June 2020
Selectors: Coral Carter, Rose van Son, Gary De Piazzi and Barry Sanbrook
Contributors
Back to top
__________________________________
daily
train commute
the haystacks growing
his suitcase
in the corner
an empty shell
Billy Antonio
Laoac, Philippines
Back to top
_________________________________
neon alley
a broken doorstep
his pillow
curled in sheets
the first light
of day
sixth birthday…
nanna sings
from the balcony
Gavin Austin
Back to top
_________________________________
sweeping i bend to hear a cricket’s chirp
in the pond water-lilies on the full moon
withered blossoms —
locals packing the remains
of a bomb blast
Taofeek Ayeyemi
Back to top
__________________________________
winter woods
a woodpecker punctuates
the silence
attic drawer
the medals
of a lost war
campfire talk
a rush of sparks
fills the night
river bend
the weight of cormorants
in the dead pines
fly screen
the view, from 4K
to 8-bit
Michael Baeyens
Belgium
Back to top
__________________________________
Antarctica
the penguins yearn
for cold
pedestrian zone
hundreds of bank robbers
on the way
Pitt Büerken
Münster, Germany
Back to top
__________________________________
skyscrapers occupy
the country town
I left behind
Rohan Buettel
Back to top
__________________________________
absence of jet trails
the song
of an unknown bird
still life
still wet
the crunch of a pear
summer evening
crickets
on the menu
Alanna C. Burke
Santa Fe, New Mexico. USA
Back to top
__________________________________
a cluster
of covid cases
wild mushrooms
doctor’s office
the old man eyes
a lollipop
autumn rain
the refugee child’s
paper boat
Isabel Caves
New Zealand
Back to top
__________________________________
fireweed —
grandfather’s eyes
as he scans the field
rain slick street—
our car horn
the only thing that sticks
Lysa Collins
Back to top
__________________________________
dowagers at tea
a long line of chimneys in
the old part of town
second yoga session
shoulder muscle an echo
of yesterday
leaf drift
the mower spits
chips
Gary Colombo De Piazzi
Back to top
__________________________________
social distancing–
next door’s banana palm
waves to me
lockdown–
the last of the lotuses
closed for the night
withering wind
the skin over my bones
thinner and thinner
Lorin Ford
Melbourne, Australia
Back to top
__________________________________
ceramic birdbath–
paisley embroidered
on the sky
migratory bird
humming the tune
of his song
Rajandeep Garg
India
Back to top
__________________________________
working from home
the many lightbulb moments
of my fridge
empty playing field
I catch a sneeze
in my elbow
red desert dust
in the bluestone cracks
city lane
Louise Hopewell
Melbourne
Back to top
__________________________________
balcony cuppa–
we share sunshine
and the morning
Marilyn Humbert
Back to top
__________________________________
the buzz of the bees
draw me to the rosemary
tears form
Geraldine Ingram
Back to top
__________________________________
day of honouring–
sons take out mothers
in mothballs
Mardi May
Back to top
__________________________________
on blackened trunks
autumn shoots
extinguish summer
Diana Messervy
Back to top
__________________________________
a skink threads
through leaf litter
dappled sunshine
Leanne Mumford
Sydney, Australia
Back to top
__________________________________
climate change
the gay couple
marry
processed cheese
a life saturated
with indifference
a shoot of bamboo
breaks through the asphalt
rebellious teen
Nika
Back to top
__________________________________
slow down
to be admired
dragonfly
Julian O’Dea
Canberra
Back to top
__________________________________
bad coffee
realising this
is all there is
my best thoughts
my worst thoughts
bedside vigil
Gregory Piko
Back to top
__________________________________
storm brewing
a beachcomber races
the wind
morning after–
opening the curtains
to a meteor-shower
Cynthia Rowe
Back to top
__________________________________
settling up
moth’s
fly
dawn
a chorus
of chats
guitarist
his tattoo
suggests an octave
Barry Sanbrook
Back to top
__________________________________
No Entry tape–
in the ocean pool
only fish can swim
late autumn–
the final smell
of newly-cut grass
Philip Schofield
Back to top
__________________________________
squeezebox player
at the train station
doors open and close
his funeral
ice cubes melt
in my whiskey
Maureen Sexton
Back to top
__________________________________
Buddha’s shrine–
high in a bare branch
a nesting crow
humid day–
a caged parrot repeats
its lamentations
Manoj Sharma
Kathmandu, Nepal
Back to top
__________________________________
ferry to Manly
two gulls hitch a ride
as kids fight for chips
one last pose
for the photo shoot
her smiles stays
Tom Staudt
Darlinghurst, NSW
Back to top
__________________________________
wheatfields
a black bear’s head
now and then
sea grass
my resolve begins
to waver
derelict tractor
tumbleweeds still
roll along
cottongrass
we nod at each other
in passing
frozen cow pies
the dog races away
with our puck
laundry day
how this world spins
on without you
skylarks
the words we can’t
take back
Debbie Strange
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Back to top
__________________________________
night-train
I sleep on
someone’s stories
curfew town
all windows
have eyes
Rashmi VeSa
Bengaluru, India
Back to top
__________________________________
the hummm
……. ing bird
——– was
—- there
Roger Watson
Hull, UK
Back to top
__________________________________
first shooting star—
sitting side by side
in the field
friendship bracelet—
first summer
at camp
Elaine Wilburt
Easton, Maryland, USA