Issue 7

Anthony Otten

old plaza darkness
phantasms of long dead feasts
the fog of streetlamps

Jon Chan

Now the leaves return
So the high wind sings once more
Six months the frost waits

Stephen Leslie

six yellow finches
feasting on sunflower seeds
bright spring festival

Stephen Leslie

unemployment line
snakes past the forsythia
piles of dropped Kleenex

Carson Pierpont

the elderly man
pruned the rose bushes today-
the hell with cancer!

Carson Pierpont

the haiku robin
stared at me through the window
while I picked for worms

Tom Stockman

These birdsongs- are they
mechanized or is this real?
The dead trees still loom...

Sherry Steiner

out of the morning
covered in forgotten dreams
a very deep breath

Jay Friedenberg Friedenberg

cottage by the sea
the rise and fall of your chest
with each crashing wave

Christopher Kenneth Hanson

Where marigolds bloom
Crisp water runs smooth through roots
A lone shadow crawls.

Mary Sayler

The sun and wind flash
neon fish upon the pond –
cold swim, bright shining.

Maria Cohut

Rueful occasion -
Your fingers tracing the lines
Across my forehead.

Beverly Head

sizzle of hot plates
aroma of fajitas
savoring friendship

Jim Davis

alone in the dark
mingling with a row of coats
hanging from their hoods

John Kazlauskas

an early spring rain
drops gold onto sleeping dogs
women wake and cry

James Spencer

monastic chanting
Manjushri cuts into one
my fear halts his blade

Arthur C. Ford,Sr.

Waves bring messages,
Mankind waits along the beach,
Those of peace still drown.

Reuven Goldfarb

Guarding its dumpster,
the wary cat waits for me
and my moldy cheese.

Craig Steele

younger brother bids
on Mom’s old childhood toy box —
sudden blush of shame

Craig Steele

on this bitter night
my frosted breath joins the clouds
covering the stars

Sassysue King

Incidentally
morning in bed missing you
arms empty of love

Sassysue King

the spring sun peeks in
bully wind chases it out
spring will arrive soon

Joanne Faries

brown squirrel scampers
evades two grackles on fence
opening spring dance

Joanne Faries

open window screen
patio pop tunes linger
slow twilight descends

Joanne Faries

mosquitos invade
hover above porch glider -
summer haze bully

Traci Howell

Weighted in the sky
Atramentous Thunderhead
Reaching epoch mass

Dennis Maulsby

Insects cloud the moon
Warm bodies in the rafters
Bat wings soft stutter

Dennis Maulsby

Silk-black hair veils eyes.
Bare toes froth fountain water.
Soft Farsi giggles.

Anthony Ward

post coital season
after the virulent blush
cinders fall to ash

Anthony Ward

a great mighty oak
growing out of amnesia
acorns forgotten

Patricia Pella

surf embraces sand
rewinding the hour glass
waltzing with the moon

Ross Plovnick

dog days of July
on our street the only shade
comes from condemned elms

Ross Plovnick

up north—winter sun
skates across the frozen lakes
until spring sun comes

Lois Elaine Heckman

Cold and moonless night:
stars pin up the black velvet
curtain hiding me.

Lois Elaine Heckman

The house was darkened
with memories. She raised her
hand and struck the match.

James Spencer

Catskill mountain lake's
thick veil of morning fog pierced
echoing bonsho

James Spencer

first light of morning
finds my father's smiling face
death took him gently

Joanne Koong

New York hotel room
Convention for humanists
Give me all your love

Samantha Sicilia

Giraffes cannot jump
but they can eat your top hat,
Abraham Lincoln.

Samantha Sicilia

I gave it all up
so you could have everything
as I lie empty

Richard Weed

hanging and pecking
a berry block of suet
downey woodpecker

Richard Weed

crows harass eagle
surrounding his gliding path -
he flies to the clouds

Gopal Lahiri

The vast copper sky
Stony silence of the night
Shower astral light.

Gopal Lahiri

Blush in low sunlight
Beetles exchange honeydew
With the tiny ants.

Susma Sharma Gurumayum

Protruding stomach
Kid looks at the snack vendor
Eyes full of hunger

Jonathan Patterson

winds clip our bare limbs
mohagony coffins close
sparrows sing their dirge

David Edwards

no sight of sunrise
no sound of the dawn breaking
no need to awake

John Daleiden

his raucous laughter
echoes through our memories—
balmy morning breeze

John Daleiden

the waters of spring
flood the meadows with blossoms—
walking the cows home

John Daleiden

returning wild geese
rest at the brim filled farm pond—
guano underfoot