Issue 37 – Senryu & Kyoka


fading moonlight
the sounds of crystal
glasses

adèle weers, Switzerland

church bells . . .
the beggar spreads
his mat

Adjei Agyei-Baah, Ghana

kids the color of questions

Adrian Bouter, the Netherlands

everything
you could touch in me
mimosa

Agnes Eva Savich, USA

cancer
her weight in pills
left behind

aka moone, USA

examining room
with no window
I bring up claustrophobia

Alanna C. Burke, USA

zoom book launch
as if I were
a ghost writer

reading your lips the next best thing

Alvin B. Cruz, Philippines

online harassment
a stream of symbols
in my inbox

Angelo B. Ancheta, Philippines

sound of thunder––
she sings her favorite song
inside a pillow fort

Anthony Lusardi, USA

Instagram––
who’s the fairest
one of all?

rising elevator
but still
the glass ceiling

hail mary crossing the length of his friendzone

Antoinette Cheung, Canada

temple sill the stains of prayers

Arvinder Kaur, India

armoire necklace
trying on mom’s
femininity

Ash Evan Lippert, USA

penny candy
she tries on
the edible lipstick

beginning to breathe
on the table
between us
a full carafe
of cabernet

Barbara Sabol, USA

Roman ruins
the fallen arches
of my feet

Barbara Strang, New Zealand

coming of age
outgrowing the straws
in juice boxes

unpopped kernels . . .
my poem stays
in the pot

Barrie Levine, USA

staring back at me
happiness
in a photograph

Ben Gaa, USA

driving with dad
bumper to bumper
on the big questions

Benedict Grant, Canada

an old poet
reading myself
to sleep

St. Christopher––
when I believed
in grown-ups

Bill Kenney, USA

dripping wet
from the pool
a wolf-whistle

Bisshie, Switzerland

somewhere between
the bathroom and the kitchen
I become old

Bob Lucky, Portugal

missing her more each day
the dog
works a little harder

Bob Moore, USA

esker trail
my legs read
the glacier’s story

Brad Bennett, USA

nesting dolls the girls of my inner selves

seasonal depression
a fistful of empty
calories

tattooed women
wanting the trouble
dad said they’d bring

Bryan Rickert, USA

palliative
telling me
first

burning incense
smoke curls around
my last amen

C.X. Turner, United Kingdom

rooftop bar––
gazing
at sun-tanned stars

Carol Judkins, USA

a bookmark
where my son
grew too old

Chad Lee Robinson, USA

memento mori
as if we needed
another reminder

Charles Harmon, USA

a sugar cube
dropped into a cup of tea
on a blind date
my personality dissolves
in a borrowed tongue

Chen-ou Liu, Canada

cycling
a blast of wind lifts her skirt––
his interest
in the day moon
wavers

Christina Chin, Malaysia & Alan Peat, United Kingdom

the pallbearers
carry her lightly
my mother’s life

Christine Eales, United Kingdom

new manicure
the tv news anchor
shares her views

Christine Wenk-Harrison, USA

ebbing tide
online and offline
of digital friends

Christopher Calvin, Indonesia

cutting her long hair
as if it would
make a difference

Claire Vogel Camargo, USA

summer asks
from the back of the car
are we there yet?

Curt Linderman, USA

touch up appearance
maximum Zoom setting
makes no difference

Curt Pawlisch, USA

soft pastels
coloring my dreams
post-breakdown

Cynthia Anderson, USA

remembering great nights
the old wine-stained table

Dan Dolen, USA

this stairway
that creaks under
my weight
I find it some
excuses

Daniel Birnbaum, France

every night laundry from bed to chair

Danny Daw, USA

airflight
childhood stories
of behind the clouds land

Dave Chandler, USA

“trickle-down”
but at the bottom
dry, dry, dry

tax cut––
he adds to his collection
of houses

David Oates, USA

leaving home
empty seats
on a Greyhound bus

David Watts, USA

nothing to say
I fill the message
with emojis

lockdown
my choice of kigo
out of season

Debbi Antebi, United Kingdom

24-hour laundromat
a little pile of unmatched
baby booties

Debbie Olson, USA

old scars––
the stories we tell
others

Deborah Burke Henderson, USA

after sixty-five
trying envy
for a change

Elena Malec, USA

the sink full
of plastic cups
rental cabin

Elizabeth McMunn-Tetangco, USA

adding a lilt to the melody jasmine rice

Eric A. Lohman, USA

skipping stones
the ripples of
family dysfunction

Erin Castaldi, USA

divorce trial
the child is cut
in two

Ernest Wit, Poland

charity dinner
how to remove
the silverskin

“now to the war”
the professional way
he knotted his tie

Eva Limbach, Germany

end of the visits
behind the window
his wrinkled hand

Françoise Maurice, France

social media break
the world still beautiful
without filters

G.R. LeBlanc, Canada

her eyes
the colour of thunder
forgotten birthday

the only son’s cell phone “out of reach”

neuro medication
the mugginess of July
in my brain

Geethanjali Rajan, India

choosing a facemask
my growing collection
of variants

gentrification
my neighbor’s home
becomes a house

Helen Ogden, USA

late evening walk
my footsteps
half the distance

Herb Tate, United Kingdom

washing mother’s feet
I pretend to be
a good son

James Babbs, USA

sleeping
with strangers
the last train home

James Gaskin, Japan

vacation
she lands
her head on me

James Schlett, USA

lunch counter
watching the end
of grandpa’s cigarette

Jamie Wimberly, USA

twenty years
after the day before
what we did not know

Janet Ruth, USA

average white guy
a not-so-super power
being unremarkable

Jason Richardson, Australia

pizza box
the number of slices
in a zero-sum game

Jay Friedenberg, USA

at Arlington
seeing her father
for the first time

Jeffrey Walthall, USA

preparing
to smile and nod
power suit

at both corners
her mouth turned upwards
balanced beam

Jenn Ryan-Jauregui, USA

holiday
on a different couch
how handsome he is

Jenny Fraser, New Zealand

soap opera––
perfect bouquet
in the litter bin

Jenny Shepherd, United Kingdom

local bus
the old-timer
hems and haws

Jim Krotzman, USA

preening
your inner peacock
the ex

Joanna Ashwell, United Kingdom

campus walk detoured by the smell of weed

John Zheng, USA

family tree––
the stories I heard
around kitchen tables

rehab
not all scars
visible

what he wants
to be when grown
the length of my shadow

Joseph P. Wechselberger, USA

stress fractures the fatigue of his laurels

Julie Schwerin, USA

mammogram
a crucifix hangs
from a pushpin

dusting
my one song
on the piano

June Rose Dowis, USA

new baby
the toddler swaddles
himself

this anxiety
ignoring the call
to prayer

Justin Brown, USA

stillborn
and I cry over
lost keys

Kala Ramesh, India

teenager in the house and other ways of knowing

Kat Lehmann, USA

my torn kimono
along the seam
of five summers

Katherine E Winnick, United Kingdom

after radiation––
I spend the morning rebuilding
the snowman

Keith Polette, USA

unrequited
tying thoughts
into a knot

Kevin Valentine, USA

new drapes––
cleansing the home
of her ex

Kimberly Kuchar, USA

emerald earrings
I inherit more
than her laugh

lifelong learning the curveball

kjmunro, Canada

news headlines . . .
sunflower bouquets
fill a grocery store bucket

a child’s guide to stars
orienting myself
with bears

Kristen Lindquist, USA

the pianist
eighty-eight
& out of tune

Lent
I give up editing
my life

more salt
for the soup
we get to talking politics

LeRoy Gorman, Canada

third martini turning into myself

growing old in the dark beyond my father

ultra-marathon
my son tells me the miles
he’s running from

Lew Watts, USA

black coffee
washing off
his sugar-coated lies

Lorelyn De la Cruz Arevalo, Philippines

before pressing send
what I really
want to say

Lori Becherer, USA

still missing . . .
the person I thought
you were

Lori Kiefer, United Kingdom

empty nest
storing firewood
in the toy box

Lorraine Carey, Ireland

walking on clouds
if only he
would slow down

Luminita Suse, Canada

another nightmare
passes through her wall
of dreamcatchers

M. R. Defibaugh, USA

unleavened––
the last time i rose
for communion

fallen leaves––
the city clears the hungry
from main street

m. shane pruett, USA

rain on May Day
here in the castle gardens
a Virgin-free grotto

Maeve O’Sullivan, Ireland

old widower
all desires
over the hill

Manoj Sharma, Nepal

depression––
focusing on the flight
of a feather

global warming––
how rare is now
the dew

Margherita Petriccione, Italy

notebook page––
a trial-and-error history
of my hopes

Marie Derley, Belgium

birthday month
scrolling past
free gifts

Mariel Herbert, USA

new diet waisting my time

platoon the human trafficking of war

Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA

storm chaser
always looking
for an argument

Marilyn Fleming, USA

the road less traveled . . .
construction crews
here as well

Mark Forrester, USA

a small gift
of our time together––
smiling buddha

birthday cake––
how many more summers
before i die

traffic jam––
am I too old to sing
with Taylor Swift

Mark Scott, USA

campsite store . . .
sales stalled by the kid’s
bag of pennies

Mark Teaford, USA

unseen dawn––
the hard graft of thought
in this footnote

Meg Arnot, United Kingdom

the Veil
she says
it’s more like smoke

Melissa J. Fowle, USA

trying on new clothes
secrets she wants me
to see

Michael Battisto, USA

outdoor concert––
the new conductor
settles the score

Michael Dylan Welch, USA

ghost light . . .
traces of a long-dead
rose

Michael Flanagan, USA

pop diagnoses
a label for all
that ails me

just
as i am
sunrise service

Michael Henry Lee, USA

thoughts and prayers
the empty space
between two hands

Mike Fainzilber, Israel

swing door
the to and fro
of laughter

Mike Gallagher, Ireland

payday flowers
he gives the clerk
the whole story

Mike White, USA

chessboard his loneliness black and white

Minal Sarosh, India

red roses
the times he tried to say
I love you

Mona Bedi, India

group zazen over
smiling, we fold the sheet
on creases

Neena Singh, India

Ellis Island tour
looking in every room
for my Opa

b u c k e t l i s t t h e l e n g t h o f t h i s f r e i g h t t r a i n . . .

Nick Hoffman, Ireland

zen garden
accepting the weeds
just as they are

Nick T, United Kingdom

holding my breath
my lover gives me
hers

chewing on God
my mouth
empty of bread

Nicky Gutierrez, USA

day-old bread
he returns too late
to apologize

Nika, Canada

Alexa––
feeling the need
to apologize

long covid
cutting a cross
in the sourdough

P. H. Fischer, Canada

biker prophet
a parable of the roads
not taken

list of sins
longer than my
knees can last

vintage diner
we finish each other’s
sentences

Pat Davis, USA

detention class
preparing the soil
for weeds

Patricia Hawkhead, United Kingdom

17 billion earth-sized planets
and there’s a man
chasing his hat

Patrick Sweeney, Japan

bookmark
my losing
lottery ticket

Paul Engel, USA

Shinto cleansing rite
in the water once more
I dip the ladle

petro c. k., USA

pulling the wings off my daddy issues

in spite growing an empire in me

Pippa Phillips, USA

immigrant––
is it stamped
on my forehead

Ram Chandran, India

midlife crisis––
changing churches
i and pastor

Ramesh Anand, India

sumi-e
the arcs that cradle
her eyes

Ravi Kiran, India

boundaries
her therapist
newly single too

Reid Hepworth, Canada

diagnosis
mother walks past
the deity

Richa Sharma, India

enlightenment
the acolyte snores
mouth open

juxtaposition
the first cut
is the deepest

Richard Tice, USA

budget deficit
filling potholes
the morning mist

Rick Jackofsky, USA

meditating––
almost an awakening
I fall asleep

Rob McKinnon, Australia

another war––
this fragile urge
to grow old

dry riverbed––
my part
in it

Rob Scott, Australia

extra inning loss
slowly the little leaguer
licks his ice cream cone

Robert Witmer, Japan

city fountain . . .
at midnight she kicks off
her shoes

Roberta Beach Jacobson, USA

a pork barrel
falls from the truck
election year

Rohan Buettel, Australia

incense offering
after I am gone
only ashes

Ron Russell, USA

each relative
full of advice
first tricycle

Ronald K. Craig, USA

diving off the cliff
I slip
inside the sea

S.M. Kozubek, USA

dragon kite running herself ragged

Sarah E. Metzler, USA

flickering candles
we talk of the dead
in passing

Sarah Paris, USA

no music
playing inside the car
just this city

Saumya Bansal, India

fitbit
on the fritz
counting my own steps

Scott Wiggerman, USA

pre-school class
tumbling out to play
the teacher’s inner child

whiskey stash
he tests the strength
of her forgiveness

Seánan Forbes, USA

mood swings
not even google
can explain

Sharon Rhutasel-Jones, USA

after our fight
a long discussion
about the weather

Sharon Walter, USA

victoria’s secrets
all those algorithms
gone wrong

Sondra J. Byrnes, USA

temple queue . . .
I revise and reorder
my prayers

Srinivas S

asks if I have
anything of my own
my wife

sub-zero level
a fresh feed
of war news

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi, India

​​locked classroom . . .
more young lives
taken

Stephenie Story, USA

at the moment
in the moment
for a moment

without the messenger bearing the news within

Steve Bahr, USA

first time in group
she points out
my undone shoelace

old enough . . .
a teenager gives me her
seat on the bus

Steve Dolphy, United Kingdom

garden party
the doll’s eyes
unblinking

Sue Courtney, New Zealand

shaved head––
suddenly few question
her authority

Susan Bonk Plumridge, Canada

mortal (syn)apses blaming my brain for my dastardly deeds

if only lies
were easy to tell
like Pinocchio
the growing nose
of a cheating spouse

Susan Burch, USA

my attempt
at finding purpose
third wheel

Tazeen Fatma, India

laundry basket
I let his decisions
pile over mine

carte blanche : my body my rules

Teji Sethi, India

the whole world
in his hands
except . . .

23 and Me
suddenly I’m
the middle child

Terri L. French, USA

​​wheels up––
turning my watch back
one hour

Thomas Cirtin, USA

boarding the Greyhound
a Hefty trash bag
for luggage

Tim Cremin, USA

substitute art teacher
seeing shadows
in a new light

Tim Murphy, Spain

from squaring up
to shaking hands
the drunk who loves everyone

Tim Roberts, New Zealand

past lives
I sleep with
my ghosts

Tina Mowrey, USA

<<<<cease-fire>>>>

reality . . .
the less I want
to know

Tom Clausen, USA

liking jazz
now I’ve heard
all of me

Tony Williams, United Kingdom

warding off bad spirits
my windchimes
hang

Tuyet Van Do, Australia

church stillness
just stepping in
to remember

the curl of fingers around themselves regrets

Tyler McIntosh, USA

collage . . .
the empty sections
of her life

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, USA

sprinkling salt––
she says I’m not good enough
for her son

Vandana Parashar, India

between us––
the simulacrum
of exchanges

Vijay Prasad, India

every emotion
at the speed of sound
four-month-old

one dog barks
then two join in
political rally

William Scott Galasso, USA

Return to Issue

Issue 36 – Senryu & Kyoka


back to school
the fight over
corner seats

Adjei Agyei-Baah, Ghana

did I call enough
grandma’s favorite
pashmina wrap

Agnes Eva Savich, USA

coffee rings
on her desk
his promotion

Aidan Castle, USA

grail
the bra
that fits

Alanna C. Burke, USA

writing shasei––
certain I’ve read this one
somewhere before . . .

Alex Fyffe, USA

writer’s block
I ask Alexa
for a prompt

Alex Lubman, USA

10,000 feet
above San Antonio
remembering
how I hate
to fly

Allyson Whipple, USA

samurai film
she won’t let me
buy a sword

Andy Discus, USA

rosary beads : the stains of time

Arvinder Kaur, India

taxi stop
night air rushes to fill
your empty seat

Ash Evan Lippert, USA

last day of isolation
Happy Birthday
through the door

Audrey Quinn, Denmark

scrolling
too fast to pay
attention

B.A. France, USA

ready for takeoff––
the sudden spread
of a mask fight

Barrie Levine, USA

​​captcha
I am human
right?

Bart Van Goethem, Belgium

doorways
now so narrow
middle age

Bee Jay, Australia

my rainbow
is brighter than yours
suburban sprinklers

Benedict Grant, Canada

just so that
there are no regrets
a shooting star

Bhawana Rathore, India

the years of lying
about her age . . .
mother’s headstone

old widower
the life expectancy
of grief

hall of mirrors
what I think you think
of me

Bill Kenney, USA

heatwave
a white man
loses face

Birk Andersson, Sweden

on the outside
of the picket fence
Black Lives Matter

Brad Bennett, USA

cosmic noise
how much of it
is me

graveside service
an honor guard
takes the hill

menopause
she lets me know
we’re out of eggs

Bryan Rickert, USA

getting myself
in hot water again
shabu shabu

Charles Harmon, USA

genuflection
the weight
of stained glass

Charlotte Hrenchuk, Canada

two pills
shall i go up
or down

Christine Eales, United Kingdom

cold beer . . .
we try to recount
our youth

Christopher Calvin, Indonesia

computer key clicks
beneath my fingers––
his deep sleep

Claire Vogel Camargo, USA

Grandma’s lipstick
shades lighter
than Mom’s

Curt Pawlisch, USA

changing memory lanes the past of least resistance

jewelry box
the ballerina
I never was

Cynthia Anderson, USA

cataracts gone
seeing the world
through sixteen-year-old eyes
i ask the surgeon
what else she could renew

Dave Chandler, USA

altar candles
the secret wishes
of strangers

David Watts, USA

warm oatmeal
she slips a cookie
into his lunch

Deborah P Kolodji, USA

burial
the end
of forgetting

Elaine Costanzo, USA

halving strawberries
Grammy spins the story
of his proposal

Elaine Wilburt, USA

dusk
tipping dinosaurs
off the edge of the sofa

Elancharan Gunasekaran, Singapore

for sale
bozak speakers –– losing dad
all over again

Eric A. Lohman, USA

not asking
about her ‘vacation’
in-patient

Erin Castaldi, USA

the roar of traffic
dying to a murmur
country churchyard

Ernest Wit, Poland

last order
she touches up
her lips

Eva Limbach, Germany

standard deviation––
the measure of your distance
from my mean

Fionnuala Waldron, Ireland

the fly and I
share the same buzz . . .
afternoon bourbon

Gordon Gearhart, USA

yellow streetlight
a pregnant girl, heavy
with almosts

Hege A. Jakobsen Lepri, Norway

retail therapy––
the boyfriend pillow
comes at a price

Hemapriya Chellappan, India

echoing gavel
after the bidding concludes
the bride’s lowest price

underage bride
the handmade rag doll becomes
her chief bridesmaid

Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan

pitting cherries
she spits out
her diagnosis

embroidery sampler
what each stitch holds
of her

driving with my dad
what used to be here
what used to be there

Jacquie Pearce, Canada

country accent
the roll of hills
a letter away

Joanna Ashwell, United Kingdom

an old stone wall
crumbling into itself
dad’s last words

John Hawkhead, United Kingdom

ouija board
not knowing what questions
to ask

Johnnie Johnson Hafernik, USA

minimum wage
the ramen labels
become a rainbow

Joshua St. Claire, USA

falling cards the house panic built me

Julie Bloss Kelsey, USA

cry for not my usual self help

Julie Schwerin, USA

acclimating
to its only speed
porch swing

June Rose Dowis, USA

baby shower
she remembers me
innocent

Kat Lehmann, USA

death poem––
reconfiguring
the paperclip

Keith Evetts, United Kingdom

guilt
no farther away
than my pillow

Kelly Sargent, USA

jury interview
I try to create
reasonable doubt

Ken Slaughter, USA

attic violin
the person she was before
my first breath

Kevin Valentine, USA

storm damage
not the top-down change
we hoped for

Kristen Lindquist, USA

jazz playing
your whistle far into
the night

empty chair wishing it wasn’t

Lafcadio, USA

our favorite argument
we end it
by not ending it

Laurie D. Morrissey, USA

20th anniversary
her ring finger
in the oximeter

Lew Watts, USA

dry eyes on the sparrow

rock bottom––
it sinks in
that I’m an addict

Lori A Minor, USA

Mom’s silk sheets how things come to be

Lori Becherer, USA

box upon box tissue wrapped childhood

Margaret Walker, USA

heavy scent
of the old dust
colonial house

Marie Derley, Belgium

new year
couch to 5k to couch
resolution

Mariel Herbert, USA

childhood photos––
around our table
the mismatched chairs

Mark Forrester, USA

filling the kitchen
aroma of vanilla
and his fists

Meg Arnot, United Kingdom

breakfast at twilight
trying to remember
your name

Mike Fainzilber, Israel

phone lock . . .
pulling the day into a
wrong pattern

Minal Sarosh, India

hopscotch
between adjoining numbers
the boys’ gaze

toy train
choosing from the crowd
the father I’ve never had

Mirela Brăilean, Romania

social media––
a side of you
I never knew

Mona Bedi, India

call from a stranger
his family tree
grows a branch

always happening
somewhere else
until

Nancy Shires, USA

still orbiting
my old bedroom . . .
Jupiter’s moons

Nick Hoffman, Ireland

tv news
a rioter wears
the same mask as me

climate protest
a drum beats
out of time

Nick T, United Kingdom

playing
the wabi-sabi card
chipped china

blue Monday
i wander through
my spam

P. H. Fischer, Canada

mirror, mirror . . .
the topology
of old age

Pat Davis, USA

all-inclusive
the resort’s
armed guards

Peter Newton, USA

the sin in the sinner in me

Pippa Phillips, USA

after
all these winters
the weight of a scar

Ravi Kiran, India

mother’s religion
prayer cards
under her ashtray

Rehn Kovacic, USA

five of midnight
silencing the in-law’s
grandfather clock

Richard L. Matta, USA

synesthesia
developing a taste
for the blue notes

Rick Jackofsky, USA

New Orleans jazz club
dancing with a lady
I already miss

Robert Moyer, USA

barnyard memories
I was once
a spring chicken

Roberta Beach Jacobson, USA

college degree
my application in
at the car wash

Ronald K. Craig, USA

shortest day––
fitting in
a fight

Ruth Holzer, USA

pandemic year
every day I hug
my tree

Ryland Shengzhi Li, USA

last year our cloudy memory of friends

S. Michael Kozubek, USA

black history
twenty-eight
days long

Sarah E. Metzler, USA*

origin story
learning to speak
for myself

Shloka Shankar, India

zazen––
i’ve had my fill
of emptiness

Sondra J. Byrnes, USA

teacher’s birthday . . .
rechecking the grammar
of my wish

work from home
in lieu of 3 a.m. friends
3 a.m. colleagues

Srinivas S, India

hot coffee
the warning
that you’ll burn me

Susan Burch, USA

toy store which teddy to buy dad

colossus
at least I thought
you were

Tim Gardiner, United Kingdom

doodles
on a small cross
early morning prayers

Tim Roberts, New Zealand

campfire
envying my kid’s
imagination

Tomislav Sjekloća, Montenegro

feeling good
about myself
drawstring pants

Tony Williams, United Kingdom

coin flip
am I
two-faced

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, USA

funeral
all his ex-wives
in the same pew

guests gone
eating the leftovers
cold

Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff, USA

library book
did his hands touch
you too

Vandana Parashar, India

twilight
in her curves
the lack of exactness

Vijay Prasad, India

born again
the river baptism
leaves him cold

William Scott Galasso, USA

burnt cookies
my second
Covid Christmas

Yvette Nicole Kolodji, USA

status update
another day
in alternate reality

Zahra Mughis, Pakistan

​​*“Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of ‘Negro History Week,’ the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.”

History.com Editors. (2022, January 31). Black History Month. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month

Return to Issue

Issue 35 – Senryu & Kyoka


as the crow flies fentanyl

#newalgoirthm
#theadvertisersknowingme
#betterthanme

Aaron Barry, Canada

PhD journey
all the coffee brands
I know

Adjei Agyei-Baah, Ghana/New Zealand

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

Vladislav Hristov, Bulgaria

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