Afternoon of January 8, 2026

Hurry! Submissions open through January 9.

          this year

    I will remember

to eat the panettone


~Tony Williams

everyone wants to know why

she's keeping her first dream

to herself

~Patrick Sweeney

there's no sitting down in my mind

~Patrick Sweeney

a twisted sycamore branch in the snow

how right they were about me

~Patrick Sweeney

never to return

she prepares her trip

to settle in Mars

flowers already begin

to bloom there

~Tejendra Sherchan

piano recital

second-chance student

taller than the rest

~Randy Brooks

the night before Christmas

a flea was silently

stirring

~Randy Brooks

food for thought

his namesake nibbles

on GMOs

~Peter Jastermsky

burnt butter

the sun leans in

a bit closer

~Peter Jastermsky

three pops democracy lies bleeding

~Melissa Dennison

ICE shoots to kill

America declares war

on America

~Patricia Carragon

family photo album gliding through my traumatic stages of adolescence

~Martina Matijević

Negotiation 101 the exam our world failed twice

~Martina Matijević

A Few Reminders

The Art of Haiku open now

https://artofhaiku.org/entry/

The Solitary Daisy wants haiku related to the New Year, deadline January 14


https://thesolitarydaisy.ca/2025/12/issue-65-moon-haiku/

Haikuniverse open for your submissions

https://haikuniverse.com/submit/

The English-Speaking Union of Japan accepting poems through Jan 25

https://www.esuj.gr.jp/event/5_index_detail.php

 

 

Afternoon of January 7, 2026

 

quantum blackjack

quantum blackjack

my cards add up to 21

for a moment

~John J. Dunphy

bankruptcy

my mail box filled with

credit card offers

~John J. Dunphy

tattoo of a fairy

its nose red

from a mosquito bite

~John J. Dunphy

hospice vigil

dying man asks

a relative to pray

in a lower voice

~John J. Dunphy

rushing to shine

before city lights are on

the full moon

~Tejendra Sherchan

independent cinema

brought to you

by the deep state

it's ostensibly

criticizing

~Jerome Berglund

Middle age is when

half the funerals

are for someone younger.


~Jeffrey Taylor

I Reside in Metaphor

Like god

Like family

Like anything

More abstract

Than the present

Moment

~Scott Parker

On Being a Poet

I didn't write this line,

but I did have the chance

to read it first.

~Scott Parker

Here we go

Another shift

In the paradigm

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

in season utter nonsense


~Roberta Beach Jacobson

the world as it was

when i was young

city fog

~Gareth Nurden

stained curtain,

Grilled window, Light pollution.

But beyond that

- the cosmos.

~David Mitchell

rhythm

from his brown eyes...

the violinist

~Fatma Zohra Habis

on the eighth day

he created the wind

and it blew me away

~Bonnie J Scherer

out for the count five fleas

~Barrie Levine

2026

an accident

that didn’t wait to happen


~Barrie Levine

 

 

https://sonicboomjournal.wixsite.com/sonicboom/submission-guidelines

 

https://femkumag.wixsite.com/home/guidelines

Afternoon of January 2, 2026

 

Open for submissions again: Horror Senryu Journal

https://horrorkujournal.blogspot.com/

Send your short poems: Password

https://veryshortpoetry.com/submissions/

you tell me

“your poems have

no titles”

i nod my head

and say,

“neither does

my life.”

~Tom Blessing

lunar city

green domes

in a barren plain

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

even when dreaming

he had no butterfly-gene expression

~Patrick Sweeney

Two Ton Tony Galento

always got to say his name twice

~Patrick Sweeney

The best things in life are free, but so are the worst.

~Gloria Parker

taking down

the old church sign

end times

~Ingrid Bruck

moon skeleton

in morning sky

night’s echo

~Jennifer Gurney

Such a bleeding heart

She’s gonna need

a transfusion

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

my life

dry as the urban

landscape

I follow a maple leaf

calling it poetry

~Jackie Chou

daydreams

and fairytales --the voices

in my head

~M. R. Pelletier

punchbowl drunk

a thirsty mouse

finds the holiday ladle

~Douglas J. Lanzo

unpaid overtime

the plink clink of ice pellets

on the window

~Joshua St. Claire

fifth interview

the HR VP asks me

who Joshua St. Claire is

~Joshua St. Claire

she says the dog

is fixed now

third quarter moon

~Joshua St. Claire

Ode to Art Cinema 12-31-25

gonna start the new year right

with Harry Smith reel tight

lightshow videos of the Fugs

down on the Bowery with some poetry thugs

Harry's string theory weaving some songs

living lives where we don't quite belong

seeking nirvana with a shotgun swagger

                      his circles & squares still stagger

~dan smith

my thumb counts four

~Allen David Simon

setting the record straight no one

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

how can

one day change so much

new year

~Jennifer Gurney

whole to-do list

for the coming year

1. to live



~Oscar Luparia

breaking my resolution

to never publish again

~Douglas J. Lanzo

we always

think we have more time

until we don’t

~Jennifer Gurney

Open now (only until filled): Akitsu Quarterly

http://www.wildgraces.com/akitsu-quarterly

Submit by January 11: Golden Haiku Competition

https://goldentriangledc.com/event/golden-haiku/