Afternoon of December 13, 2023

to breathe

is a habit

so easily acquired

this planet of flame

  has other needs

~Richard Magahiz

piercing the

plum-colored cloud deck

ground-glass towers


~Richard Magahiz

frozen in a rut the engine waits for doomsday

~Richard Magahiz

racing toward that last breath the sky is not enough

~Richard Magahiz

inside of the moon not a hobby

~J. D. Nelson

I saw it in half white chocolate macadamia cookie

~J. D. Nelson

(zero) dart dart dart

~J. D. Nelson

the queen’s golden garment rumples tilt skin

~Robert Witmer

Sensus Plenior

 

might we assume

God knows more

than words

a single mind

would have them be

the opposite of war

is poetry

~Robert Witmer

compensation

at the used car lot

lemon punch

~Robert Witmer

The Rule of Law

 

indictment

the sea is silent

the calm before the storm

 

indictment

the see is silent

for none so blind

 

indictment

the c is silent

do not acquit

~Robert Witmer

MAN’S MAN

 

The tear

you never saw

was like a minnow

swimming in my eye,

swallowed

by the big fish

of my hand

~John Grey

PAGE

 

Cruising a country road,

critters splattered on asphalt

before me,

or thumped to death,

either side - 

 

driving’s like

reading a newspaper

that’s flopped open

at the obituaries.

~John Grey

A PROPOSAL

 

When I make a mistake,

you do not chastise me loudly

nor slap my wrist

nor turn on your heels

and leave the room in a huff.

You merely correct my error

and we both move on.

Ah, Spellcheck.

~John Grey

rattling chains

I greet the spirit

with a cup of tea

~Kimberly Kuchar

searching

the dark string of lights

one dead bulb

or

replacing a single bulb

the whole string lights up

~Kimberly Kuchar

snowburn

the end of a holiday

romance

~Kimberly Kuchar

God's greatest gift

to mankind—

not you

~Kimberly Kuchar

Ubi sunt ...

the snows

such snows

long gone

~dan smith