Afternoon of August 20, 2024

 

opposing views

on opposite sides

of a perfect circle

~Mark Gilbert

he said something about his Ch'i and wandered off to sit over there

~Patrick Sweeney

butterflies and broken glass in the eye of the beholder

~Patrick Sweeney

even if you don't ask; someone will tell you what the gray squirrel is saying

~Patrick Sweeney

shimmering shades

of Jezebel

a clock ticks in b&w

~Kavita Ratna

Ars Poetica

Poems that I can hunt down

in the wilds of their predation.

Ones that turn and double back

like Cape Buffalo.

Poems with spoor and scent

of hot scat that draw a bead

on meaning hidden in rhythm

and running for its life.

~dan smith

midnight

waking up to find

the dog has moved

~Biswajit Mishra

endorphin

one acceptance

before

the balloon lands

on a road of nails

~Biswajit Mishra

habits

training parrots

training me

~Biswajit Mishra

CHICKEN TALK

“Look, Dad! A chicken!”

Boy exclaims in delight.

Dad joins the joke,

knowing conversation

jumps several tracks

in a single breath.

Both know and enjoy

their brains' journeys

knowing their own normal.

~ Duane L Herrmann

listen to him go on about the pumpkin flower by the broken cinderblock wall

~Patrick Sweeney

he's got an eyelash that's either pointing to heaven or Hoboken

~Patrick Sweeney

deepening night...

thorns of the lemon plant

penetrate my eyes

~Tejendra Sherchan

registry office

I never signed

up to this

~Mark Gilbert

 

 

Afternoon of August 16, 2024

Marriage Material

~Kelly Moyer

Photography available here

there's always a cat

looking back

at earth

~Melissa Dennison

midnight

blowing of the goat horn

dogs barking lingers on

~Tejendra Sherchan

clear skies

a cloud dog

chases a bone

~Melissa Dennison

children kept in storage

practice their smiles

~Martha Ellen

dissociative disorder

a fancy term for playing dead

~Martha Ellen

Too much caffeine

On the surface, but what’s

Past the surface

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

closer

to my second childhood

than  my    first

~Melissa Dennison

sultry night —

the salt rim melts

into a dirty martini

~Rupa Anand

weeper movie

the only dry eyes

in the theater

on an android

lacking tear ducts

~John J. Dunphy

escape speed a soul leaves the fontanelle

~John Hawkhead

snow on bamboo whispers from a different understanding

~John Hawkhead

climate crisis

we kick the melting can

down the road

~Melissa Dennison

Poet in Empty Bottle

~Michael Lee Johnson

Afternoon of August 12, 2024

Life Skills

~Kelly Moyer

Photography available here

 

"we came from there"

I tell

our neighbors' children

while gesturing toward

the night sky

~John J. Dunphy

a falling star —

our daughter shouts

'boom!'

~John J. Dunphy

looking up

Orion's belt

I am home

~Jennifer Gurney

school science fair

all the other exhibits

swallowed up by

our son's entry

a black hole

~John J. Dunphy

derelict starship

ran out of food first

set phasers on broil

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

clear night sky

the planets we pretend

not to see

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

Not Miss Fluffy

 

“No, Dearest. Sometimes,”

O'Keeffe insisted to Stieglitz

peering over her shoulder

at the canvas, “a pink tulip

is no more than a pink tulip.

“Focus.”

~James Penha

 

the illusion

of happily ever

after

opening the

final decree

~Jennifer Gurney

in the old trunk

his ex was somewhat

the worse for wear

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

pushing

new educational concepts

through an olive press

~Roberta Beach Jacobson

Martian flu

this stomach bug runs its course

then chews its way out

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

dispirited

the tumbledown saloon

gave up its ghost

~David C. Kopaska-Merkel

evolution reenactment

my wife and I crawl

from ocean to beach

~John J. Dunphy