M. R. Pelletier

lighting a fire 

in the dark

morning chill

—M. R. Pelletier

Mark Forrester

mother’s day brunch

splitting the cost

of her scars

—Mark Forrester

Chen-ou Liu

cough on cough ...

yet still

this empty room

—Chen-ou Liu

funeral

against the winter sunset 

the widow’s silhouette

—Chen-ou Liu

Jonathan English

on the metro

how carefully we all

look away

—Jonathan English 

Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

in memory

of my daughter

a field of pink carnations

—Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

Joshua St. Claire

Nessun Dorma

silenced by the din

of snow

—Joshua St. Claire

Diane Webster

frozen pond

buried in snow

the frog’s croak

—Diane Webster

Monica Kakkar

silence within . . .

leaving the valley

withered leaves 

—Monica Kakkar 

last to leave 

my neck of the woods . . . 

out-of-season blooms

—Monica Kakkar 

Mircea Moldovan

frozen day—

she breaks into pieces 

the pregnancy test

—Mircea Moldovan

we were all laughing

at dad's off-colour jokes...

now his ashes

float with decency

above the bear den

—Mircea Moldovan

Nicoletta Ignatti

candied oranges

throughout the house

December

—Nicoletta Ignatti

Alvin B. Cruz

broken clock

this longing

to start again

—Alvin B. Cruz

New Year

reshuffling the cards

of solitaire

—Alvin B. Cruz

Tejendra Sherchan

how my joy falls the night jasmines

—Tejendra Sherchan

Boryana Boteva

plum blossoms 

so many expectations

on my way home

—Boryana Boteva

winter fog

the slow emergence 

of my consciousness

—Boryana Boteva

Jade Kleiner

baby crying

a guilty pile of

husky poop

—Jade Kleiner

the bagel line

is far too long

ego death

—Jade Kleiner

late train

my mind drifts

to pornography

—Jade Kleiner

Ravi Kiran

cloudless sky

the blues

you left behind

—Ravi Kiran

Richard E Schell

old graveyard

snow collects

on child’s name

—Richard E Schell

Lucas Weissenborn

departure

steaming

asphalt

—Lucas Weissenborn

Mike Fainzilber

a riot of reds bougainvillea

—Mike Fainzilber

Herb Tate

winter again…

caught between counting

snowflakes

—Herb Tate

Thomas Landgraf

shaker bottle...

another abandoned goal

in the bottom drawer

—Thomas Landgraf

dark night

I'm drunk but not

stepping on her jonquils 

—Thomas Landgraf

CMJ Touchstone Nominations for 2025

Congratulations! 

rescue boat a boy's request for one more trip	Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
deep winter the flashing red lights at her bedside	Richard L. Matta
reeds until they move heron’s legs	Ravi Kiran
cursive writing — grandson’s thoughts fly beyond the margin	Neena Singh
country roads all of us singing of home	Jamie Wimberly
mother’s belongings in boxes gathering clouds	Alvin B. Cruz
a puzzle missing piece childhood	Robert Witmer
cold shower the nettles erect	Tony Williams
flashes of red in the rose bush a touch and go robin	Katie Montagna
far from home the familiar language of a robin	Ravi Kiran
divorce day mold on the bread getting darker	Hifsa Ashraf
the many dialects of silent treatment	Ravi Kiran
jisei book learning to write the last page	Oscar Luparia
harvest time the village waits for grandma’s dinner	Aleksandra Rybczyńska
stout beer not too warm not too cool this autumn night	Bryan Rickert
bruised fruit she says she fell	Joseph P. Wechselberger
another lie told to the wife ice fishing	Mircea Moldovan
washing my hands with French-milled soap after scattering her ashes	John J. Dunphy
Gaza Strip even the sparrows starving	Pitt Büerken
free at last rites	Susan Burch
sudden remembrance of an empty crib gentling rain	John Hawkhead
at both ends of winter burning leaf scent	Bryan Rickert
a year after— my mother's closet just her scent	Nicholas Gentile
winter rain we choose to say remission	Doug Belville
rain bow sun above rain below	Pitt Büerken
softly this conflagration of wings	Stacy R. Nigliazzo
petrichor the room overflowing with his laughter	Mohua Maulik
tangled roots– clinging to the walls of a broken home	Jagajit Salam
spring moon father's laugh some where	Manasa Reddy Chichili

Neena Singh

fading light. . .

the nurse hums 

changing sheets

—Neena Singh

Christmas dinner

your empty chair

warmed by a coat

—Neena Singh

Ash Evan Lippert

thunder 

deep in the roses

a wild scent of rainbows

—Ash Evan Lippert

Sharon Ferrante

painting you in a magenta sky the quiet 

—Sharon Ferrante

Federico C. Peralta

in my little room

devoid of your warm presence,

the fireworks bring me

closer to the sky above

as you drift away, my love

—Federico C. Peralta

summer stars--

   lying on its back

      hermit crab

—Federico C. Peralta

cold night—

  an empty spider web

     holds the moon

—Federico C. Peralta