Issue 51

Bill Melton

slow meandering river is in no hurry to be lost at sea

Christopher Raley

Lightning flickered over foothills, suggesting rain, then denying it. Dark plume hoisted morning’s flag.

Karen O'Leary

a vessel never full his brother's shadow consumes him

Katie Murphy

Love grows after you’ve gone. Memories unfold new insights. You were always there for me.

Laurinda Lind

thirty years later the woman who died in this house gets around to drifting off

Michael Flanagan

the morning light brings the flowers to life on Grandma’s afghan

Ayaz Daryl Nielsen

quiet, shallow creek the secrets of small pebbles

Bruce Levine

Unforgotten sorrows Bring longing to move forward Through a pine forest of time

Ave Jeanne Ventresca

at the shelter someone in borrowed clothes whispers gratitude

Mimi German

hummingbirds feed at the salvia day after day how long the flowers continue to give

JR Vork

shattered glass glitters Four way stop

Elisabeth Eriksen

Waves receding, leaving tracks of dips and peaks on sand, like a thumbs-up EKG

Stephen Gretzer

Less moon, less music, at last no silvery authority denies me the right to imagine you forgotten.

Linda Sacco

Left to nature’s will, she grew. In nurture’s absence, she fragmented. Reconciled to never forget, she stirred.

Melissa Laussmann

A foggy view outside, Sipping my tea by the fire Oblivious of time.

Rachel Zempel

eating her feelings a pound for every lie swallowing her pride

Suzanne Cottrell

Dried stems of gray-green sweetgrass rattle like coiled snakes. Nimble fingers weave fragrant baskets.

Lynette Esposito

The sign said Dead End. I turned around That has made all the difference.

Richard Younger

last storm of winter caught in a hail of snowflakes children hurry home

Lorraine Cipriano

Starfish colony blue water tides turn quickly thousands are swirling

Megha Sood

Those muted scars reads like braille in your forgiving hands

Steve Dodson

I saw a wall and wondered what magic lay behind those gates those gates of barb wire and stone

Patricia Pella

seashell at her tiny ear she giggles in tune with the roar of the universe

Dean K Miller

Our last pieces of humanity Scattered by the wind Hope only found in passing clouds

Charles Grosel

Prayer ribbons ripple in the sun, tattered endings tickling the sky.

Cecilia Crasto

Hot summer winds ignite sparks Puffs of smoke dance over treetops Billowing clouds cast eerie shadows

Cynthia Pitman

Ice melts. The warped green glass drips a cold-water circle on the stone coaster below. I watch it overflow.

Zach Ratcliffe

Vibrant Sakura Fragile beauty briefly springs Life’s fortune and fate

Maria DePaul

Blue dims to charcoal Gusts spin funnels across plains Scraping barren trails

Cody Schweickert

tongues whip & beat incarcerated eardrums marching through blatherskite

Susi Bocks

My bills are due The baby's crying Formula or rent

J.D. Rimann

Hurricane of time Life's overwhelming gale To find shelter: breathe

Allison Paoli

Cleanse my mind with Acrylic paints doused in bourbon I am dappled with Blues

Annelise Knoot

Old Coyote whelps More voices howl Through my headphones

Joan Fields

fields of buttercups spring's validation i held one under your chin

Jennifer Rogers

Your whisper, my love, as winter light; how delicate is our dream. We want from heaven a soul – in birth or truth.

Claire Scott

You want your ashes sprinkled in the sea I will dive in after You know I can't swim

Robert Beveridge

Kama Sutra sits binding worn, cracked, beside the aged couple

Thomas Falater

the first cold days come winter does not mourn summer nor worry for spring

Shasta Hatter

steadying herself on her cane she lifts an earthworm into grass a skateboarder chatters by

Laurie Kruger-Azer

Pink fragrant blossoms Drooping in front of my home Exuberance fades

Connor Bjotvedt

mother’s dark clay pot: spilling its earthen guts, I forced its confession.

Laurie Decker

Tears fall from unblinking eyes Sand slips from tiny grasp Her castle, taken by wave

Tricia Lowther

Rock breasted woman They always call her Venus ancient roots in stone

Annoj Thavalingam

Luxurious rooms Rose-scented to be tainted Momentarily

Shannon Thompson

Ensnared in your desire I come undone in your web of lust.

Dean Robbins

The box trap, submerged, frozen winter long, thaws, and the squirrel within.

Cherese Cobb

mom’s deathbed more and more raindrops beat against the windowpane

Jesse Thompson

Ink runs thick like blood But is harder to wash away— Immortality approaches.

Robert Standish

I crave, I’m told rejection, isolation, judgment we are all broken