Nitu Yumnam

half-open bud

the commas in the voice  

of the bullied

—Nitu Yumnam

Vaishnavi Pusapati

 Women’s History Month,

        among pictures of Curie and Rosa Parks,

                                        my grandmother’s picture.

—Vaishnavi Pusapati

horror movie-

leaving the bed light on...

—Vaishnavi Pusapati

Devoshruti Mandal

orange horizon

her hennaed hair 

spills gold 

—Devoshruti Mandal 

Jennifer Gurney

dreaming 

myself an artist

solo exhibition

—Jennifer Gurney

afternoon shadows

I play jump rope

with the wind

—Jennifer Gurney

Manoj Sharma

father-son

more like

a puzzle

—Manoj Sharma 

late night bus

all the lights are on

no soul to count

—Manoj Sharma 

traffic noise

the rising and fading

of stadium cheers

—Manoj Sharma 

Zuzanna Truchlewska

migratory birds—

memory of you

comes back

—Zuzanna Truchlewska

Chen-ou Liu

false dawn ...

first to rise, my twin toddlers

sing up the sun 

—Chen-ou Liu

the newborn

between in-laws and her

hard-edged sunlight

—Chen-ou Liu

office gossip

the chirrups

of crickets

—Chen-ou Liu

alone in half-light

my mother folding clothes

like a retail pro ...

the comfort of routine

in this war-shaken world

—Chen-ou Liu

Sherri J Moye-Dombrosky

kazoo band

penguins marching

to the sea

—Sherri J Moye-Dombrosky

Arvinder Kaur

gran’s journal 

daydreams of fifty years 

yellowing

—Arvinder Kaur

Doug Sylver

the morning she

left me for good

spotless coffee cup 

—Doug Sylver

Gareth Nurden

middle of summer

lapping waves

lifting her sundress

—Gareth Nurden

Anne Fox

knee-deep in dawn

where the road was

a heron

—Anne Fox

midnight sail

skimming the surface

of stars

—Anne Fox

Diane Webster

on the lake

a rowboat ripples across

the swan’s wake

—Diane Webster

Joanna Ashwell

sunflower dowry

the first nod

of dewfall

—Joanna Ashwell

Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

how rapidly 

those memories swell 

like chia seeds in water

i soak my anger

and drink it down

—Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

seven times over

nomads

changing homes 

my son revels

in the joy of new spaces

—Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

Monica Kakkar

grandmas leave

aromas in the alley . . .

Eid al-Adha

—Monica Kakkar

Nivy

the glow

on mother's face...

brahmakamalam

—Nivy

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

sunset colors

the missing green

on the earth

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

Susan Lee Roberts

pitched tent

beneath the stars…

a chorus of bullfrogs

—Susan Lee Roberts

John Hawkhead

filling the basket

with cut flowers

a wicker coffin

—John Hawkhead

soft flurries

our old cat releases

her final purr

—John Hawkhead

Katie Montagna

sharing the canyon silence

bighorn sheep

and me

—Katie Montagna

afternoon humidity

the thickness

of lavender

—Katie Montagna

rain in the beech grove

I drop my hood

to listen

—Katie Montagna

against the wind

a sparrow lands

where it started

—Katie Montagna

flashes of red

in the rose bush

a touch and go robin

—Katie Montagna

Ricardo de la Concha

wallet gone

should have known

her track marks

—Ricardo de la Concha

Hynek Koziol

storm day

her four blowouts

on three candles

—Hynek Koziol

coming home

in an empty cigarette box

butterfly wings

—Hynek Koziol

Bryan Rickert

snowmelt

again no sign

of the crocus

—Bryan Rickert

not remembering 

how I got the bruise

autumn’s darkness 

—Bryan Rickert

Melissa Leaf Nelson

chapped lips

waiting for hot cocoa

to cool

—Melissa Leaf Nelson

long drive home

spotting a bald eagle

standing in the ditch

—Melissa Leaf Nelson

wind-sculpted snowdrifts

she snuggles deeper

into her afghan

—Melissa Leaf Nelson