Crow’s Feet By JL Huffman

life etched

            crows kettle
            a scavenger squadron
            carrion hunt

sorrow and joy

            roadkill raccoon

            restive crows circle
            ravenous

indelible

            murder of crows
            talons tear tissue
            dismember Death

–

JL Huffman is a retired Trauma Surgeon/ICU doctor with three published poetry books Almanac: The Four Seasons (2020), Family Treasons (2021), and Voyage: Vista and Verse (2022). Individual poems have appeared in The Pharos, Asahi Haikuist Network, Haiku Dialogue, Poetry Pea, Cold Moon Journal, The Pan Haiku Review, Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, Paddler Press, and others. Website: jlhuffman.com; Twitter: @JoanHuffmanMD

the middle of a thunderstorm by J.J. Campbell

i remember you called
me in the middle of a
thunderstorm
you were playing the
mixtape i made you
and a song made you
laugh
you called me up to
thank me and twenty
minutes later we were
both reaching for a
towel
i don’t think people
understand the pain
when all the memories
you cherish are with
a lesbian that has
moved on forever
now
i remember when
i was younger
i thought of losers
as the glue of society
now i’m older and
truly know
i’m the fucking glue

–

J.J. Campbell (1976 - ?) was raised by wolves yet managed to graduate high school with honors. He's been widely published over the years, most recently at Cajun Mutt Press, Synchronized Chaos, Horror Sleaze Trash, Mad Swirl and The Beatnik Cowboy. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Mirrorground Fair Narcissus By Kushal Poddar

(To Steve Sassmann)

In the funhouse mirror, stuck
in those infinite births,
I see the distortions of me.

Fairground grass eats my ankles,
so do
the ice follies and other narcissus.

I touch the glass; it gurgles, streams
a river of whisky;
under his distilled breath the ticket man
says that I can cross it
but for that charges will be extra.

This year too, I may not dare.

–

Kushal Poddar, the author of 'Postmarked Quarantine' has eight books to his credit. He is a journalist, father, and the editor of 'Words Surfacing’. His works have been translated into twelve languages. Twitter- https://twitter.com/Kushalpoe

Dazed at Midnight By Richard LeDue

Staring at the darkness with my glasses on
only to see a premonition
for my future: the way unkissed lips bite
at the night, fingers stinking of pennies
rolled alone on Sunday mornings,
ears tasting the blackness,
which sounds the same as an empty chair
during breakfast, and my snoring
ruining no one else's dreams.

–

Richard LeDue (he/him) lives in Norway House, Manitoba, Canada. He has been published both online and in print. He is the author of nine books of poetry. His latest book, “It Could Be Worse,” was released by Alien Buddha Press in May 2023.