Jackie Chou

winter sparrow 

the cashier declines 

my food stamp card 

—Jackie Chou

Steve Van Allen

seven starlings 

on a wire 

melting in november rain 

—Steve Van Allen

Jerome Berglund

tipsy snow 

whenever a car passes 

I flinch

—Jerome Berglund

Joshua St. Claire

precession of the equinoxes 

my hands reach 

middle age

—Joshua St. Claire

Joanna Ashwell

votives 

by the window 

early shadow

—Joanna Ashwell

night chrysalis 

lost in the snow 

forest stars

—Joanna Ashwell

Tuyet Van Do

red tinsels 

on neighbor's fence 

wind chimes tinkling 

—Tuyet Van Do

j rap

birthday song 

a balloon floats 

above the moon

—j rap

inside his silence an echo of dad’s

—j rap

descending the peak 

by full moon 

rock fall

—j rap

Editor's Note: forthcoming texts, editorial team (2025)

Dear contributors and readers of Cold Moon Journal,

I am delighted to be taking over from Robin and writing this first post, and to announce that from hereon, I'll be adding the texts chosen for publication in February (Robin may well continue adding some previously accepted texts due to them getting lost). 

I'm joined for my editorial duties by Oana Maria Cercel, who along with being co-editor, will also be responsible for social media promotion of your work. We'll choose two texts each month for the Touchstone Awards, leaving us 6 choices at the end of the year for a bit of wiggle room (we'll submit 30 each year). We'll announce these Touchstone Nominations at the end of each month on Instagram, and on the website at the end of the year. Follow the IG here and Facebook here. If you post your work, please tag the account! 

Here's Oana's bio: Oana Maria Cercel is simply a shrewd human being that fears what mankind is capable of, given our inability to accept our fundamental connection to the abundant quality that already exists.

Some of you may have noticed that after our first editorial screening of the texts, where I think a poem could be a better fit through a little tweaking, I will suggest this over e-mail. This means, please send only up to five texts in total, made up of haiku/senryu/tanka/mini-haibun/haiga/photos. 

Without further ado, let's read some poetry! 

Thank you,

Timothy and Oana

Joshua Eric Williams

inkblot god

the rotting

leaves


Joshua Eric Williams

longer nights

the sleep in these

hooded eyes
 

Joshua Eric Williams

each word

after the first

river delta


Joshua Eric Williams

Mark Hendrickson

thunder snow

confirmation of the news

I was afraid of

Mark Hendrickson

By Scott Wiggerman, j rap and Janet Ruth

Urban Harvest

a potpourri

of fallen leaves

each step

(sw)

strawflowers and dahlias

in the wedding bouquet

(j rap)

mulching the garden

with leftover hay 

sharp scent of rot

(jr)

soused cranberries

too much pumpkin spice

(sw)

kitchen step stool 

the fragrance of basil

dangling from twine

(j rap)

moving the parsley pot inside

before first freeze 

(jr)

Scott Wiggerman (sw), j rap and Janet Ruth (jr)

Manoj Sharma

tranquil lake

a playful wind stirs

ripples in the mind


Manoj Sharma

early autumn

caught in a moment

my double shadow

Manoj Sharma

Mohua Maulik

our watches

side by side on the dresser—

the widening gap

Mohua Maulik

trailing a finger

over the shimmering

still waters

unaware of the storms

that lurk below your façade

Mohua Maulik

planting

peace lilies in beds

overrun

with the same old

unresolved grudges

Mohua Maulik

Chen-ou Liu

frog pond

the slow drifting

of my haiku-boat

Chen-ou Liu

she's gone ...

alone, I sleep

with the dark

Chen-ou Liu

the door

of a foreclosed house

blown open

by a winter gust ...

inside and out this emptiness

Chen-ou Liu

Diane Webster

morning sunshine

a galaxy of stars

across the snow


Diane Webster

white scarf flung

over the dilapidated fence

surrender

Diane Webster

covered in ice

the statue prays

to the sun god

Diane Webster

Neena Singh

old neighbor—

a hint of garlic

in her gossip

Neena Singh

E. C. Traganas

under the bed

a hibernating dust bunny

waiting for spring

E. C. Traganas

winter sun

shimmering world

in a crystal snow globe

E. C. Traganas

Barrie Levine

laundry day

the wicker basket full

of sleeping cat

Barrie Levine

trimming the grass

near his stone . . .

dad’s stubble

Barrie Levine

Arvinder Kaur

just one more wish to go deepening twilight

Arvinder Kaur

Mark Forrester

evening fog . . .

someone’s basketball

skips a beat

Mark Forrester

twilight trail

through snow-capped brambles

a startled deer

Mark Forrester