summernight love
i trace the carvings
on the old bridge

adèle weers, Switzerland

new girlfriend
trying on
our song

Alan S. Bridges, USA

weight gain
a layer of dust
on the scale

stay-at-home dad
crushing on the women
of Sesame Street

Alex Fyffe, USA

one year older
I keep my wishes
to myself

Amy Losak, USA

crayon moon
my granddaughter
explains purple

Andy Burkhart, USA

just before
words take shape . . .
the dance of three dots

Arvinder Kaur, India

retirement planning . . .
another dollar in
the swear jar

B.A. France, USA

slipping the dress from her shoulders
the space between treble
and bass

Ben Gaa, USA

medicine cabinet
an unhealthy amount
of mirrors

Benedict Grant, Canada

104 a slight wobble in one step

Bill Cooper, USA

a box full
of tangled cords and cables
in the closet
all my life a collection
of missed connections

Bob Lucky, Portugal

after midnight
my sentence missing
its period

Brad Bennett, USA

somewhere over the rainbow flag

cactus blossom
no pronouns
to fit me

Bryan Rickert, USA

used books––
running a finger down the spine
of a cat

Chad Lee Robinson, USA

eying the needle
I hold my narrative
by a thread

Cynthia Anderson, USA

the cool
floating in the room
Kind of Blue

Dan Burt, USA

spending time
playing games
on his iPad
he fails to score
with his wife

enjoying expensive
patio furniture
we sit
in the shadows
of debt

Dave Read, Canada

my neighbor
this year
the Christmas lights stay

David Grayson, USA

inner child . . .
no breadcrumbs marking the trail
home

Ed Bremson, USA

first sunday brunch
the lipstick stain
inside my mask

Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco, USA

even mosquitos
shun this pale skin
chemotherapy

Erin Castaldi, USA

black kajal––
the woman in the mirror
asks me for a drink

Eva Limbach, Germany

divorce proceedings––
finding ways to divvy up
the Gods on the altar

Geethanjali Rajan, India

placemat quiz
at the roadside diner––
we argue in true and false

Genevieve Wynand, Canada

damselfly
I, too, am mistaken
for what I am not

super pink moon
gravid with ideas
I can’t carry to term

the language we employ conotoxins

GRIX, USA

berry picking . . .
a refugee mother’s hands
furl unfurl

Ramadan moon
I make peace
with the inner demons

displacement camp
a Syrian boy befriends
the snowman

Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan

cloudy morning
the clunk of bottles
in her shopping cart

Jackie Chou, USA

iPhone factory––
the many parts
of the ego

Jacob D. Salzer, USA

recess break
opening our Crown Royal
marble bags

Jacquie Pearce, Canada

her birthday
the tug of a clock’s
small hand

Jamie Wimberly, USA

drop-dead looks
a fanged cobra coiled
around her navel

Jay Friedenberg, USA

a rod over my shoulder dreaming one fish two fish red fish blue fish

Jo Balistreri, USA

missing in action
the loose ends
of a cloth poppy

poplar trees
the phantom scent
of strange fruit

in the blink
of a neon sign
homeless

Joe McKeon, USA

recessive gene
their daughter’s eyes
not quite blue enough

John Hawkhead, United Kingdom

ghetto garden
the seedlings
that never grow

9 pounds 4 ounces
she asks me
if she feels the same

fairy tales
yet another book
on parenting

Jonathan Roman, USA

the twang in her voice
as she sings over the sides
North Carolina BBQ

Joshua Gage, USA

newly unfamiliar
what your eyes tell me
about me

Julie Schwerin, USA

spring breeze
the old man outpaced
by his cologne

silver dollar moon
scratching his lottery
over the trash bin

June Rose Dowis, USA

recipe card
the faded name
of an old friend

Justin Brown, USA

I peel away
the stars from the wall . . .
empty bassinet

Kayla Drouilhet, USA

headstone
still caring
what they think of me

Keith Evetts, United Kingdom

southern heat
drawing out
the -ouge in red

Kelly Sauvage, USA

gender reveal
the smoke
matches the sky

Kevin Valentine, USA

virtual communion
we can all get pissed
during the sermon

LeRoy Gorman, Canada

rising tide
the brush of his fingers
across my thigh

covered in graffiti jesus

Lori A Minor, USA

never too old
to act my age
hula hooping

Louise Hopewell, Australia

postman’s delivery:
he says he enjoyed my poem
about hydrangeas

Maeve O’Sullivan, Ireland

foreign land
among unknown sounds
my mother tongue

Mallika Chari, India

spring formal first dip of the season

Margaret Walker, USA

two weeks’ vacation
no-one I know
at the laundromat

newly-widowed
she buys her first
strapless bra

Marietta McGregor, Australia

whetstone
i sharpen
my wit 

Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA

strand by strand
she loosens our pin curls
Sunday mass

Marilyn Fleming, USA

lifted restrictions
me and the cat share
a buddha’s belly

Marina Bellini, Italy

brassiere shop
the salesclerk and I
size each other up

Mary Stevens, USA

cemetery stroll all the parallel shadows

Matthew Markworth, USA

we into I
our into my
translating loss

Maurice Nevile, Australia

late <season> wind––
a <bird species> flicking <choose: water, weeds, rhinos>
from the <choose: birdbath, bird feeder, refrigerator>

Michael Dylan Welch, USA

Zen garden
the urge
to take a stone

meditation hall
flipping the enlightenment
off and on

Michael Henry Lee, USA

mu
will i ever find
what i can never lose

Mike Rehling, USA

silencing
my bamboo flute—
an ambulance’s siren

Milan Rajkumar, India

midday siesta
i slowly drift
into my childhood

Dr. Mona Bedi, India

stale bedroom
the fumes of her
past loves

Mona Iordan, Romania

his first roti––
the migrant worker
feeds the stray

Neena Singh, India

rain delay––
tic-tac-toe
on a baseball

Nicky Gutierrez, USA

rye whiskey
telling her a name
that’s not mine

day’s end
I edit the laundry list
of who I’ve been

Nika, Canada

nickname
the new friend who thinks
he knows me

slave quilt
great-gran’s voice
in and out of sleep

Pat Davis, USA

blue sky
my thoughts
finally sober

Pere Risteski, North Macedonia

that priest
before his little lie
i knew him

Philip Guignard, Malaysia

a week
and it still won’t blossom––
watercolor practice

Pippa Phillips, USA

“No Loitering”
he begs for change
somewhere else

R. S. Evans, USA

voters queue
the first-timer
hums a melody

Ramesh Anand, India

polo match
her parents choose
a fine groom

Ravi Kiran, India

sparrows
twittering in a scarecrow’s ear
conspiracy theories

Rick Jackofsky, USA

nephew’s play-doh
the form
memories take

Robert Moyer, USA

retirement
toasting Tuesday
with what’s left of Monday’s wine

Robert Witmer, Japan

my turn to hunt
the warmth of father’s hand
still on the gun

Ron C. Moss, Australia

whatever
the radio gives me
Friday night drive

Ryan Hediger, USA

summer afternoon
things dad can do
with his eyes closed

chromebook
the escape key
missing

hill
I’m so
over it

Sarah E. Metzler, USA

toy tugboat––
high tide
on the bathroom floor

playing Scrabble––
we both try
to let the other win

Sarah Ockrim, USA

carefully tracing
their paper hearts
self-contained classroom

Sari Grandstaff, USA

quid pro quo
my last word
for yours

Shloka Shankar, India

inflammatory claims . . .
praying for the strength
not to post back

Stephen C. Curro, USA

midnight station
the drunk speaking
in tongues

Steve Black, United Kingdom

Sunset Blvd––
an old woman sitting
on a bus bench. . .
still waiting
for my 15 minutes of fame

bulging eyes––
the tell
when I’m yelling
at you
in my head

Susan Burch, USA

divorce party
shattering the pinata
on the first hit

susan spooner, Canada

vaccinated
still
Rapunzeling

bee sting
expanding
my vocabulary

Tanya McDonald, USA

puberty
my son’s voice changing
me

seasons spent weathering into self-worth

Terri L. French, USA

kids asleep
ice cubes
tumbling
into glasses

wallet keys phone
mask

Tim Cremin, USA

luxury hotel––
towels so fluffy
the suitcase won’t close

Tom Staudt, Australia

pharmacy queue
whispering the name
of my antidepressant

Tomislav Sjekloća, Montenegro

nymphaea stalk
I keep stroking
his ego

Vandana Parashar, India

stuck in traffic
he sends friend requests
on Facebook

Vasile Moldovan, Romania

alone
inside the mosque
my black skin
the only contrast
to this white world

Waliyullah Tunde Abimbola, Nigeria

adding sugar
the teaboy stirs
me up

Yasir Farooq, Pakistan

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