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

Nominations Submitted for the 2023 Touchstone Awards

Finally we can announce the 2023 Touchstone Award nominees from Five Fleas Itchy Poetry

(listed in chronological order of when the poems were published):

mistletoad

~Susan Burch

d)us(t

~Rowan Beckett

wow's as good a prayer as any

~Patrick Sweeney

the sky is falling . . .

we all just stand there

watching

~Kimberly Kuchar

I’ve read and studied

but still I cannot fathom

how a zipper works

~James Penha

the comedy or tragedy question is getting harder to answer

~Patrick Sweeney

exasperating AI   I request an agent who has seen into her original self

~Patrick Sweeney

like weird barbie

i break

into my better self

~Kelly Moyer

public library

now banned from observing

Banned Books Week

~John J. Dunphy

selfies

accidental pictures

of my feet

~Linda L Ludwig

uncaged i peck at the empty shell of my youth

~Kelly Moyer

hitchhiker

his thumb pointed at

the night sky

~John J. Dunphy

roadside attractions

much ado about nothing

~JL Huffman

after dinner

discarding

her husband

~Wilda Morris

Mona Lisa —

the smile i saved

for him

~Mona Bedi

spam.link_that.fatal.click

~Wanda Amos

pixie dust the secret life of a wallflower

~Kelly Moyer

summer night

the motel ice machine

hums to itself

~John Pappas

first light hunched over the dream dictionary

~John Pappas

the dangle

of her privilege

coffeeshop earrings

~Kelly Moyer

the itch to just

hit send and regret it

submission jitters

~A.J. Anwar

stagnant pond

the stench

of a dead haiku

~Kimberly Kuchar

pelvic exam the curtain rises on a cabaret

~Kelly Moyer

Past midnight

too late to write

a good poem.

~Noah Berlatsky

I (nuclear) solemnly (Armageddon) swear

~Lee Hudspeth

t  h  e     s  p  a  c  e     b  e  t  w  e  e  n     c  h  a  i  n  -  l  i  n  k  s

~Jerome Berglund

hencluck laidegg

~J. D. Nelson

I woke up twice on the same page

~Patrick Sweeney

unlearning the patriarchy no such thing as forbidden fruit

~Kerry J Heckman

primal rain

ants break rank

and dance

~Ron Scully

Congratulations to the poets!

Evening of December 8, 2023

 

alternately

all who wonder

are not lost

~Eavonka Ettinger

the fish

in the eagles' nest

still twitching

~John J. Dunphy

a tiny red mite walks

across my words

critics everywhere

~Tom Blessing

A Bee Stings Her


A bee stings her

I smash it to powder

her pain I now share.

~Fhen M.

mistletoad

~Susan Burch

Replacing The Obelisk With A Bevel Marker

I am observing

… the Chameleon…

caught Colour-Changing

… by an Echo-Whisper…

at the Tail End of Leaving.

~Paul Tristram

will there come a time

when all my poems

will have been written?

~Jennifer Gurney

Constitution of meaning

The existence of life for the sake of the existence of the grave

Beyond the grave —

Nothing from which

Everything began

~Mykyta Ryzhykh

(Originally published in Slant)

my attempts to rizz are risible

~dan smith

brain training to stop brain draining

~Patricia Hawkhead

unloved days hiding in my hobbit hole

~Susan Burch

 

 

Update: Your fleakeeper will be ready to announce the 2023 Touchstone Award nominees for

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry early next week! The list of favorites is now down to 61, but only 30

poems can be nominated. 

Evening of December 6, 2023

 

 

winter solstice

old age and me

dancing

~Stephanie Zepherelli

dementia —

mother gives me

a new name

~Mona Bedi

elderly penitent

all the sins he wanted to confess

forgotten

~John J. Dunphy

sixty-eight years

the last puzzle piece

still missing

~Stephanie Zepherelli

ink blot the pause in our conversation

~Mona Bedi

rolling thunder the promises i didn't keep 

~Mona Bedi

hedgerow magic the rabbit runs deep

~C.X. Turner

butterfly effect how everything matters

~Mona Bedi

Autocarrot

 

I sent myself an email reminder

about a collection of essays

called Junk Shop Window,

a book I’d promised to review.

 

In the Subject line I wrote: ”jsw.”

Gmail figured it knew what I meant

better than I did, changed it to “jaw.”

 

Sometimes the corrections

these autocorrect programs make are welcome.

Sometimes they are just ducked up.

~Charles Rammelkamp

in the mist

a silver talisman

fast disappearing

~C.X. Turner

under skeleton trees

abandoned tires

at peace

~Patricia Carragon

water flows fast and slow

always to the lowest point

I've been there, with wet feet

~Steve Van Allen

butterfly wings --

i tell my daughter

she can fly

~Mona Bedi

thirty-one flavors

dad samples them all

on his birthday

~Stephanie Zepherelli

I am adept

at adopting

apt appellations

and adapting

them to things

~Charles A. Perrone

heat wave

the feet of the statue

dance on the asphalt

~Daniel Birnbaum

cumulus clouds

i too am made

of water

~Mona Bedi

not sorry

the freedom

in saying

just that

~Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

Morning of December 3, 2023

This Poem Is a Process. Whatever Else You Read Today Is This Poem.

~Noah Berlatsky

the sacrifice

of forests

Christmas gift wrap

~Wanda Amos

giving tree –

Santa arrives

on a purple scooter

~Bonnie J Scherer

jingle bells

time to bring out

our gay apparel

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

no one to fill my stocking but myself I become Santa

~Jennifer Gurney

Salvation Army shelter home for the holidays

~Jennifer Gurney

Christmas Eve

red and green lights at

the intersection

~John J. Dunphy

My yoga mat is rolled up by arthritis and bad knees.

A fractured wrist put winter walking on my deranged list.

My head is full of migraines and a gallon of caffeine.

I'd like to change my age back to a time

when all that mattered was a peanut butter sandwich.

~Nolcha Fox

he was briefly remembered for having elegant penmanship

~Patrick Sweeney

writing –

my style changes upon hearing

a siren

~John J. Dunphy

pen to paper

the feeling of

pure release

        - poetry

~Ann Christine Tabaka

in his glad rags, he was comfortable on his own bed of nails

~Patrick Sweeney

though they were only a myth, it was a relief when the winners cashed in

~Patrick Sweeney

the obligation of pumpkin pie

~Patrick Sweeney

the day the candlenut tree introduced herself

~Patrick Sweeney

whatever will I do with this déjà vu

~Patrick Sweeney

Morning of November 29, 2023

 

  

Icarus

You little punk ass

Walking off a cliff in full formal wear

Acting like nothing would change

When you splattered against the rocks

I got news for you pal

                                             my world ended

that day

You pulled an Icarus

and flew 

Away from me

~Anthy Strom

 

Hawaiian Summer


I can't help it if

I'm too sexy for my shirt.

Some people are too

polite to comment on it.

Others laugh. See if I care.

~Dominic Rivron

helium


fill me with helium

tie me down

take me for a ride

round dublin town

there, i'll tell you

in a squeaky voice

interesting things

about james joyce

~Dominic Rivron

video bubble; aliens

come for 50s sitcoms

stay for rock and roll

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

Old Brew Poetry

Bubbling hops

Simmering in the stew

Pipes and plastic hoses pippippiping

Frankenstein's little boy

Concocted by humanity's impulse

To get rip-roaring plastered on a Saturday night

~Anthy Strom

nothing to do—

I let Leonard Cohen

tie me up

~Sharon Ferrante

descending

to bargain basement . . .

building code

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

The Qwerty Keyboard Warrior

Quite Why Effete Readers

Test Your Unusually

Inopportune Observations

Poses A Serious Doubt.

Furthermore, Giants

Have Just Killed Lovely Zoe.

Xenophon Could Verbally Berate New Mexico.

~Tony Dawson

persistence

inside the watch

a Dali sentience

~dan smith

conquering over

ocean earth and sky

we are living dinosaurs

~Joan McNerney

getting a few bugs

out of our poetry

ants

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

served

on clumps of rotting seaweed

century egg

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

when will we see

there is no light

without darkness?

we all lose in the end

~Joan McNerney

Telephone-pole beetles speed dating between oak trees

~Elliot Diamond

chemo port wine

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

whispers and shadows know whether I'm awake

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

the nowhere train has no engine and no caboose

choo

choo

voila!

~dan smith