Valentine’s Day my feelings and I eat another chocolate
Agnes Eva Savich, USA
bumper to bumper she proposes leather
mastectomy scars all but my husband swipe left
suicide watch another hand of Go Fish
Aidan Castle, USA
secondhand book–– clear as day what happened to granda
Alan Peat, United Kingdom
shot glass another wasted pickup line
Alvin B. Cruz, Philippines
no seeds left to sow his vasectomy
Amber Winter, USA
citizenship test dad thumbs the pages from right to left
ballpark hotdog–– we try out being American
Antoinette Cheung, Canada
calling mom on new years. . . pouring another
B.A. France, USA
the world news I eat my apple core and all
Barbara Sabol, USA
southern christmas the crackling fire onscreen
Barbara Strang, New Zealand
re-opening . . . the server remembers my standing order
Barrie Levine, USA
all the fiction in my truth campfire stories
Ben Gaa, USA
dinner date not that hungry for you
Benedict Grant, Canada
resuming chemo midtown traffic stop and go
“make a wish . . .” I pretend I’m pretending
end of the day slow dancing by myself
Bill Kenney, USA
discount roses the price for being second best
coworker’s suicide all her things in one box
breastfeeding how quickly she latches on to motherhood
Bryan Rickert, USA
depression . . . I slip a little further under the duvet
C.X.Turner, United Kingdom
showing me her art the razor blade on her nightstand
broken ribs more than a carved turkey at thanksgiving
Claire Vogel Camargo, USA
police car passing on the left–– my first bag of pot
Curt Pawlisch, USA
fifty-first birthday . . . I open another emoji
Dave Read, Canada
midsummer adding a city to my weather app
David Grayson, USA
accidental the note we found when you didn’t die
David J. Kelly, Ireland
958.104 another war shelved
Debbie Olson, USA
connecting . . . the circling sun of my isolation
Deborah P Kolodji, USA
getting his ego bruised nectarines
birthday alone this urge to entertain a wild thought
Elmedin Kadric, Sweden
the screen door ajar open adoption
Erin Castaldi, USA
new love the brickwork of a footpath
Frank Dax, South Korea
listening to Lennon I arrange books as if I’ll live one last shelf
Frank Higgins, USA
language lessons my tongue slides on cerveza
dress rehearsal my DNA in a pink tutu
Genevieve Wynand, Canada
corner cubicle the flies don’t want to be here either
Gordon Brown, USA
school uniform keeping the conception immaculate
Hazel Hall, Australia
sunset . . . the legs I always wanted
Helene Guojah, United Kingdom
root canal the dentist digs deeper into my past
Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan
red ochre road the long walk to the nearest clinic
Ingrid Baluchi, North Macedonia
woodpecker taps . . . my dad recalls his Morse code days
Jay Friedenberg, USA
kindergarten her corkscrew curls at full bounce
Jo Balistreri, USA
all night diner a party of one seated on every stool
google earth an unsuccessful search for Brigadoon
car backfire the schoolyard bully holsters his finger
Joe McKeon, USA
mint julep her lips taste of goodbye
lesbian porn I wish I had been born a better man
John Hawkhead, United Kingdom
six yuan for lunch–– her head hidden behind the begging board
John Zheng, USA
Sweetest Day she shows off her new vibrator
weekly visitation the struggle to compete with YouTube videos
Joshua Gage, USA
frozen pension the boomer scoffs at his son’s debt
head-banging the air where the hair used to be
cost of living raise another year in the tuna can
Joshua St. Claire, USA
Rubenesque–– too much of me to love
application rewritten history my job rewritten history my job application history my job application rewritten my job application rewritten history job application rewritten history my
Julie Bloss Kelsey, USA
post-apocalypse Alexa asks herself to read a poem
Julie Schwerin, USA
eleventh hour . . . she asks me to sing a lullaby
Kat Lehmann, USA
family evening everyone left to their own devices
trying to be ordinary impostor syndrome
Keith Evetts, United Kingdom
three sheets the one-man jug band
abandonment issues waiting for the sauce to split
Kelly Sauvage, USA
the holy man says befriend your pain I suggest to my sore hip that we talk over zoom
Ken Slaughter, USA
crowd of candles my wish for another birthday
Laurie D. Morrissey, USA
what a jury knows what a jury doesn’t cherry blossoms
LeRoy Gorman, Canada
Burial Insurance–– her spam folder gets personal
#MeToo rally . . . his wolf-whistle extinct
Maria Bonsanti, USA
New Year’s card so often the word health this year
Marie Derley, Belgium
sidewinder how he skirts their gender
Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA
pink twitch of a rabbit’s nose she sniffs the wine
Marilyn Fleming, USA
writer’s café . . . unsticking the mug from the table
Mary Stevens, USA
highwaypileup unable to get through to her
Matt Olechnowicz, Canada
forgetting you perhaps . . . but not when the bell tolls
Meg Arnot, United Kingdom
father’s day: showing my lover childhood scars
Michael Battisto, USA
mega church everyone sticks to their guns
roadkill accounting for the last of the kittens
Michael Henry Lee, USA
a boy asks about the people in that church silent night
granddad’s rabbit’s foot the littlest one takes a step back
Mike White, USA
office loop–– my child grows unnoticed
Milan Rajkumar, India
making a mountain out of a mole ––melanoma
Nancy Brady, USA
on a rock turtle on a turtle nudist beach
Neena Singh, India
recycling day–– my overindulgence on display
Nick T, United Kingdom
our plans . . . the straight paths of a cemetery
Nikolay Grankin, Russia
at peace with my darkness stacking up red red apples one margarita slowly i become Nostradamus
Orrin PréJean-Champs, USA
interview–– choosing a background
P. H. Fischer, Canada
downpour wipers and curses in sync
newcomer the circle widens for my story
Pat Davis, USA
jumper cables not a transcendent thought in my head
Patrick Sweeney, Japan
the last lilacs–– adjusting the purple of my prose
Pippa Phillips, USA
first-time guest the lags in alleluia
retirement day father introduces me to his routine
Ramesh Anand, India
visiting Vietnam I repatriate my hat and shirt
the applause of autumn rain 40 years of service
Raymond C Roy, USA
mom’s layer cake coated with icing the salty sprinkles of yesteryears she bottled up
Richard L. Matta, USA
high school sweetheart a lab assistant re-dates a fossil
Robert Witmer, Japan
nowhere to go the repeated pattern of mum’s old cardigan
Robyn Cairns, Australia
stoking the coals I ask Mother who is her favorite
Ronald Degler, USA
ladies’ room–– stepping on the scale without her earrings
Ruth Holzer, USA
my face unlocking the computer update requests
Sarah E. Metzler, USA
breaking inside of you night’s thin shell
Shloka Shankar, India
recharging his equipment friday night
his blue eyes before my fingers were crooked
Sondra J. Byrnes, USA
maritime museum the creak and sway of immigrant ships
Sue Courtney, New Zealand
hot flash what I’d give for a cold one
a woman swallowed whole by a python some days are like that
Susan Burch, USA
housecleaning–– I shed some more wounded skin
Tim Murphy, Spain
unfinished bowl a potter shapes the air
Tyler McIntosh, USA
exorcism every time I say I am gay
Vandana Parashar, India
ordinary day–– i pick an ordinary death
Vijay Prasad, India
sunday morning the laundry rope crosses her lifeline
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