Evening of September 8, 2026

 

the glow of screens we haunt ourselves 

~John Pappas

I had a thought ...

Be good to it.  We're in a strange place.

It may be our way out.


~Jeffrey L. Taylor

Been too good.

Time off for

bad behavior.


~Jeffrey L. Taylor

talking too long

to the delivery guy

autumn deepens

~John Pappas

whirligig more

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

hazy night thoughts street lamp flickering fairy dust mist

~Sarah Mahina Calvello 

inner sabotage thoughts circle thoughts 

~Sarah Mahina Calvello 

haze drifting last of the autumn sun melting mosaics

~Sarah Mahina Calvello 

A Poem Beginning With A Line By Bob Kaufman

 

In remembrance of certain lights I have seen go out

I have decided to fall in love with my own disease,

And trade my last sick days for infinite cloud storage.

 

On the cusp of morning I have posted my best cat pics

While Stalin-flavored bubblegum melts in the mawkish caecum.

Thought-leaders polish the algorithm for you, my love.

~Noah Berlatsky

autumn equinox

the street mission's soup

half water

~John J. Dunphy

POTUS

and FLOTUS

why us?

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

Perseids . . .

the night sky 

an octave higher

~Veronika Zora Novak 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Jerome Berglund

Afternoon of September 6, 2026

  

excising the tumour

a tulip bulb                              

lifted from earth

~Gavin Austin

 

 

 

intolerance flouncing in the drag of religion 

~Gavin Austin

 

 

stretching one foot into the morning headlines

~Gavin Austin

 

bridging

the divide                                

Frida’s brow

~Gavin Austin

 

the bourbon bottle trying to put yesterday back 

~Gavin Austin

Mosquitoes

 

Little drops of my blood

flit around the yard.

~Noah Berlatsky

The United States of Decline

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

 

After eating an apple and it turns to dust in your mouth.

~John Vlachos

cutting vegetables beauty in the beet 

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

dead snail in my kitchen 

I didn’t  ask for its delicacy

~Tejendra Sherchan

just spell

my name right 

in blood 

~Jerome Berglund

 

 

lee side 

never 

a whydunnit 

~Jerome Berglund

 

 

this benefit 

of the doubt 

if applied it elsewhere…

~Jerome Berglund

fishing in the shadow

of nuclear power

no keepers

~Randy Brooks

 

Imperial Palace lagoon

the swans passing

a traffic jam

~Randy Brooks

 

temple bell clang—

the reclining buddha

can't stand

~Sherry Reniker

 

Punctuation 

Punctuation at my feet. I go nowhere.

~Partha Sarkar

 

 

 

stretches of time long journey of winding roads 

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

 

    

 

 

 

 

Submit September 15-30

https://ubupoems.wixsite.com/home/guidelines

Afternoon of September 4, 2026

 

evening birds the empty sky grows wings.

~Manasa Reddy Chichili

deciphering pieces of myself alongside moonlight 

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

hours tick by this life perfect and messy 

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

tending past scars the moon an uncut gem that needs polishing 


~Sarah Mahina Calvello

weighted weave Minoan stone combs through summer's slowness


~Sarah Mahina Calvello

Forbidden Man 

Is someone hiding between the lines? Is a shape making a faint shadow on the wall? The

concussions of touching, reverberating shocks from glances that actually look back. 

The ends of the world would not be enough, squandering enough for the ends of the 

world.

~John Vlachos

temple bells

lost in the deluge

prayers for Nepal

~Belinda Behne

          (fly)

(fly)                  (UFO)

                    (fly)

                         (land)

~Nicholas De Marino

surveillance pricing

cost of progress

googolplexia

~Nicholas De Marino

must have served

at least one term

help wanted

~M. R. Pelletier

coaxing a song

from cosmic strings 

theremin

~Joshua St. Claire

ellipses

the meandering rot 

of icebox plums

~Joshua St. Claire

a violation

of Newton’s Third Law

sunflower

~Joshua St. Claire

wandering hedgehog

steps away from

crystal moon

~Gareth Nurden

wearing the white coat

of sheep

mountain summit

~Gareth Nurden

 

selfie of my selfie myself

~Pegah Rahmati Nezhad

i hate pluto and why not

~Pegah Rahmati Nezhad

searching for the good side of the gargoyle's face

~Patrick Sweeney

world in chaos...

and I'm thinking about fitting candy corn fangs on my teeth

for the kids this Halloween

~Patrick Sweeney

it was a relief to learn that men with piles

won't be sacrificed to the river gods

~Patrick Sweeney 

 

 

 

midnight

millions of fools on social media

like me

~Yasir Farooq 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://femkumag.wixsite.com/home/guidelines