Evening of December 31, 2022

seasonal affective disorder

the fresh cut flowers

are dead to me

~Kerry J Heckman

they burnt the candle

at both ends

and melt in the middle

~Linda L Ludwig

food stalls

award-winning chefs

get drunk

~Barbara Anna Gaiardoni

drowning

in their element

aquarium trolls

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

when golden arms

thaw frozen bones

stones set sail

~C.F. Tash

twinkle

tiny stars

eyeing us

with their state of the art

semaJ telescope

gathering data

snapping photos

of man's undoing

archived as

fallen stars

~Lorelyn De la Cruz Arevalo

keep

your second line longer

if you can

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

i am the diamond

the coal you threw away once

this city of mines

~Aftab Yusuf Shaikh

Evening of December 28, 2022

words leave poetree

~Robert Witmer

night flight—

the exhaust

of a jet engine

~Andrew Markowski

a roll of the dice

one by one

the bones come to rest

~Robert Witmer

cheap motel—

the vending machine

eats my money

~Andrew Markowski

awaiting biopsy results—

a spider

enters the waiting room

~Ram Chandran

shades of dusk

a murder of crows

deepen my solitude

~Neena Singh

Zazen…

on my knees

I cross myself

~Linda L Ludwig

a poet

milks his words

the muse mooed

~Robert Witmer

mu

the peace of just being

a heifer on a hill

~Robert Witmer

The Hall


In the hall was the last time I saw him.

He was a sorry sight.

And I didn’t want him giving anyone a fright.



In the house he had given joy for years.

But the sight of him now would only produce floods of tears.

There he lay with no tail or ears.



Farewell my stuffed friend.

Our time has finally come to an end.

The grandchildren have finally done you in.

And the only place for you now is in the bin.

~Lorna Smart Wordcrafter

Orion nebula

the space between

the stars and me

~Françoise Maurice

after the supernova

making sandcastles

out of stardust

~Eavonka Ettinger

discarded gift bags, once full, lay empty now.

~Julie A. Dickson

decorations

stolen from the front yard

Christmas spirits

~Eavonka Ettinger

Evening of December 27, 2022

Minus ten degrees outside, inside I ice a fractured wrist.


~Nolcha Fox

the full moon casts a blue color on a broken heart

~Nani Mariani

Creepy baby, crawl

up the window, hang from the ceiling,

with sinister smile and demon eyes.

They locked you up this Halloween.

But you will escape by late spring 

to eat flies.

And tourists.

~Nolcha Fox

         new year starts

   with the same stupidity 

           and continues 

   with the same stupidity

~Rupa Anand

Thoughts are disheveled

and so is my hair.

Ends split for cover

hiding under blankets,

cowering from light.

~Nolcha Fox

Why am I

not what the world sees?

How long before

the monster in the mirror

becomes this failed me?

~Nolcha Fox

clashing

with my Hawaiian shirt

his vacation plans

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

Where I’m going I

bring only what I need

a portion of me

suitcase full

of nothing, empty

of embrace, I simply

chase down a corridor

waiting to return

to the me I left behind

~Julie A. Dickson

staycation every room comes with a cat

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

                new year meows

            not the same old kibble again? 

         aren’t we getting something new?

              ~Rupa Anand

Evening of December 24, 2022

Nervous Days

Nervous days

lead to a breakdown,

such are the results,

a day or days I do not

long for. This is a

path filled with dread.

I count to ten forward

and backward. I say to her,

my muse, why do roses die?

~Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozabal

in tropical realms

where scorpions love sneakers

shake well before use

~James Penha

Walking Along in Silence

Walking alone in silence.

It was the perfect day.

My foot arches felt no pain.

The sun shone brightly in the sky.

Birds provided the music.

I had no need to use my voice.

~Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozabal

In the scent of ordure birthing,

refugees in pregnant pause,

am I ready for the holy,

recognised, unlikely shift,

or is faith, unstable, moving,

powerless baby, needing love?

Hosts, it seems, are all around us,

but we wait for glory’s shine;

realise the kingdom waiting

for those sitting in the dark.


~Stephen Kingsnorth

fashion parade

all my childhood

insecurities

~Mona Bedi

for years

playing hide and seek

me with myself

~Ram Chandran

the Lord exists

as disembodied

whatever to my

whateverness

~Wayne Burke

candle

                  d

                      r

                          i

                             p  

                                s

 a  lavender

scented pool

~Linda Ludwig