Robert Witmer

a new bell

on an old bike

all downhill from here

—Robert Witmer

Mark Hendrickson

food truck

I know you're not good for me

but I still come back

—Mark Hendrickson

 

cotton candy

stories are better the way

grandma spins them

—Mark Hendrickson

Thompson Emate

above the stars

beyond a dream

mama’s songs

—Thompson Emate

Dicots, a haibun by Alex Drogin

The third time we saw each other the road was cut with tire tracks through the snow. We walked along either side of one, making sure to get our shoes a little wet and our feet a little cold. We would warm up at the party and sweat through our sweaters and by the end of the night the tracks had been blanketed over again. We retraced our steps back to your house, shoes wet, feet cold, warming up inside. You stopped at the hood of a car on the way and doused me with powder: I would have frozen, if the blood hadn't rushed to my cheeks. At your front door you brushed the remaining sleet out of my hair. It didn't snow so gently again all winter.

daffodil trumpets

waiting out the silence

of snowmelt

Barbara Feehrer

lakeside concert

the all-day song

of a red-eyed vireo

—Barbara Feehrer

Boryana Boteva

the happy face of my kid

on the swing

lilac evening

—Boryana Boteva

Nicoletta Ignatti

Gaza moon -

the children's bowls

full of tears

—Nicoletta Ignatti

Mark Forrester

a butterfly's

uneven wings

lantana blossom

—Mark Forrester

blue sheen

on the drifting snow

a raven’s shadow

—Mark Forrester

Pitt Büerken

canoe tour

on the rivolet

we look

against the shore

all the time

—Pitt Büerken

Ruth Holzer

even in the snow those blue tents of the homeless

—Ruth Holzer

Jerome Berglund

monday morning 

taking inventory 

at the liquor store 

—Jerome Berglund

Meagan Bussert

due date today

she folds and refolds

the new nappy

—Meagan Bussert

Richard L. Matta

sudden gust

in mid-life...

a rainbow kite

—Richard L. Matta

Ravi Kiran

far from home

the familiar language

of a robin

—Ravi Kiran

Helen Sokolsky

barefoot in the barn

wildflowers tickle my toes

through open cracks

—Helen Sokolsky

Agnieszka Filipek

 at the gate

of the old cemetery

forget–me–nots

—Agnieszka Filipek

przy bramie

na stary cmentarz

niezapominajki

—Agnieszka Filipek

old mill house

water wheel full

of cherry blossom

—Agnieszka Filipek

stary młyn

koło wodne pełne

kwiatów wiśni

—Agnieszka Filipek

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