Weeding, a gardener’s Sisyphus task
Each bed voices a continual ask

When the hill is climbed and the stone is gone
Brief respite before the task is redone

With no weeds the ground is free of clutter
Now tended with care delights of nature

I am bonded with earth through this worked space
This is time my world is a tranquil place

David Radford is a retired college professor who loves gardening and the great outdoors. Creative writing has been a welcome change from the technical writing his career demanded.

Back bent. Spine resisting
Its vertical thrust. Instead,
Employing a sinuous shape,
Like a meandering river
On its way to the sea.

Tilting incrementally to the left,
Until I am bent in two,
Twisted and warped,
Under the weight of gravity.
Under the weight of you.

Heather Simon is a translator, editor and writer. Originally from California, she decided to move to France over 14 years ago and has never looked back. The author currently lives in the south of France with her husband and French bulldog, Juno.

He’s never seen me,
but I’m here

in my crisp jersey,
spitting seeds

like Chipper.

I’d cracked one
past shortstop,

brought my friend
on third home.

And we won.

Hot water screaming,
scalding tea leaves
and rose petals, penetrating
cell walls, distilling
essences and fragrance.
Raw sugar spills
from silver moon,
swirling with celestial
bodies,
sweetening antioxidants.
Cold milk calms
the ancient frenzy,
pours down
a cool balm
to soothe the assaulted
blossoms.

From cup to lips,
a ceremony of sips
and sighs.

Erin Olson is a counselor, parent coach, poet, and gardener. She lives in Shorewood, WI with her husband, son, cat, and an ever-growing variety of plant species.

An Emperor Penguin, upright, statuesque,
puffed chest deflects the snow seeming to fall
from a giant pillow shaken over the silent
bird below in a stark place at night. The artist
paints light—feathery flakes illuminate
the silhouetted head, orange neck, black feet
locked to an ice floe and the etched dark-blue
shape, its solitary shadow in blowing snow.

Nicolette Reim is a poet, visual artist, and translator who has been published in Brushfire, Maudlin House, Mojave River Review, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Poetic Sun, The Rail, Glint Literary Journal, Voices de la Luna, and other publications. She studied art at The New York Studio School and creates visual art pieces based on abstractions from writing and topography. Nicolette is a member of Noho M55 Gallery. She holds a Master Degree in Life Science from Columbia University and a Master Degree of Fine Arts in Poetry with a Concentration in Translation from Drew University.

He’s biking uphill,
standing up and pedaling.
But still, he reaches
for a cardinal feather
spinning in a spiderweb.

Hannah Jane Weber’s poetry has been published in I-70 Review, Plainsongs, The Poeming Pigeon, Ponder Review, Rosebud, Slippery Elm and more. She is also a recipient of the Dylan Thomas American Poet Prize. Hannah Jane is a children’s librarian and tennis enthusiast. She lives with her husband and their golden retrievers.

And I say to you, as your father
said to the private club member
who invited him for lunch one day
in New York City and said to him,
there are no Jews here, you know,
and your father said, there is one now.
So I say to you, our daughter, when
you put some of my ashes next to
your father in the Jewish Cemetery,
if someone says to you, only Jews
are buried here, say— that isn’t
true, as your father always knew.

Nicolette Reim is a poet, visual artist, and translator who has been published in Brushfire, Maudlin House, Mojave River Review, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Poetic Sun, The Rail, Glint Literary Journal, Voices de la Luna, and other publications. She studied art at The New York Studio School and creates visual art pieces based on abstractions from writing and topography. Nicolette is a member of Noho M55 Gallery. She holds a Master Degree in Life Science from Columbia University and a Master Degree of Fine Arts in Poetry with a Concentration in Translation from Drew University.

#1

As the dog
slept on the bed
I crouched down

and tried to kiss him
but he snapped
his jaw

At my nose
and I pulled away
buried my head

into the pillow of
my boyfriend’s
freshly made bed

#2

As you sat
on the couch
in my living room

I moved my lips
towards yours
while you

slowly tried
to reciprocate
and fell

into the light of
new love’s
burning sun

#3

As the dentist
scraped my teeth
with a smile

Glimmering pearls
whiter than mine
he said

to brush the front
then the back
so my teeth

will be as bright
and happy
as his.

Janelle Finamore is a musician, poet, teacher, and fairy tale writer located in Orange County, CA. She was Poet of the Month for Moon Tide Press and her fairy tale “The Girl Who Stuck Out Like a Sore Thumb” was published in Bohemia magazine. Her poem “Space Shop” was also published. Her poems were also featured in Poet Magazine online and the Academy of the Heart and Mind. Her writing is inspired by the beat poets as evinced in her self-published book “The Power of Silly Putty and Lipstick Kisses”, available on Amazon. She has featured her book in poetry venues in California including The Ugly Mug in Orange and many more.

yesterday’s storm tossed
sycamore skins everywhere
each thin curl of bark
thrums and sways with cicadas
who wear their music like gowns

Hannah Jane Weber’s poetry has been published in I-70 Review, Plainsongs, The Poeming Pigeon, Ponder Review, Rosebud, Slippery Elm and more. She is also a recipient of the Dylan Thomas American Poet Prize. Hannah Jane is a children’s librarian and tennis enthusiast. She lives with her husband and their golden retrievers.