Morning of May 21, 2025

 

accounting for one dead raccoon on the newly paved road

~Patrick Sweeney

people who can afford nothingness

~Patrick Sweeney

he ate the hard crust of pizza with Franciscan rapture

~Patrick Sweeney

crescent (city) roll

~Jerome Berglund

taught not to believe the bully could win

~Patrick Sweeney

Ten Ways to Say Nothing Back

I’m fine. It’s okay.

I shouldn’t have said anything.

No worries. It’s all good.

I’m just tired.

I shouldn’t have made him mad.

I think I’m too sensitive—I probably overreacted.

He didn’t mean it like that.

The dog was old anyway.

He is under a lot of stress.

I love him.

~Kristina Warlen

white smoke…

a baby seagull at the papal logia

before the cardinals

~Maya Daneva

broken chair

outside a politician's mansion

his toppled government

~Tejendra Sherchan

fall fashion

they bleed out

so fast

~Jerome Berglund

he's always taking notes:

no time-outs

in the Bardo

~Patrick Sweeney

in vest

the pockets are purely

for show

~Jerome Berglund

Gas Station Bathroom


It was positive in the gas station bathroom.

I didn’t cry.

I bought a Diet Coke,

drove home,

and said nothing for three days.

~Kristina Warlen

in the wind

the wings

of a manor

~Jerome Berglund

if only

the memory stick could

stop me forgetting

~Melissa Dennison

Care Package

I mailed you socks, letters, snacks, a photo I hated.

You never got it.

Nothing ever came back.

But I kept the receipt.

Like it could prove I tried.

~Kristina Warlen