Editorial May break

Dear CMJ Community,

For personal reasons, we can't undertake our editorial duties for the month of May, and will resume June 1st. This doesn't affect any submissions. Of course, we'll have a lot of catching up to do when we get back, so if you read this message and also have work under consideration with us, then do consider sending any further work elsewhere this month. 

Please check out our updated guidelines for contributors in case you missed anything.

Best wishes,

Timothy and Oana 

Roberta Beach Jacobson

beach day

rinsing my hair

in sea salt

—Roberta Beach Jacobson

Wendy Cobourne

unopened letters

the father

he never knew 

—Wendy Cobourne

still waters

the silence

inside me

—Wendy Cobourne

Audrey Quinn

looming storm clouds

the memories come back

in fragments

—Audrey Quinn 

Bill Fay

pond sunset

night arrives

upside down

—Bill Fay

sumi brush

a bit of myself

in each peony

—Bill Fay

Bona M. Santos

high noon

the watchful eye

of a crow

—Bona M. Santos

Fatma Zohra Habis

war again

no place where

daffodils bloom

—Fatma Zohra Habis

Lucas Pesso Feniman

broken string

my guitar suddenly

sounds more like me

—Lucas Pesso Feniman

blades of grass

trim the edge

of our temper

—Lucas Pesso Feniman

Doug Sylver

thinking on my feet

I keep stumbling

on the line breaks

—Doug Sylver

red tulips drooping in their vase

hoping my death

is half as lovely

—Doug Sylver

Nalini Shetty

outside the window

a crow pecks at roadkill

I press my fingers

to the brittle bones

beneath my skin

—Nalini Shetty

after love

the slow creak of the fan

above our bed

some things

turn forever

—Nalini Shetty

sorting buttons

from an old tin box

I pause

each one

belonging to something lost

—Nalini Shetty

Chen-ou Liu

silver-haired father

now my child

foggy winter night

—Chen-ou Liu

Silent awakening, a haibun by David Ngo

Hovering above the stubborn snow clinging to the rooftop, the eastern sunrise brushes gently against her stoic face, rousing her from slumber, still veiled in white.

first spring dawn—

the hushed fireworks

of Fuji

—David Ngo

Srini

outside grief's room scudding clouds

—Srini

Ravi Kiran

blooming

in silence

distant fireworks

—Ravi Kiran

Pitt Büerken

biology room

a skeleton lurks

behind the door

—Pitt Büerken

Corey D. Cook

pick-up game 

the last girl chosen 

scores first

—Corey D. Cook

M. R. Pelletier

the cedars whisper how so without wind

—M. R. Pelletier

Michael Buckingham Gray

falling leaves... 

my father picks up 

his paintbrush

—Michael Buckingham Gray 

Priya Narayanan

harvest moon 

the shape of the beggar boy’s 

hunger

—Priya Narayanan

Mircea Moldovan

scattered

together with the dandelions...

thoughts leave me

one by one

out the back door

—Mircea Moldovan

hospital bed

dad always repeats

the second commandment

—Mircea Moldovan

AJ Johnson

pruning saplings…

to extend her years

I would trim mine

—AJ Johnson

I fly fish

in my dead brother’s

old jeans

uncomfortable

with the fit

—AJ Johnson

a token of peace

this knit cap she made

and left with a note —

a fledgling falcon

tests her wings

—AJ Johnson

Oscar Luparia

shooting a picture –

in the flooded paddies

the sky moves...

motionless herons

their legs in the clouds

—Oscar Luparia

Shrehya Taneja

glass frontage

the stories

we tell ourselves

—Shrehya Taneja

Joanna Ashwell

donkey ride

the tide rolling

within our laughter

—Joanna Ashwell

Jennifer Gurney

no photo needed

you get

the picture

—Jennifer Gurney