Poets in this issue — click a name to read
- Allen, Joshua
- Anderson, Duane
- Banash, Matthew
- Bramatti, Baxter
- Campbell, Charles
- Casey, Carol
- Chilicas, Eve
- Cottrell, Suzanne
- Curro, Stephen
- Decker, Laurie
- Depaul, Maria
- Deranleau, Sarah
- Dimacali, Didimay
- Elyshevitz, Alan
- Eustice, Isaac
- Fahey, Mary Crane
- Flanagan, Michael
- Flavin, Francis
- Ford, Sarah
- Gentry, Susan
- Gunn, Mary
- Hamlin, Andrew
- Hatter, Shasta
- Hunt, Robert
- James, Hani
- Johnson, Alvin
- Killgore, C L
- Lage, Kelli
- Lanzo, Douglas
- Laussmann, Melissa
- Lavender, Nate
- Levine, Bruce
- Mannen, Michael
- Matta, Richard
- Mcomber, Karl
- Melton, Bill
- Michalski, Penny
- Nielsen, Ayaz Daryl
- Pella, Patricia
- Rossi, Patricia
- Schulz, Brian
- Schwartz, Greg
- Schweickert, Cody
- Smith, Kaitlyn
- Smith, Mandi
- Spinks, Randall
- Spitzenberger, Ray
- Stamatis, Steven
- Staton, Valerie
- Zempel, Rachel
Andrew Hamlin
Killing a fly
with my Diet Coke bottle
passes for news
Eve Chilicas
shooting stars
and dancing carp
along the river of dreams.
Karl McOmber
Sing with me now you wingless butterfly;
You steel breeze of loving malice.
Fly with me, you voiceless sparrow.
Randall Spinks
Brook no thought.
Clear water curves
over rock.
Sarah Deranleau
Fragrant, cool wind blows
stirs the leaves, kisses my cheek.
Grandma says hello.
Bruce Levine
Passing time in an empty space
Filling moments in a perpetual haze
Waiting on the precipice of reality
Steven Stamatis
We don a mask over our mask,
drawing a curtain over the veil,
aching and arching ears expand.
Carol Casey
The pouring out of words upon a page,
not pretty, but honest
escapees from a restless mind.
Ray Spitzenberger
yule tree in Texas
blinking lights revealing gifts
daughter stuck in Queens
Suzanne Cottrell
Sheltered at home during the pandemic
Time for homemade crafts and baked goods
Tis the year for social distance gifting
Ayaz Daryl Nielsen
perhaps a new mirror
this one reflects
last year's fool
Duane Anderson
Wrapping paper
gifts in disguise
a case waiting for Sherlock Holmes.
Alvin Johnson
No presents this year,
just thoughts of one another,
with genuine love.
Susan Gentry
Leaves fall silently in cold autumn rain
scent of feasts escape noisy tables
memories flicker of many now gone
Charles Campbell
The big holly tree bursts now with berries,
soon to celebrate Christmas day with us,
and later, the squirrels and birds will feast.
Isaac Eustice
The clatter of plates
Happy voices of loved ones
Forgetting the news
Patricia Rossi
angelic voices
songs of peace
faith renewed
Penny Michalski
At The Table for One Restaurant
The Spirit of Christmas shuns me
Because you left this earth.
Francis Flavin
The falling snow muffles the holiday clamor,
And opens a pine scented gateway
To a time more intimate and benign.
Shasta Hatter
in line for a food box
volunteers offer day old flowers
bread for body and soul
Maria DePaul
Families gather
Lighting candles for wishes
To herald New Year
Stephen Curro
winter solstice
the sun embraces
rosy cheeks
Bill Melton
an old logging road
deep frozen wheel ruts nestled
full of downy snow
Richard Matta
Lost are countless rainbows to climb
with carabiners, harness and rope
Prisms now prisons, ropes now thread
Mandi Smith
summer sun falls
mockingbirds coo
crickets dance
Valerie Staton
The spirit of Christmas -
thinking not of ourselves,
blessing those who have a need
Baxter Bramatti
warmth from frozen memories
frozen in their photographs
frozen in their smiles
Didimay Dimacali
the wings of morning
warm a cold winter
bells are ringing
Cody Schweickert
unseen footprints in flat-lit snow
indulge depressive impressions
glacial sobs fill empty space
Joshua Allen
Thursday's gratitude
does not see
Friday's dawn.
Nate Lavender
When she leaves in the morning, crack
open the window, let in the cold, let in
the dog's bark scratching at the glass.
Matthew Banash
Beak tucked into shoulder
Bobbing like a buoy
Afloat in duck dreams.
Melissa Laussmann
breaking through
the silent landscape
winterberries
Greg Schwartz
back of the bus
a girl writes her name
on the window
Mary Gunn
The aroma of mother's cooking...
In times gone by, enjoying the fruits
of our farm. Happy memories stay.
Douglas Lanzo
cicada voices
chorus, whisper, silence
summer twilights
Brian Schulz
Winter convulses
belching cold stones from the earth
to dull the plow's blade
Kelli Lage
The television always running
filling gaping wounds
left by your silent and empty lips.
Kaitlyn Smith
my body was his home
a safe place
from the world
Sarah Ford
Each bite shots fired
War with my body at home
No safety alone
Michael Mannen
the waving stars
neon sky at midnight
Scarlet from my window
Alan Elyshevitz
The first skill learned
is speech without words
like the mourning dove
C L Killgore
A cluttered mind dances
Between tomorrow and yesterday
Sleep is distant, elusive
Laurie Decker
Dancing through moonlight
Whistling wind at her back
She blooms in secret
Michael Flanagan
an October day
your coffin drops from sight
clouds float...birds sing
Rachel Zempel
frozen ice crystals
clinging Winter tree branches
prismatic sunrise
Robert Hunt
furtive sleet
descends innocuously
outside their glowing hearth
Mary Crane Fahey
In the lilac bush a songbird sits
Trilling canticle into fragrant dusk
Casting a glow over its listeners
Patricia Pella
drifting cherry petals
soften the words
between us
Hani James
Louder than glass I crack
Pressure heavy on my soul
Softer than grace I fall