June 2021
Selectors: Coral Carter, Rose van Son, Barry Sanbrook and Gary De Piazzi
Contributors:
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uphill walk
the deepening breath
of eucalyptus
autumn’s shadow
mother’s spectacles
outgrown her
Ramesh Anand. India
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stirring branches
the rattle
of rusted leaves
the fires
of sunset and storm
his opal tiepin
gran’s living-room
the flying ducks
lower now
Gavin Austin
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nursing home
i tell her
she lived through the war
Michael Baeyens. Geraardsbergen, Belgium
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two-seater desk
dipping pens
into the blue-black
Ingrid Baluchi. North Macedonia
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poised
for yoga
bonsai
we launch
a paper boat
on a moonbeam
each haiku
in the shadow
of another
Roberta Beach Jacobson. Indianola, Iowa, USA
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morning glories
a girl unfastens
her necklace
when bud
becomes scent
magnolia
so many footprints
in just one of mine
sandpiper
scent
of plum blossoms
the keisaku strikes
Tom Bierovic. DeLand, Florida, USA
(A keisaku is a flat wooden stick used to strike a Zen meditator on the shoulder when he or she appears to lose concentration.)
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social isolation …
the sound of
other people’s lives
autumn ginko
three ibises
nod in unison
a red leaf
on the walkway
last day of summer
the butcher bird
checks for grubs—
swaddled baby
Nathalie Buckland. Lismore, NSW, Australia
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eastern greys
the alpha male
a body builder
palm tree
each new frond
a raised spear
Rohan Buettel
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third lockdown
the spring of my ideas
dries up
in the street
where we children used to play
bumper to bumper
Pitt Büerken. Germany
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mystery
on the poetry shelf
ragweed
bitter espresso
his love letter
under the coffee cup
each day
a year
pandemic
Alanna C. Burke. Santa Fe, New Mexico. USA
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New Year’s Eve …
a mannequin’s smirk
follows me
early morning chill …
a billow of smoke rises
from the fresh pyre
Kanchan Chatterjee. Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. India
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splashing
in her morning bath—
tree frogs
grandmother’s garden—
the scent of phlox
and solace
Lysa Collins
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an ostrich escapes
in lockdown…oh
to be in her shoes
old vinyl records
of all things my father
can’t forget
Alvin B Cruz
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breaststroke
I am Moses
on a smaller scale
Stephen C Curro. Windsor, USA
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summer dawn
a conversation of bees
at the birdbath
spider’s web
her lacey knickers
on clothes line
partial eclipse
the man in the moon
wears a cap
Gary Colombo De Piazzi
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so dark outside—
all I can see
is my own reflection
Nick Eaves
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after the wind
we roll the mangoes
back under the fence
cremation—
the dryness
of held hands
David Käwika Eyre. Volcano, Hawai’i
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summer rain—
tiny ponds
in deer prints
sword ferns—
from a single helix
new fronds
moon shine—
raccoons in headlights
search the garbage
Bill Fay
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holding back
dropping a letter
into the postbox
a single oak
fifty years on
a lone crow
Mike Gallagher. Ireland
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beginnings
always easier
than endings
the curve
of her smile
shapes my day
empty wheelie bin
chatters down the laneway
his sole companion
Candy Gordon
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leaf cutter ants
the tattered banners
of empire
John Hawkhead. Bradford on Avon
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vaccination centre
a nurse explains
all the ins and outs
sunshower
a broken rainbow
in every puddle
Louise Hopewell. Melbourne
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behind bars …
the canary sings
to his reflection
Marilyn Humbert
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washhouse
perfectly white
cloud above it
Samo Kreutz. Ljubljana, Slovenia
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sunny sandstone—
the masonic lodge
keeps its secrets
every moment
beneath the bridge
a new river
John Low. Portland, NSW
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ambulance
the moon follows us
all the way
long journey
my ex introduces me
to her ex
happy hour
the old musician in a chair
still rocking
Myron Lysenko
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bush greenhood
all dad’s tales when
I was young
more gentle
than she’s ever been
new-laid egg
Marietta McGregor
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outback highway …
vehicles brrrrr across
metal cattle grids
Rob McKinnon
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house proud
she brushes me
out the door
Margaret Mahony
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bauhinia leaf
sunlit tracery
butterfly wings
Diana Messervy
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laptop updating …
the drip drip drip of rain
in the downpipe
Leanne Mumford. Sydney, Australia
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family bible
between Genesis 2 & 4
a pressed blossom
pandemic
she lights a candle
for her son
Nika
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new suit
to the undertaker
unworn
Karen Phillips. Yarra Ranges, Victoria
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covid-19
the books in the bookcase
all fall down
school yard
the raven picks up
a McDonald’s box
Zaidee Pisani-Lysenko (10 years old)
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painted fingernails …
she whispers checkmate
with the ivory rook
daydream …
the girl that never was
beside the lake
Milan Rajkumar. Imphal, India
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ageing …
together we remember
what we forget
childhood home
I watched the outhouse
move in
dawn service
magpies fly low
over the crowd
milking time
the herd separated
by traffic
Carol Reynolds. NSW, Australia
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debate season
splitting logs
with a dull ax
mackerel sky
the wrinkles I can’t
iron out
giggling children
the rhythm of
millipede legs
autumn breeze
stirring
a locust song
Bryan Rickert. Belleville, Illinois, USA
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drawing a curve …
my brother teaches me
Surya Namaskar
Rose
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the split space
between stump and sky
—an elegy
Conor Ross
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a lone peewit
with a mouthful of spider …
trapped in my thoughts
sleepless night
possums squabble
in the almond tree
resort umbrella
a bikini-clad swimmer
shelters from the rain
Cynthia Rowe
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demonstrators
her abuse
painted in words
sentinels
dawn paints
their branches
stained glass
melted
a fable turned white
Barry Sanbrook
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deeper than the
hoot of snowy owls
winter solitude …
her fingers
trace my back
home coming …
Joe Sebastian
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flooded canal—
the frequent pause
of a spider
as if
snow in April…
cherry blossoms
Manoj Sharma. Kathmandu, Nepal
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wildflowers
cut into patterns
sewing class
a gardener
and his lawn
perfect buzzcuts
earthquake
my washing machine
hits spin cycle
the old man
and his dog
waiting for sunset
Tom Staudt. Sydney, Australia
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looks me up and down
one hand against a tree
lace monitor
Kaelin Stemmler
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barrel wave
the sun’s diminishing
point of light
midnight sun
the vocal fingerprints
of wolves
the owl
we nearly saw
lantern light
alms
the lake receives
a pair of swans
waterlines
the stories we find
between
Debbie Strange. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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perfect skin
the excitement of freckles
here and there
David Watts
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colourless
in the moonlight
your prize roses
the drought-brown mesa
with nothing left to offer—
coronavirus
all daisies and dandelions the hippy’s lawn
Michael Dylan Welch. Sammamish, Washington, USA
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I see blossoms
returning to twig
a bottle of wine
Chen Xiaoou. Kunming China
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plastic rake
a nest of fibreglass
among the leaves
eyes front
soldier crabs march
sideways
tibouchina
an autumn flowering
at the nursing home
dawn chorus
remembering
morse code
Quendryth Young. Alstonville, NSW, Australia
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