lone light
candle flame
in the dark
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
insects and birds
die by it
Christina Chin
lone light
candle flame
in the dark
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
insects and birds
die by it
Christina Chin
the flutter by
of the butterfly
i
too am changed
Christopher Peys
*
under the sycamore
with a sandwich
and
summer
Christopher Peys
down platform
doors bang open and shut
on
our silence
Mike Gallagher
*
frogspawn
the future of the planet
somehow
surer
Mike Gallagher
*
no space
to be different
rowdy
playground
Mike Gallagher
toad plops
in cat’s water bowl
a
hiss, a slap
Ray Spitzenberger
*
a walker
corrects my wobble
at
eighty-eight
Ray Spitzenberger
childless
and the only child of an only child …
the
brief lives of mayflies
Joseph P. Wechselberger
63
. . .
few words
left to share
Susan Bonk Plumridge
*
63 . . .
deep stretch
in my knees
Susan Bonk Plumridge
*
63 . . .
summer heat
late in August
Susan Bonk Plumridge
not a soul in sight—
my footsteps follow me
on
this wooded path
Rupa Anand
*
neighbourhood park—
on discarded idols
moss
drapes herself
Rupa Anand
harvest
moon
everything they say
is true
Tony Williams
*
summer
shimmer
the wildflower I like
is poisonous
Tony Williams
sun-burned grass all these useless words
John Pappas
*
empty mall
all the mannequins dressed
in darkness
John Pappas
first
petrichor after learning the word petrichor
Saumya Bansal
*
morning drizzle
she pretends
to
speed walk
Saumya Bansal
plum wine
the dopplich flight
of
the bumblebee
Joshua St. Claire
*
passionflower desiring to be clever
Joshua St. Claire
imagine
strawberry fields
when
the war is over
Bisshie
*
next to the tourist
the man in a gabardine suit
sweats
on the B line
Bisshie
sun-dried tomatoes —
she could have taken
more time with me
Robert Epstein
*
Alcatraz
what
hard labor it is
to get over myself
Robert Epstein
Cold Moon Journal has nominated the following poets for Best of the Net (for poems published between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022):
Chen-ou Liu
Janet Ruth
Agus Maulana Sunjaya
Alvin B. Cruz (2)
Tina Mowrey
Congratulations to all. Good luck!
shed skin—
I am everywhere
I’ve
ever been
Pippa Phillips
*
a map
on her bridal veil
the flat earths
that lay folded
in
her trousseau
Pippa Phillips
*
new arms
for the venus de milo
she carves herself
back
into
a slab of marble
Pippa Phillips
*
toasting clouds
on an open sun
we tell ghost stories
that end
happily
ever after
Pippa Phillips
late night news
last slice
of
left-over pizza
Alvin B. Cruz
*
Basho
the sound of frog
in
his language
Alvin B. Cruz
*
window seat
a bus ride with grandma
way back when
my dreams
took
the shape of clouds
Alvin B. Cruz
a
lone leaf
awaiting
the inevitable
fall
C.X. Turner
*
clinging to the rain
everything we can be
wild
roses
C.X. Turner
mid-summer
a dream between
thunderstorms
Brad
Bennett
*
in out of the storm
milk billows
in
my tea
Brad Bennett
funeral march—
incense
fills
the street
Daipayan
Nair
*
morning glory—
she smiles until
she
doesn't
Daipayan Nair