Evening of March 9, 2024

 

charnel house

the woman

i knew myself to be

~Kelly Moyer

self-fashioning

the hang

of al pizzarelli’s coat

~Kelly Moyer

my finger becomes a pen

as I start to write

the words swallow up my arm

~James Kowalczyk

women's restroom graffiti

a friend corrects

my misspelled name

~John J. Dunphy

change of life

what i thought were fairies

simply fruit flies

~Kelly Moyer

spring forward

fall back

ouch

~Noah Berlatsky

TOMORROW HIDES


Fog erases everything

like covering the dead

so tomorrow hides

except in shadows,

feathered outlines.

End of the world

at the edge of fog?

~Diane Webster

undiagnosed

where the dreams were

killing time

~Kelly Moyer

DROUGHT


On the wall below

the broken faucet

a swatch of blue

paint reflects a puddle

for which it yearns.

~Diane Webster

face-to-face

the spider rethinks

his next move

~Madeleine Kavanagh

Rick Considers All the Angles

messy triangle

here’s looking at Euclid

for dating advice

~John H. Dromey

daily exercise

walking to the store

for snickers

~Stephanie Zepherelli

Earth is a Mother

Oldest joke we know

Earth is 4.5 Billion Years

Your mama so old

~ Silvatiicus Riddle

shell sculpture

a savior

at the seawall

~Kelly Moyer

eucharist consecrating the cannibalistic tendencies

~Kelly Moyer

aerodynamics of twin-flame turbulence

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

condolences

addressing myself

in the third person

~Kelly Moyer

Afternoon of March 9, 2024

d r i f t i n g  fog

I try to touch it—

see what it knows

how enchanting

to be

intangible

~Sharon Ferrante

beauty behind bars

the well-composed face

of the cello

~Robert Witmer

broken peace symbol

without a leg

to stand on

~Robert Witmer

void context screaming out of burned down kibbutz

~Roman Lyakhovetsky

clueless he's already

immortalized in my senryu-

the road bully

~Roman Lyakhovetsky

a moth

asleep

in the spider's hammock

~Robert Witmer

a lobster boiling, unaware

of course

death has many names

~Tiffany Elise

the ways we hate why the moon hides

~Tiffany Elise

a human

but also

an orchid

~Tiffany Elise

to feel peace

again

poppies bloom

~Tiffany Elise

ginger in my tea

and ginger in my ale too

never too much gin...   ger.

~Charles A. Perrone

the noiseless tenor of his way

playing second fiddle

in a one-man band

~Robert Witmer

a few ducks on thin ice quacking

~Robert Witmer

a giant flag

full of wind

used cars

~Robert Witmer

on the edge

of my universe

I push return

~Sharon Ferrante

Evening of March 5, 2024

Thought Experiment

the

chrome

clockwork

Buddha rose

trailing flowering

vines it took to the open road

how many miles to nirvana it asked all it met

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

The land that is behind me.

Walking to the corner shop

and back.

~Mark Gilbert

artificial rose—

her face conforms

to society's norms

~Mark Gilbert

hunger moon needing dough

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

hobo jungle midnight coyote howl

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

Dog Park Theology

The gate is open.

You can go in

if you are good.

~Noah Berlatsky

this

lump

below

my shoulder

a wire in my heart

in ancient days I'd be long dead

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

no longer suicidal

the 70-year-old now content

just to wait

~John J. Dunphy

human geography

searching

for the sweet spot

~Mark Gilbert

                                               

soaring above

our neighbors' MAGA flag
                                         

a rainbow kite

~John J. Dunphy

wharf is not a dock

wharves are not some landing strips

both are more mystery

~Charles A. Perrone

My Favorite Monster

Comes out only at night

Has glowing red eyes

Is 20 feet tall

(six meters)

Breathes radioactive fire

Only stomps Billy's house

And Ed's, a little bit

Never forgets Monster's Day at school

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

men with guitars

passing their emotions

thru an amp

~Mark Gilbert

“happy next birthday”

he knows something

you don't

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

america,

artless

art

~Mark Gilbert

To Do List

Write a poem

~Noah Berlatsky