sweet tea—
I flick an ant
off my chair

*

G.R. LeBlanc
Berry Blue Haiku

On each darkened vine
New little green hands wave in the wind.

*

Nathalie Boisard-Beudin

I want to tell you how your presence
reminds me of carnivals
and communion at once,
but the words stay lodged
in my throat.

*

Elizabeth Polkinghorn

stellate yellow leaves plastered to concrete
a sodden grey feather on the staircase
After the storm.

*

Laura Elizabeth Woollett

he balances words carefully
in the space between them
she focusses on his deliberate fingers
not on her reflection in his eyes

*

James Newton

Three Great Things About Today's Ride (thoughts on cycling)

Filigree of oak against the pale blue sky
A passing train tempting me into a sprint
The half-grown moon looking over my shoulder

*

Mrs. Micawber
Mr. Micawber's Recipe for Happiness

The raccoons
sorting through the garbage cans,

pause only for the moon.

*

Carson Pierpont

Open the door to the balcony.
I want to smell the leaves
Desperately sticking to the windows
In the boiling storm.

*

Alan Zhukovski

Above a tub of soil my hand holds
a small mound of lettuce seeds,
long and slender, light and dark.
How many salads in my hand?

*

Josephine Faith Gibbs
Pebbleorium

they lay together
whispering in the grass

my face was covered
by berry stains

*

m.s. mallorn
one star awake

pop rocks and children, sizzling, sparkling, and popping, giggles and laughter

*

Terri Stewart

daffodils in March
among the wasps
and ragweed

*

Jessica Otto
Chewing Wormwood

Moon of Mine

Oh moon of mine, creamy as
Vintage roses, newborn lambs;
Nearer earth tonight than at any time
In four hundred years
I could pluck you and tuck you
Up my sleeve

*

S.E.Ingraham
The Poet Treehouse

Skinny Parking

See the soccer mom

park her Durango

in the narrow spot?

She’s squeezing

into skin-tight jeans.

Again.

*

Laurie Kolp

Conversations With A Cardinal

silence
between a cricket’s
chirrups

*

Craig W. Steele

well when
this dream started
I thought I guess
that all the chemicals and machines
would become plants and animals

*

Melissa Allen
Red Dragonfly

milk climbs its way through my coffee
like hoarfrost on windows
little fingers reaching out

*

Corey Hutchins

The victim’s bald head
broke like an egg squeezed
between a child’s fingers.

*

Amit Parmessur
The Rainbow Rose

zen garden --
ignoring the snake
ignoring me

*

Stella Pierides

I catch a glimpse of myself
in another time, perhaps,

broken, recovering
on a curb.

*

Isabela Oliveira
stone and bits of sky

It is good to hear
The trilling scale of birdsong
Drowning the
Mausoleum
Drone of
The freeway

*

Gemma's Earth Gems

five small poems

just there

your scent

i am undone

.

speak to me

use

only vowels

.

your steady gaze

thick in the

space

between us

.

the back of my hand

grazes

your lips flower

.

this

thick

tongue

sweet like

treacle

*

Bruce Dorlova

Crow Files

Unrolling the cuffs of my jeans
before putting them in the washing
machine, dozens of bits of forest
tumble out, scatter on the floor,
stowaway souvenirs of our walk
in the woods.

*

Elizabeth Polkinghorn

Standing under a tree of cherry blossom, I am a child playing at being a bride.

*


Tammy Hanna
The Heartful Blogger

Two macaws
fly in tandem
blue red blue red
wingtip to wingtip
wheeling and dipping
with the currents.

*

Margo Roby
Wordgathering

Insomnia

Deafening silence
Eyes alight in the darkness
Clocks dripping like taps

*

Anthony Ward

Catching the light
his silver hair,
forming smooth wings
either side of his head,
shines; I’m reminded
of white swans
on a sunlit river.

*

Rosemary Nissen-Wade
Stones for the River

Enter ragged outdoor smell
recess scent
pollen sweat chlorophyll aromatherapy
spring balm bottled,
poured from pores.

*

Lesley Neel Clinton

Wings of the hummingbird
Whistle unearthly songs
To the sky.

*

Neil Ellman

Antarctica

How small we are
Shades of turquoise
We get close enough
To break off pieces
That melt in our mouth

*

Lynda Bruce