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

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