"exorcism" by Colleen M. Farrelly

 

exorcism

their walls weep red
and whisper words broken
by walkie-talkie static and
wailing doors

Rorschach
the forensics
of bullet holes

~

Colleen M. Farrelly is a mathematician and haibun poet who's been exploring the universe through mathematics and physics since childhood. She's an amalgam of mystic Jewish/Catholic traditions and mathematician-philosophers like Blaise Pascal, with a deep appreciation for meditation and what she learned about public health and spiritual health from South African village shamans in the mid-2000s.

A Senryu by Terri L. French

 

moon illusion
we weren't really
that close

~

Terri L. French lives on a little mountain in Huntsville, Alabama with her husband, Ray, her dog, Chaka, and cat, Salem. It's the perfect spot for writing, hiking, yoga, tai chi and whispering to critters and trees. https://terrilfrenchhaiku.com/

An Esoteriku by Rowan Beckett Minor

 

fading light
porcupine quills
pushed in the dirt

~

Rowan Beckett Minor (they/them) is a disabled Melungeon poet and hoodoo practitioner from Prince, WV, who currently resides in Cleveland, OH. They have been featured in: Mayfly, A New Resonance 12, as a confluence journal Fellow (2024-2025), as a presenter for Haiku North America (2019, 2021), and co-judge for the HSA Brady Senryu Contest (2022). Rowan is honored to have served as HSA Midwest Regional Coordinator in 2024.

"The Gleaning" by Terri L. French

 

~

Terri L. French lives on a little mountain in Huntsville, Alabama with her husband, Ray, her dog, Chaka, and cat, Salem. It's the perfect spot for writing, hiking, yoga, tai chi and whispering to critters and trees. https://terrilfrenchhaiku.com/

A Monoku by Arvinder Kaur

the music in my loneliness cicadas

~

Arvinder Kaur believes in a superpower that lives within each one of us, whose presence she feels in all forms of creation. She has released four collections of haiku and is working on her fifth one. Totally in love with her mother tongue, she also has three translated works to her credit. Her haiku/senryu often appear in major international journals. A retired educationist, she lives in Chandigarh, India with her family.

An Esoteriku by Chad Lee Robinson

 

ragged moth wings . . .
a stranger
on the threshold

~

Chad Lee Robinson has been writing haiku and related poetry for more than twenty years. He is the author of four haiku collections, most recently The White Buffalo (Backbone Press, 2023). Much of his haiku is about the prairie, but he also enjoys writing horrorku and Halloween-related haiku and senryu which have appeared in a wide variety of haiku journals, including horror senryu journal, Haikuniverse and Otoroshi Journal. He lives in Pierre, South Dakota.

"Kitchen Rhythm" by Nolcha Fox

 

Kitchen Rhythm

We tap feet to the coffee pot
that drips and burbles heaven.
We tip on toes through broken glass.
We'll need to buy more goblets.
The dogs whirl round on two hind feet
when treats are offered to them.
This kitchen is for dancing, Lord,
you know it's not for cooking.

~

Nolcha Fox's poems have been curated in print and online journals. A best-selling author, her poetry books are available on Amazon and Dancing Girl Press. Nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize multiple times. Editor of Chewers and Masticadores and LatinosUSA.

Website:  https://writingaddiction2.wordpress.com/ and https://nolchafox2.wixsite.com/nolcha-s-written-wor/blog

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/nolchafox

"Born for the Job" by Luanne Castle

 

Born for the Job

for all the harpies

Pensive, that look she had,
part introspective, part tending
feelings both black and red
about the chores she must do.
Out in what no man will—
the lightning and thunder.
Bodies tossed at random.
Her wings on a mission
through the contused clouds.

I knew she had never wanted
any of it. Counting the dead,
regurgitating curses at councilors,
unleashing her rugged hair
from its net and combing
it with her long talons, snatching
her wily prey in their hooks.
I imagined her drinking tea
and reading Wollstonecraft.

~

Luanne Castle's poetry and prose have appeared in Copper Nickel, River Teeth, JMWW, Grist, Fourteen Hills, Verse Daily, and many more. She has published four award-winning poetry collections. She is resolute in her search for the hidden mysteries and magic of existence.

A Monoku by Shloka Shankar

 

a diorama of light mountain ash

~

Shloka Shankar is a disabled poet, editor, and visual artist from Bangalore, India. She is the Founding Editor of Sonic Boom and its imprint Yavanika Press, and the author of the recent haiku collection within our somehows. Each day reminds her to let go of control and embrace the wilderness that is her body.