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

Updated Guidelines for Contributors

Update (January 2, 2025)

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

New editor:
Timothy Daly

 ~~~~

 You are invited to submit a single email containing 5 - 10 poems (in the spirit of haiku/senryu/tanka) per calendar month, although occasionally we will publish sequences. No themes. Poems must be your original work (not AI!) and in English. Previously unpublished work is preferred, but poems appearing on social media are acceptable.

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

Poems received in a given month will be considered for publication in Cold Moon Journal the following month. (In other words, if you send your poems in March, they will be competing for April space.) Is your writing style traditional? Fine. Gendai or experimental? Also welcome, although we can’t accommodate much in the way of special formatting.

We are happy to consider your artwork, particularly black-and-white photographs.

There is no money in this, but all rights revert back to the poet upon publication.

We strive to respond quickly (within two weeks, usually faster). Both acceptance and rejection notices are sent. New haiku/senryu/tanka (or sequences or artwork) are added to Cold Moon Journal several times a week. You can view the most popular poems (scroll down to bottom right of the journal for the list).

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

This journal nominates for various annual haiku and poetry awards.

By 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

By 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

By 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

By 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

By 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

By Orrin PréJean

viola concerto a moment when things makes sense

Orrin PréJean

By Keith Evetts

winter three crows are company

Keith Evetts

By Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

on forgiving the wind i am weary

by Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

By Orrin PréJean

sweeping river willows for a moment nothing matters

Orrin PréJean

from Dewdrop World, Cuttlefish Books, 2021 

 

 

and you will rise again by Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

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

 

By Keith Evetts

politics

and religion

believing they're true

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

snake oil salesman...

i hurry past a church

this Sunday

Orrin PréJean

By Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

more radioactive than a lily after rain

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

By Keith Evetts

lazy Sunday

what do woodpeckers

think about it

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

streetlamps lined up like toy soldiers...protecting who?

Orrin PréJean

helix by Tiffany Shaw Diaz

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

 

 

By Keith Evetts

fourth of July

almost as auspicious

as last year

Keith Evetts

By Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

swaying in dawn's blush an ancient dialect

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz is a Pushcart Prize and Dwarf Stars Award nominee who also works as a professional visual artist. She was shortlisted for The Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Award for Individual Poem in 2020 and won in 2021. Her poetry has been featured in Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Bones, NHK World Haiku Masters, The Mainichi, and more than 100 other publications. Her chapbooks include: says the rose (Yavanika Press 2019), filth (Proletaria 2020), and tyranny of the familiar (Yavanika Press 2020).

By Orrin PréJean

sleepy this morning

i am unsure how long

i wait for the bus

Orrin PréJean

By Keith Evetts

{{{{{woodpecker}}}}}

Keith Evetts

By Orrin PréJean

vacation in Belgium

the narrative i tell

the marigolds

Orrin PréJean

By Keith Evetts

Forbidden Planet

my little daughter

wants to go there

Keith Evetts

A former biologist and retired British diplomat, Keith Evetts has published papers in Nature and other scientific periodicals, and long-form poetry in The Oxford Magazine and elsewhere. His haiku and related forms have appeared in Wales Haiku Journal, Frogpond, Blithe Spirit, Prune Juice, Asahi Shimbun, Cold Moon Journal, Failed Haiku, Heliosparrow, Mamba, Fireflies’ Light, Haiku In Action, Cattails, World Haiku Review, Presence, Poetry Pea, Sonic Boom, MacQueens Quinterly, and at The Haiku Foundation; and award-winning cherita and gembun in The Cherita books and the Gembun anthologies. Listed in the top 100 European haikuists, he hosts the haiku commentary feature re:Virals at The Haiku Foundation. Married, with five children, a grey parrot and a sense of humour.