Afternoon of August 7, 2023

Borne

my mother and father are aliens

their skin not green but

dirt ridden

not of your land

the land of the free

~Sandy Ruiz

Soul Ties

My first love forgot to tell me

to let go and move on.

~Sandy Ruiz

Mother’s Day

the hibiscus

never forgets

~Randy Brooks

mailed from prison

a hand-drawn birthday card from

the father she's never met

~John J. Dunphy

serif the abyss at the nib of god’s fountain pen

~Jean-Paul Moyer

mussel remains on shore empty parentheses

~Randy Brooks

wily my sister’s busted whisker

~Jean-Paul Moyer

In the Future

There may be

remote controlled razors

but you will still have to get

off the couch and go to store

for new batteries!

~Keith Snow

There are two problems with poetry readings.

First, you have to listen to other people.

Second, they have to listen to you.

~Noah Berlatsky

the only thing to

eclipse a Taylor Swift concert –

the Barbie movie

~Jennifer Gurney

Attachment Dysphoria

My ex-boyfriend introduced me to his close friends,

Bipolar disorder, suicide, and depression.

At the time,

I did not know how contagious they were.

~Sandy Ruiz

swarming

the queen bee

apocalypse

~C.X. Turner