Afternoon of February 20, 2026

 

Jean-Jacques Sempe's art the bittersweet taste of mocha

~Pegah Rahmati Nezhad

Mardi Gras beads

broken and strewn—

war memorial

~Miriam Sagan

trapped in time

the faded colors

of prayer beads

~Stephanie Zepherelli

March wind

my MAGA neighbor's tulips

all lean to the left

~John J. Dunphy

Circe

When my sisters were teenagers

they’d say that like

the enchantress Circe on her island

we could turn men into pigs

in thirty seconds.

But unlike her

we couldn’t keep those swine

Imprisoned and

porcine forever.

Sadly for us they always turned back into men.

~Miriam Sagan

Tilted Houses

So you live in Amsterdam now.

Somber by day, out of control at night,

it may be the perfect city for you,

but probably not for a man your age.

The air is always damp,

and the wind can take you down like a rotten tree.

 

Still, the girls will treat you just like they did thirty years ago,

and if anyone asks, you can claim you came here for the tulips.

~R.K. West

some old women are annoyed

at their old men

who waste long minutes

in the driveway

warming up

a very old truck

but these men are patient

and will also warm up

an annoyed old woman

~Miriam Sagan

mountain peak cairn . . .

we share

our identities


~Nicholas Klacsanzky

gathering up

scattered fragments

of democracy

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

Board of peace

Board of peace-

All wars unite.

~Partha Sarkar

Soft red lights

Turning the moon

Into a cherry

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

The lone temple

The lone temple in the vast deserted field.…

The unwanted solemn signature of no worshipers.

~Partha Sarka

One who goes

One who goes everywhere

goes nowhere.

~Partha Sarkar

To My Brother or Sister Whom I Devoured in Utero

such hunger

to the victor

coffin or urn

~dan smith

goingnowherestuckbetweenpushandpull


~Stephanie Zepherelli

rose stamens endless nonsensical thoughts


~Nicholas Klacsanzky

 

 

plum blossoms uncurling the hope of hope


~Nicholas Klacsanzky

Ducks gather ruffling some feathers


~Sarah Mahina Calvello

the funeral of a god unraveling sandstone


~Nicholas Klacsanzky

when i was dracula's wife

i found no joy except in

the moments i was alone.

~linda m. crate

human monsters

not all monsters

have fangs,

one lesson i have

learned all too

well.

~linda m. crate

ai is just theft

of other artists and writers

yet somehow worse as

it bares only remnants

of the root and no knowledge.

~linda m. crate

Ornette grooves we listen harmolodic

~dan smith

(Previously published in Jerry Jazz Musician)