Lakshman Bulusu

pink-painted sky . . . 

the rainbow 

in my beloved’s eyes

—Lakshman Bulusu

Jake Williams

dusk tracks 

sparkling just beyond sight 

moonlight

—Jake Williams

Tsanka Shishkova

storm wind

the blossom cherry buds

on the fallen tree

—Tsanka Shishkova

Xiaoou Chen

—Xiaoou Chen

 

Mile Lisica

shiny moon

at the end of the war

crickets sing

—Mile Lisica

Michael C. Roberts

—Michael C. Roberts

Joanna Ashwell

river swallows

if only you and I

had this much sky

—Joanna Ashwell

carnations

every colour left

to forget about you

—Joanna Ashwell

Ruth Holzer

Mandarin class

how to say

feeling faint

—Ruth Holzer

Ravi Kiran

spring beach

the many colours

of skin

—Ravi Kiran

M. R. Pelletier

old coat

who will you keep warm

when I am gone?

—M. R. Pelletier

Luciana Moretto

melting candle

beneath its flame...

anytime, anywhere

—Luciana Moretto

Sarah Mahina Calvello

dewdrops

on a spider lily leaf

no reflection

—Sarah Mahina Calvello

Joshua St. Claire

my cries

muffled by cherry blossoms

tax day

—Joshua St. Claire

cloud panorama all that’s left of a single heron

—Joshua St. Claire

Tuyet Van Do

midnight silence

on the power line

a still possum

—Tuyet Van Do

checking emails

in the kitchen

the clock ticking

—Tuyet Van Do

catch up with old friends

on the verandah

kookaburras laughing

—Tuyet Van Do

Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo

scalp wound

under father’s bonnet

cloudy hilltop

—Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo

John J. Dunphy

drive-in theater

on its marquee

‘8 children conceived here'

—John J. Dunphy

Ranu Jain (from 2024)

 

Image and words by Ranu Jain

Editor's Note: This haiga is from the "lost" work from 2024 curated by Roberta Beach Jacobson.

Robert Epstein

beet crackers—

I have my own way

of doing things

—Robert Epstein

Editor's Note (end of February 2025)

Dear community members of CMJ,

We have just finished publishing all texts for February. We're grateful for all your submissions and patience as we get used to things. Take-home messages for you: 

1) From now on, we will be publishing poems on a rolling basis. This means that, once we catch up (which will be soon), there will be anywhere between a couple of days and a month between us receiving your poem and it being curated and published. This means that texts sent in a given month can be now published in that same month. We won't send notification of receipt because we don't want to use automated messages, but we will of course notify you of acceptance (and immediate publication) or rejection. 

2) As before, send only one batch (of up to 5 poems OR photos OR one haibun/tanka prose/haiga) per calendar month.

3) We have chosen our first four nominations for the Touchstone Awards 2025 (to cover January and February), which will be announced on Instagram and BlueSky. At the end of June and December we'll also mention all of the nominees up to those dates here on the CMJ website.

Without further ado, let's get back to poetry!

Timothy and Oana.

Laila Brahmbhatt

hushed snow

all the buried

leaves

—Laila Brahmbhatt