By Theresa A. Cancro

bruises

the color of amethyst —

he says he loves me

Theresa A. Cancro

By Susan Burch

a dirt canal

where the river

used to run

how long

did you think

I’d wait for you

Susan Burch

By Maya Daneva

family Bible

the names my dad entered

and those he did not

Maya Daneva

By Madeleine Vinluan

the moon glows

I look closely

it is crying

Madeleine Vinluan

By John J. Dunphy

inner city Fourth

firecrackers

then gunshots

John J. Dunphy

By Douglas J. Lanzo

Land of the Rising Sun

yellow iris

tinged by dawn

Douglas J. Lanzo

By Priti Khullar

women’s day

she chooses to yell

not whimper

Priti Khullar

By Deborah Karl-Brandt

laughter…

her imaginary friend

tells his best joke

Deborah Karl-Brandt

By Mike Gallagher

a few wisps

lightly drawn over

baldness
 

Mike Gallagher

By Sarah Davies

a life —notes scrawled in handwriting you no longer understand

Sarah Davies

By Amrutha Prabhu

a tree within a seed within a tree ... forest within 

Amrutha Prabhu

By Tim Murphy

being   

my own shaman  

winter light 

Tim Murphy

By Kyle Hemmings

slurring the names of my own demons

Kyle Hemmings

By Pippa Phillips

the opposite of redemption leaves don't fall up

Pippa Phillips

By Pat Geyer

July curtain call ~

my Hosta Applause reblooms

again and again

Pat Geyer

By Ingrid Baluchi

high noon

the shine

on his crown

Ingrid Baluchi

By Luke Levi

changing size

up and down the green hills

a vulture’s shadow

Luke Levi

By Helen Ogden

daylight savings

the crow caws four

at five

Helen Ogden

By John Pappas

after midnight

on the country road billboard

a model smiles at nothing

John Pappas

By Ken Slaughter

between two lives a phone call

Ken Slaughter

By B.A. France

high afternoon sun

lizard on the back step

watching me

watch him

B.A. France

By Chen-ou Liu

tea water

coming to a boil

our talk of war

Chen-ou Liu

By Tuyet Van Do

searching for higher self

she gets lost in the labyrinth

of life

Tuyet Van Do

By Kimberly Kuchar

rolling my eyes

at how much I rolled my eyes

at his jokes

Kimberly Kuchar

By Louise Hopewell

family tree

nan’s branch lost

to dementia

Louise Hopewell

By Manoj Sharma

missiles . . .

a sleeping dog

barks at the sky

Manoj Sharma

By Myron Lysenko

told to surrender

by a warship commander:

border guard’s expletive

Myron Lysenko

Five Fleas (Itchy Poetry)

Launching Five Fleas (Itchy Poetry) blog. Inviting your itchy submissions of 1-10 poems (of 1-10 lines each). Stay weird! Submit to: fivefleasitchypoetry(at)gmail(dot)com.

Touchstone Award Nominations

The Cold Moon Journal nominations for the 2022 Touchstone Awards have been submitted to The Haiku Foundation (for poems published January to June 2022). 

Congratulations to these 16 talented poets:

Alvin B. Cruz

Barrie Levine (X2)

Douglas J. Lanzo

H. A. Sappho

John Hawkhead

Joseph P. Wechselberger

Joshua St. Claire

Kamrun Nahar

Mariel Herbert

Mike Gallagher

Mircea Moldovan

Mirela Brăilean

Nudurupati Nagasri

Pat Davis

Tffany Shaw-Diaz

Vandana Parashar

Nominations for July to December 2022 will be announced shortly before the end of the year.

Good luck to everybody!

By Jim Niffen

prairie breeze

a hint of primrose

on your blouse

Jim Niffen