Ranu Jain (from 2024)

 

Image and words by Ranu Jain

Editor's Note: This haiga is from the "lost" work from 2024 curated by Roberta Beach Jacobson.

Robert Epstein

beet crackers—

I have my own way

of doing things

—Robert Epstein

Editor's Note (end of February 2025)

Dear community members of CMJ,

We have just finished publishing all texts for February. We're grateful for all your submissions and patience as we get used to things. Take-home messages for you: 

1) From now on, we will be publishing poems on a rolling basis. This means that, once we catch up (which will be soon), there will be anywhere between a couple of days and a month between us receiving your poem and it being curated and published. This means that texts sent in a given month can be now published in that same month. We won't send notification of receipt because we don't want to use automated messages, but we will of course notify you of acceptance (and immediate publication) or rejection. 

2) As before, send only one batch (of up to 5 poems OR photos OR one haibun/tanka prose/haiga) per calendar month.

3) We have chosen our first four nominations for the Touchstone Awards 2025 (to cover January and February), which will be announced on Instagram and BlueSky. At the end of June and December we'll also mention all of the nominees up to those dates here on the CMJ website.

Without further ado, let's get back to poetry!

Timothy and Oana.

Laila Brahmbhatt

hushed snow

all the buried

leaves

—Laila Brahmbhatt

Apsara Perera

shiny dew drops . . . 

morning sun 

on banana leaves 

—Apsara Perera

Richard Bailly

dusty violin

rambling on the phone 

my long-lost friend 

—Richard Bailly

Govind Joshi

rising

from afternoon nap

low winter sun

—Govind Joshi 

winter sunshine

the warmth

of a river stone

—Govind Joshi

Katie Montagna

breakfast show

intense, intense, fade-out

the sky behind the pines

—Katie Montagna

sunlight glinting

off the wingtips

of geese

—Katie Montagna

drawing me

down the beach

this full moon

—Katie Montagna

Nancy Brady

spring migration

a warbler serenades

his mate and me

—Nancy Brady

Monica Kakkar

still in a sārī . . .

first crossing of the river

billows with ballads

—Monica Kakkar

Susan Lee Roberts

first day—

gathering a bouquet

of pussy willows

—Susan Lee Roberts

mom’s house …

sun beams

on my paintings

—Susan Lee Roberts

Ann Sullivan

frozen pipes

waiting for

my head to explode

—Ann Sullivan

new morning

waking up

without bird song

—Ann Sullivan

overnight snow . . .

a deluge of paws

in and out of her garden

—Ann Sullivan

emoji . . .

wondering why

she never says it

—Ann Sullivan

Swati Ved

flowers

breaking the rules of Vāstu-śāstra*,

blossoms in all directions

—Swati Ved

*the ancient Indian architectural design and science

Genevieve S. Aguinaldo

morning showers

my toddler

whistling a tune

—Genevieve S. Aguinaldo

Lakshman Bulusu

first streaks of light

through the trees

the chase of squirrels

—Lakshman Bulusu

Joseph P. Wechselberger

business lunch

a bit of green

in his smile

—Joseph P. Wechselberger

bruised fruit

she says

she fell

—Joseph P. Wechselberger

Bona M. Santos

hazy outline

against the raging sky

charred trees

—Bona M. Santos

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

the hug

a little distance

keeps us together

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

death haiku—

after the fragment

a long pause

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

earthquake

the landlord's white shirt

full of soil

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

border value crossed

they call me

sweety

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

rescue boat

a boy's request

for one more trip

—Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

Rita Melissano

sprouting

through amber clouds

a line of tall palms

—Rita Melissano

Rupa Anand

her dreams

flowing down the drain

child marriage

—Rupa Anand

river sunset

lapwings outrunning the dark

—Rupa Anand

Janet Ruth

ruby sunlight

in a jar of plum jam

last summer's gleam

—Janet Ruth

river of fog

floods the valley

my frosty breath

—Janet Ruth

Ranice Tara

katydids living with my awareness

—Ranice Tara

Vandana Parashar

this life

and lives after that —

luggage carousel

—Vandana Parashar

Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă

revolving around

clock tower -

clouds of doves

—Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă

Tracey Foster

single oak

shadow stretches time

across the field

—Tracey Foster

Maya Daneva

 new in the hospice one more winter

—Maya Daneva

fragile China cups...

we both choose our sentences

carefully

—Maya Daneva

Tsanka Shishkova

still winter

in the window garden

roses unfurl

—Tsanka Shishkova

Manasa Reddy Chichili

the homeless mother

makes home under the shadow

of the banyan tree

watching bird's babies in nest

unfinished mom's lullaby

—Manasa Reddy Chichili

Wiesław Karliński

cemetery fence

on both sides the same

color of snow

—Wiesław Karliński

Joseph Howse

 blink the ceiling fan backwards

—Joseph Howse

Eugeniusz Zacharski

lingering war

dark energy

in the void

—Eugeniusz Zacharski

lightning—

an even more visible

blackness of the night

—Eugeniusz Zacharski

diagnosis—

the spring wind disperses clouds

about the sky

—Eugeniusz Zacharski

Audrey Quinn

first light

on hardwood floors

a slap of bare feet

—Audrey Quinn

his spectacles

full of smudges

bedtime story

—Audrey Quinn

Richard L. Matta

deep winter

the flashing red lights

at her bedside

—Richard L. Matta

Sharon Ferrante

the desire

for aloneness

one winking star

—Sharon Ferrante

Stephen Jarrell Williams

getting old

looking in the mirror

for yesterday

—Stephen Jarrell Williams

John Hawkhead

songbird chorus

announcing the arrival

of the cat

—John Hawkhead

Marilyn Humbert

sultry evening…

after thunder the downpour

cools our mood

—Marilyn Humbert