By Minal Sarosh

embroidery the rose she left unfinished midday

 

Minal Sarosh

By Paula Sears

stone wall

crossing the boundary

a wild flower

Paula Sears

By A.J. Anwar

the sun and sunflowers

exchange long gazes

by the neighbour’s fence

A.J. Anwar

By Peter Jastermsky

memory foam

another chance

for first impressions

Peter Jastermsky

By Michelle Cicillini

the ocean waves—hello and goodbye

Michelle Cicillini

By Agnes Eva Savich

girlhood the power of the gaze

Agnes Eva Savich

Guidelines for Contributors

Update (Feb 25, 2025)

New email for submissions:
journalcoldmoon(at)gmail(dot)com

Founding editor: Roberta Beach Jacobson
Current editors: Timothy Daly, Oana Cercel.

 ~~~~

You may submit a single email containing 1-5 poems (e.g. haiku, senryu, tanka) or one haibun, tanka prose, or haiga per calendar month. 

Work received will be published on a rolling basis within a month of receipt. 

Poems must be uncurated, original (no AI) and in English. We encourage translations alongside, but the quality of the English version will determine publication. 

No e-mail attachments will be opened. Please send to: journalcoldmoon(at)gmail(dot)com.

All writing styles welcomed. We are happy to receive your artwork, particularly haiga sketches and black-and-white photographs.

Both acceptance and rejection notices are sent. New work is added to the blog several times a week. 

You will never see anything here that suggests racism, violence or prejudice.

All rights revert back to the poet upon publication. However, we will be featuring selected work on CMJ social media. See, for example, our Instagram and Facebook! So by submitting, you give us tacit permission to share accepted work on different social media platforms including Instagram, X, BlueSky, YouTube and TikTok (as part of video readings and other adaptations). 

We nominate for various annual haiku and poetry awards.

Mona Bedi

full moon

the nights you sang

me a lullaby

Mona Bedi

By Ram Chandran

lying

under starlit sky

I think of Van Gogh

Ram Chandran

By David He

the pine shadow

sweeps onto the window

every night

as the moon rises

our cat stares

David He

By Keith Evetts

on the one hand

I couldn't live

forever wondering

what's on

the other hand 

 

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

dandelion seeds

the confetti

of my childhood

Orrin PréJean

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

everything i no longer crave after the forest

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

By Keith Evetts

square moon someone else's god

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

my

forties –

a

time

of

ma-

ny

ad-

just-

ments

Orrin PréJean

Through the Telescope: Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

We congratulate frequent contributor Tiffany Shaw-Diaz, recognized as a top-eight volunteer (of more than 6,000) for the NASA citizen science project, Active Asteroids. Way to go, Tiffany!

 

 

By Orrin PréJean

summer day

going over month's budget

shirtless

Orrin PréJean

By Keith Evetts

pasque flowers

what if everything

is true

Keith Evetts

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

fire crackles the algebra within a petal

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

By Orrin PréJean

in the night suspended between shadow and more shadow

Orrin PréJean

By Keith Evetts

so many birds my empty hands

Keith Evetts

from every angle by Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

 To purchase any of this artist’s works: society6(dot)com

 

 

By Orrin PréJean

derailed train

*

 

how apt

a metaphor

of my life 

  

Orrin PréJean

Tiffany-Shaw Diaz

i am everywhere the wave unfurls

Tiffany-Shaw Diaz

By Keith Evetts

last page ripped out

we'll never know

who did it

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

early afternoon

i lose myself

in the color

of tea

Orrin PréJean

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

the rain on my body remembering yours

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

By Keith Evetts

memoirs

it turns out

life was wonderful

Keith Evetts