Sharon Ferrante

inviting dark clouds my blue morning 

—Sharon Ferrante

Arvinder Kaur

almost dusk 

a mynah tiptoes 

on gulmohar petals 

—Arvinder Kaur

snapping beans

my sister and I 

unburden 

—Arvinder Kaur

jungle walk 

he proposes to me 

with a wildflower

—Arvinder Kaur

Kelly Sargent

county fair

the stickiness

of school bus seats

—Kelly Sargent

Mona Bedi

road trip  

we argue over the flavor 

of potato chips --

how different the worlds

we come from

—Mona Bedi

Bryan Rickert

 at both ends of winter burning leaf scent

—Bryan Rickert

Randy Brooks

wild blackberries

her handful

of sour memories

—Randy Brooks

Karen Battoo

 communed inside a clannish circle needles speak

—Karen Battoo

Roberta Beach Jacobson

a sea

of rainbow plastics

whale belly

—Roberta Beach Jacobson

karaoke night . . .

clearing the room fast

mosquito song

—Roberta Beach Jacobson

pushing empty wheelchair across the room widower

—Roberta Beach Jacobson

Hynek Koziol

strawberry season 

the taste in the garden

of morning rain

—Hynek Koziol

John Richard Stephens

its reflection

on the pond

dragonfly 

—John Richard Stephens

Vandana Parashar

can of sardines

the cat through the pet door

not ours

—Vandana Parashar

Eugeniusz Zacharski

frogspawn

a gentle glow

of distant lightning

—Eugeniusz Zacharski

cold night

nebulae

drift apart

—Eugeniusz Zacharski

Jerome Berglund

badlands

a dam bawling  

for its calf

—Jerome Berglund

Tsanka Shishkova

fading gipsy song

in the summer night

lonely boat

—Tsanka Shishkova

Neena Singh

scorching heat

the farmer borrows

his scarecrow's hat

—Neena Singh

Marilyn Ashbaugh

quick-mart

gran picks up a six-pack

of petunias

—Marilyn Ashbaugh

farmstead auction

stealing plants

to save her garden

—Marilyn Ashbaugh

knee-high in the cornfield solstice moon

—Marilyn Ashbaugh

river of stars sneaking out to see you

—Marilyn Ashbaugh

Jay Friedenberg

stock market

trying to make

cents of it all

—Jay Friedenberg

Bipasha Majumder (De)

 overcast sky

stars twinkling

in granny's stories

—Bipasha Majumder (De)

air raid

wren songs squeezing

through the debris

—Bipasha Majumder (De)

drone strike

a widower's wailing paints

the stars black

—Bipasha Majumder (De)

a war orphan wailing wildflowers

—Bipasha Majumder (De)

war win

trees dressed

in white

—Bipasha Majumder (De)

John Hawkhead

sudden remembrance

of an empty crib

gentling rain

—John Hawkhead

Jon Thurlow

outside the hospital

a white rose blooms—

sleepless night

—Jon Thurlow

Tony Williams

cold shower—

the nettles

erect

—Tony Williams

Audrey Quinn

fevered night

the clock ticking

slowly

—Audrey Quinn

rainstorm

a scorpion

out of hiding

—Audrey Quinn

Blueprint, by Ariana Afrin Emu

I used to love like a storm

no map

no shelter

just sky and surrender

—Ariana Afrin Emu

Melissa Laussmann

sipping tea

under the morning moon

scent of jasmine

—Melissa Laussmann

Mark Forrester

funeral season

bittercress blossoms

beside the old school

—Mark Forrester