Odysseus by Michael L. Utley

I saw Odysseus sprawled on the sidewalk between The squalid little deli and the boarded-up All-night video place whose weather-stained Posters advertised GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS Amid obtuse indecipherable graffiti and A fallen constellation of multi-hued shards of Broken glass that crunched underfoot like Bone fragments The patina of snow about him Pristine in its absence…

Placid Sea by Jeff Flesch

The moon, a placid sea, reflecting back a mantra of meaning watching the sun set along a coast, depleted and dry tears leak from porous eyes reflecting back a mirror of vastness, and of limitation infinite being of love always, and forever seen -JEFF FLESCH Jeff Flesch lives in Corvallis, Oregon, and was voted the…

Time’s Ashes by Jeff Flesch

I drive in circles manifesting a purpose given to me as a child it’s these coattails of peace and love I ride transcending pain, a realization arises like petals falling from my heart a dew-covered and encapsulated light invades my mind with love making ashes out of notions of time -JEFF FLESCH Jeff Flesch lives…

Cosmos Within by Jeff Flesch

I sit, knees and hands folded end over end awaiting the cosmos to appear within my heart, a flower blooming in the vacuum of space and time a riddle, when chasing the flickering mind yet, if we stop to realize a resemblance arises of the trees and the breeze and, of something far grander than…

The Ribbon of a Madman’s Weave by Tony Ashenden

Granite SliverArrowhead I see you spurnedby Pigmy Bowmanyet you suffice and scathethe greening mortar…Mind that delibly recordsattemptmy show and outward personality. This ribbon of a madman’s weaveis the tape of all my sayingsmallborder thin and compass handthe clutch and stayFingers….Placing granite slabs to facetheir palms of tungsten fleshtoward the shortened eye. Yet soonthe tongue of…

Forest of Light by Joni Caggiano

speak to me thru languages of noble trees  seducing flesh softly with feather fingers vast sorrows seen with linking filters of blue sealing eyes, stirring inducing, aching for you birds move with beating hearts, as we rise a doe bends a seedling for a taste of new tears drop on silk pillowcase releasing sigh turtle…

Compost by Andrew Douglas

I’ve grown to embrace the putrid smellof campground composting toiletsSometimes, I even miss it…It’s a positive association that’s developed throughout my life – The mountain of shit composed of innumerable contributions,   each with a unique chemistry – That smell reminds me that I’m camping,               which reminds me that I’m outside               which reminds me that I’m alive              …

What’s in a Name by Shobana Gomes

Knitted in the document of names, the journey beginsOf what do you see the traits begin or howHow does the trail reveal its rootsA name stands to gain footage on scrollsLike a mushrooming tree, it gains its footholdA surname likened to a familyThe name that catapults the flames of identityTo know the branches that hold…

Shock by Bogdan Dragos

the three of them stood by the banks and watched the water turn red So it’s not like in the movies. When you see someone dying you don’t burst into uncontrollable fits of screaming You stand very still and watch and can’t speak can’t blink can’t turn away can’t run can’t do anything really Shock…

Where’s the End by Swati Sharma

Oh dear! Comfort you are so cozy and warmJust like a blanket in a cold night and like homeYou make me feel lighter without any fearYou just become a habit, oh so dearOne part of me always pushes you away from meYes, I am one of those who mostly listen to the part that says-“…

Cloudless Drifter by Jeff Flesch

oranges and limes fill the sky a scent reminiscent of another time when love was like a drop of candy in the winter and the fields were dusty a cloudless drifter was I looking for another relation the wonder filling my mind while birds chirped on the trees broken limbs and I continued to swim…

I Lost My Sun by Dr. Sunil Kaushal

Then there came a day when my sun lost its way I waited, choking the pain, waited in vain the blanket hugged me, warily I peeped, fearing what I’d see. My dreams still lay on the window sill, drinking the night’s nectar of make believe intoxicating fragrant deception velvety seduction enticing glimmering moon bugs that…

Recycling Time by Joni Caggiano

inhaling grey dust my dying skin red cells pump time within your cells mixing a sour soup of my regret our broken loop floating away now tasting you allay soaring on in a sky dazzling blue -JONI CAGGIANO Joni’s blog is Rum and Robots, where she has published poetry, photography, and short stories. Take a…

The Sun Never Parts by Devika Mathur

The days are blurred, almost like the orange juice from last night’s party a pale sick shadow of grapevine hanging across my windowpane-  perching beneath my skirt to cast its magic onto my heavy eyelids. People say- “it is sunny outside.” But, how should I believe? With a loose limb, the clemency of body I…

The Girl by Britta Benson

She can see fresh leaf green through the concrete, spot a fairy from ten thousand miles away and always in her own reflection. She’s three. Fairy dust – what a joke. That’s not how she operates. Look for the cracks, the cuts and scars. When one world bursts open, another one waits underneath, ready to…

Categories by Andrew Douglas

It’s okay to feed fearEvery now and againPerhaps it will satiateAnd become your friend Like the darkness that surrounds        the glow of the fire Each one illumines the other Or the rhythmic exchange           between all aspects natureThere is no father without mother Or the grief that reflects     the soul on the pyreIt’s not to be exhumed…