“Just Me and the Clock” by Dawn Pisturino

Long hours of night creep slowly by. Tick. . . Tick. . . Tick. . . Tick. . . The clock clangs one. I am utterly alone. Just me and the clock. Tock. . . Tock. . . Tock. . . Tock. . . My cares all ceased with the setting sun, But that clock…

“Helen Of Troy” by Michelle Ayon Navajas

if silence had a voice it would have screamed a million battle cries and if Helen of Troy had a choice she would have made a statement when she was stripped down and displayed for men of war to choose.   kidnapped by Paris, or did she willingly escape?   if words could be wounded…

“THIRD DOOR DOWN” by Francisco Bravo Cabrera

(Listening to Astor Piazzola: “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas”)   He told me it’s the third door down the hall with the bad light, “you’ll find the door unlocked,” he said, “In fact, it’s never closed at night.” And then he lit a cigarette, a smile crossed through his lips, a micro-second gesture then he gestured for…

“Nature’s Kiss” by Jeff Flesch

I feel broken deep in my bones   a manifestation of love and of hope   a paradox, and reality for those that understand their mixture of tropes   strung along a line in the sky where creatures of earth dance   to silent tunes embracing me, and you in rapture   and in bliss…

“Bird talk” by Polly Alice McCann

My Language is the language  of the birds  language has a shape and sound My mother’s voice is an opera  gold and jewel toned.  My voice is a small pink kitten  a sloop of egg yolks. Your voice is a sailboat  a raft of boards with  creaking ropes  a motor each word a whole journey …

“Seventy Bodies Showing Signs of Torture” by Walter Bargen

. . . death it waits for for me in ordinary places where I used to be safe. -Anne Lindbergh On a back road at fifty miles per hour, dust a talcum shadow that powders the soybeans and flowers.  Slur of speed and the only hope rising behind the steering wheel is that no one’s…

“Flames of Love” by Julie A. Dickson

Firelight dances reflected in your eyes flames envelop burning wood slowly glows like your arms surrounding me until I burst into flames of love Copyright © 2023 Julie A.Dickson All Rights Reserved Julie A. Dickson is a poet and writer who advocates for captive elephants and rescues feral cats. Her poetry appears in over 55…

“Love in Hindsight” by Jenny Brav

Memories of you are on replay in my head I miss how you’d hold me in our bed when a nightmare shook me out of sleep I miss your hands on my aching muscles, how easily you fit in with my friends, that you read everything I ever wrote. I miss the sharpness of your…

“Spring Renewal” by Cindy Georgakas

Rain taps on our window, flowers push their way through dirt, the sun kisses our cheek. Rejoice in birthing hope and faith. Say goodbye to darkness and despair, making room for light: Finding renewal. Grateful for new eyes to see, embrace each moment, blessed are we. The sun behind the dark cloud, forces us to…

“Before and Again” by Luanne Castle

The we of my belief lived in a land of easy comfort, brief and surface woundings, even when tussled by history that lasted a month on our portable television.   We swept the broken pieces into piles thinking our bonfires would destroy memories. We continued to sweep invisible gravel, rusted fenders, and chicken shit into…

“Equality” by Shalini Kathuria Narang

Reflecting on women’s day about inequality effect, Pressures of juggling home and work are not hard to detect, High time we recognize these imbalances and help deflect, And take serious action beyond recognition and reflect. Societally, we cannot be oblivious to this grave reality, Women’s short and long term wellbeing is not a banality. The…

“The Parachutist” by Tony Ashenden

I am dropping out of the skies huge head whirling like the flower above me singing in the wind. My last home The silver – metal bee drones forward into the sun and I her human seed am reaching for my roots in the glazed earth feet first. Copyright © 2023 Tony Ashenden All Rights…

“Potential” by Ken Gierke

Cornflower, pale at first glance, seems royal blue against a barn’s weathered gray.   Scheherazade, soft and muted, rises to a crescendo, Nikolai’s vision dancing in your mind.   Lips brush the cheek of a child or an elder with comfort and respect, yet become sensuous in a lover’s embrace.   Vanilla on the tongue…

“Tabula Rasa” by Terry Allen

I told my wife that the times I seem to see the face of God is when I look into the face of our dog, a coon hound with soulful eyes lit with unconditional love and warmth, and it’s not the God of the Old Testament, the God with the terrible swift sword, the God…

“Pálida Moon” by K. Hartless

She begins her dance by lifting a ruffle of trees, flamenco heels tremoring, reflective syncopated stomps in time with the breeze.   The snaps of talons, white owls release. Limbs scratch surface, passion’s fingers slid along ivory curves, her final courtship piece.   Opalescent crown, wielded stars in a jeweled peineta, but the cloudy mantilla…

“We Never Dated” by Michelle Navajas

can we be together forever and ever under the city night sky? we could cuddle together anytime, anywhere we could have popcorn and unlimited coffee over re-runs of “Friends” we could probably have scared or annoyed our neighbors for all the noises that we make for we’ve never dated ever, so we make the call…

“Reflections of the Moon” by Cindy Georgakas

Reflections of the moon have me ponder all that’s gone on in a dark sky. Battling of the night, calming of the soul of a broken heart.   To break is to heal, to bleed is to know you’re alive. Tears wash our inner world, scars scab over, light floods us with memories and chills….

“When the Morning Comes” by Dawn Pisturino

When the morning comes, Sun will shine with a different light, Earth will glow in a brand-new way, Moon will dance to a gayer tune, Clouds of pain will float away. Broken hearts will beat again, Empty eyes will see new life, Throats will open up and sing, Hands will break the chains of strife….

“Fragmented Sky” by Jeff Flesch

There’s brokenness in pain and in the naturally fragmented sky clouds dispersing   and coalescing at the same time   a windy mood drops through the trees   seeing majesty, knowing tragedy   and loving you very simply Copyright © 2023 by Jeff Flesch All Rights Reserved Jeff Flesch lives in Corvallis, Oregon, and was…

“Reflection” by Joni Karen Caggiano

White is the oval mirror of my exodus from the fearsome actions of the monsters in the red-brick house.  Dark eyes blister as my heart pulses a bleak opus once again.  An offering given by a stranger concealed with golden paper and wildflowers singing. After five years of her pleasure, I perceive the wonder of…