Poets in this issue — click a name to read
- Babcock, Terra
- Burnham, Eden
- Cambern, Diane
- Cassese, Renee
- Chung, Ian
- Correll, Don
- Drury, Ivo
- Edwards, David
- Farley, Joseph
- Ferdon, Joel
- Fishel, Zach
- Florence, Victor
- Grant, Todd
- Joy, Bernard
- Koji, William F.
- Landauer, Libby
- Meeks, Kevin
- Minard, James
- Moore, Brock Marie
- Obrian, Catherine
- Orris, Scott
- Rajamanickam, Vishnu
- Ratcliffe, Michael
- Robbins, Doug
- Robinson, Justin Robinson
- Romo, Gb
- Ryan, Lindy
- Simmons, Andy
- Sylvan, Isabel
- Templet, Jasmine
- Thymian, Jari
- Wagner, Zach
- Weston, Joanna M.
Don Correll
The majesty of the starlit sky
Requires appreciation
Of darkness
Victor Florence
My mother showed me her scrapbook
of Abuelito’s funeral. That night
I dreamt of marigolds.
Terra Babcock
We made love to the scent
Of the vanilla pages of old books
Upon our paper skin.
Kevin Meeks
Hi Coup.
Greeting for revolution,
or something more.
Vishnu Rajamanickam
An eagle fledgling fell
Into the nest of a crow
And thought it was one.
Joseph Farley
White teeth, green tongue,
Waiting to chew each body
Gawking through the gate.
Joseph Farley
Bones in a clay jar,
Forgotten in a cave,
Sleeping through eons.
Bernard Joy
the mountains outside Salzburg
before I understood what zen was
the perfection of a snowflake on my sleeve
Michael Ratcliffe
It is enough to sit
and watch yesterday’s rain
drop from the leaves of trees.
Michael Ratcliffe
Dead roses lie on the table,
still bundled as they came from the store.
For want of water, they withered.
Ivo Drury
hat ribbons trail behind him
as the skiff progresses upstream
lotus pods burst with ripe seeds
Ivo Drury
his letter
secured in apron pocket
her amulet against the day
Catherine OBrian
Cold tears dampened the pillow
until warm rain washed the bed again
with the fragrance of intimacy
Libby Landauer
Broken umbrellas thrive
in trash bins
on rainy days.
Catherine OBrian
I pass on the bliss of nirvana to
continue this awkward dance of
missed cues and mangled toes
Todd Grant
a purple amethyst
radiates between her breasts
my winter moon
Joanna M. Weston
two men
by the lamppost
gossip column
Joanna M. Weston
Christmas Day
your voice
for the last time
GB Romo
Forty nights in the desert
howling sutras to the dharma moon.
Her fullness brings me life.
Jari Thymian
I find the sagging place
in the barbed wire
where others also trespassed
Jari Thymian
bird seller
at the mercado
too many poached songs
Justin Robinson Robinson
The sun keeps watch over me
as I drive down the freeway
leading home.
Zach Fishel
Her eyes were as green as old Heineken bottles
But I broke them
Like my heart after the bus pulled out.
Zach Fishel
Your laugh is a bowl
filled with the bells of churches
burnt down without fear.
Lindy Ryan
The first sound, which heard
when the roar of silence breaks,
is the sound of joy
Lindy Ryan
They carry disease
floating on their bloated tongues,
these chatty women
Scott Orris
My nude conscience
reads Genesis
in the orgasm of night.
David Edwards
watching
candle light flicker
winter winds
David Edwards
quietly
before our eyes
smoke whispers fire’s anger
Zach Wagner
I am nothing
but a square peg,
forced into this round world.
James Minard
The winter solstice
is the first step in the long
quest for warmer days.
Isabel Sylvan
I want you in your perfect blue
press you to the sky
unfold you.
Isabel Sylvan
This river leads into a stream.
If we survive the rapids,
we still won’t reach the sea.
Brock Marie Moore
salamander’s child
expelled from school
for starting fires
Ian Chung
hold me please hold me
so I did as if a hug
could shut out the smoke
Ian Chung
the sky is falling
guess who has the last laugh now
Chicken Little crows
Ian Chung
when the dust settles
the machines will still hum on
metal does not die
Diane Cambern
We live in the realm of airways
You cannot reconcile anymore
with those who keep to the ground
Diane Cambern
I will meet you on the shore
Stars will be heavy around us
The water a velvet song
Andy Simmons
Hearing the keys in my pocket shake,
the blue eyes of the homeless man
cleans his coal color cheeks.
Joel Ferdon
Honeysuckle lips
Against dry and cracked concrete.
The body withers.
Eden Burnham
Stolen from her nest
She grew up unaware
Lost Bird is her name.
Eden Burnham
Out of all the stars
You shone the brightest
And all too soon you faded.
Jasmine Templet
Herman Melville invaded
my dreams with visions of great
white large breasted mammals
Renee Cassese
full moon
peeks below a cloud
eavesdropping on my dreams
Renee Cassese
First day of winter
Full moon
Redeem the coin for deep dreams
William F. Koji
River freezes
old dam swept away
down, down the valley
Renee Cassese
The air pulses
An angel breathes
Rose petals flutter
William F. Koji
Grandfather’s clock
Never quite catches up
To the right time
Doug Robbins
Spring flowers emerge.
From mother’s fertilizer.
My tears make them bloom.