Issue 27

Liz Moura

covering the walk
leading to my unlocked door
a dusting of snow

Abbey Haynes

Lungs filled with aged air,
struggling to get to the top.
Unable to swim.

Bill Melton

Ancestors feared night
Animals, weather and now
We fear each other

Sandra Barnett

The red fox and the
garden Buddha meditate,
their cushion fresh snow.

Jay Cates

cold of winter night
pale light from a dry round moon
softer than silence

Tim Gardiner

Sometimes you find the
prettiest tree in the wood
is hollow inside

Nicholas Klacsanzky

a cloudless morning
billowing through fresh sunlight
rising manhole smoke

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

water sustains life
all around the planet as
a hurricane strikes

Loreena Thiessen

between pale poplars
in a mist of moonlit blue
a white horse grazes

Loreena Thiessen

cradling a rabbit
shuffling in the morning rush
slow steps to nowhere

Forrest Brooks

Pebble in my shoe
Little onyx orb rolls out
A pillbug napping

Tim Gardiner

The beautiful clam
he left on the beach was one
more unknown future

Vince Rogers

hidden away safe
elusive as past promise
the intimacy

Dani Norman

schoolyard hoops shooting
ball soars sky-high, swish no net
lucky Converse shoes

Chris Gusek

against the cold bricks
a homeless man sits cross-legged,
looks like a Buddha

Sandra Barnett

A robin and a
cardinal waltz on the lawn.
Orange-red and crimson.

Tyson West

song sparrows weave nests
in the blooming spring garden
crows wait on tree tops

Tyson West

the pale sleek dog sets
sharp ears toward the long nights moon
shines her growl on me

Sandra Barnett

Navajo rug on
housecat curled into warm ball.
Sound of faint chanting.

Gunter Wisdom

a cold, dark morning
taste of coffee on her lips
the sun is rising

Josephine Mattia

Here I am, standing
in the shadows; everything
in complete darkness.

Jay Friedenberg

war memorial
over ten thousand bodies
a statue's blank stare

Jay Friedenberg

in our childhood woods -
beer bottles and a condom
where we used to play

David Edwards

an octagonal
impression upon the snow
now a "three-way stop"

JD DeHart

Does the bird need time
Sitting on its shattered nest
No mournful tenor.

Ava Lauryn Wells-Quantrell

Stone walls around us-
tasting your sweet saliva
my delicate knight.

Deborah Eley

Spring pushes up bulbs
from frosted soil seeking warmth.
Colors leap like flames.

John Han

spring conditioning
a squirrel climbs up the tree
the other climbs down

Nells Wasilewski

winter storm brewing
angry winds lash the windows
echoing cold words

David Kelly

transition plumage ?
expecting, like the last time
they?ll grow out of it

Alissa Oliverson

slick, gleaming frog leaps
wet splat lily pad landing
graceful path ripples

Dani Norman

Honey flushing birds
while ukulele sings our
small front porch pursuits

Ellesse Thompson

The click of the door
Let's you know i have returned
Defeated once more

Melissa Patterson

March Madness on my
mind?mouse pad with my eldest
son smiles up at me.

Daniel Thompson

Emotion Mirrored
Water Punctuating Flow
Caught in Reflection

Mary Gunn

feline companion
scattering the ashes at
his favorite haunts

Patricia Pella

flocks of herring gulls
calling out raucous greetings
crabs burrow in sand

Patricia Pella

at the horizon
beginning and end are one
soundless harmony

Luke Roe

Remember the kiss:
your dark lipstick smeared against
my pain- unfolding

Luke Roe

Tires in the trash heaps
Smile in their own smoke? ignite.
Sparks against school bus

SuriShiva Kumar

On golden sand beach
epic cliffs crumbling pillars
prudence shall prevail

Sara Bickley

Shadows of bottles
on the curtains. Acid rock.
Screams turn to laughter.

Suanna Davis

Briskly moving now
Grass crunches under boot's fall.
Last paw print frozen.

Meghan Davis

goldfinches molting
commotion at the feeder
shadow of a hawk

Nancy May

sat on a tulip
the butterfly's wings unfold
in the warm spring sun

Dominique Bechard

we made love with the
windows open'the blinds clawed
off -- a busy street.

Brandon Ward

Streaming pine thistles
In the ceaseless breeze. The lone
Butterfly, snooping.

Brandon Ward

The cricket in the
Midnight moon, playing a soft
Song before slumber

Dennis Devereux

I made a great choice
I would marry you again
over and over

Deborah Guzzi

an egret fishes
in the roots of a felled tree ?
sixty-second vine