Take 5ive Issue Two Twenty Twenty Two
Anne Curran
two boys ride
on the same skateboard
daredevils
heads thrown back in laughter
living for the moment
feeling her
she sits beside me
telling me all the back routes -
loving me
for all my wrong turns
home from work
I pull on my old man's jersey
forest green -
it feels like shade
on a summer afternoon
Tuyet Van Do
Restricted Account
again
my account is restricted
for posting truth
again and again
I try to wake up the masses
On Leave
work from home
no longer an option
I still dress up
every morning
to keep sanity
Mud Mask
facing the mirror
she puts on
the
last mud mask
for vanity sake
Bryan Rickert
the flowers
gone to seed
I walk the garden
knowing my best day
are behind me
my wife adopting
every sad stray
now I know
what it is she
first saw in me
autumn
a little
of my anger
gives way with
each falling leaf
Roberta Beach Jacobson
so full
of invoices and purchase orders
the accountant
logs off the office computer
to disappear into the cityscape
I boil
a pot of unsalted water
time to
toss in my salty mistakes
from past relationships
letters unsent
feel like failed chances
our eyes lock
as I deboard the bus
I still wonder what if
Gerard Sarnat
Had joy, joy, joy down
In boy’s heart, down in Jew’s heart
--Maybe zilch to do
With later lyrics oy veh
referential to Jesus?
Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
tonight
so saddening bright
the moon
it shines for the lovers
we no longer are
alarm clock sound
still hanging in a dream
my moon
there on a road where
one will never meet
on the riverbank
the light is a sail
towards the sea
a restless sweetness
my melancholy
C.X.Turner
in the sorrow
of a new dawn
a simple kindness
holds great hope
in tiny hands
the magic
of forever wishing
you were the cadence
of my poem
written within me
adrift
in murky waters
I catch glimpses
of hope –
lighthouse lantern
Ram Chandran
lots of differences
this moon
from my childhood moon;
my mom whispers
when I met her last
leaning
on her shoulder
I point to a distant star
as she draws
star on beach sands
red hibiscuses
outside hospital windows
sway-
drop by drop
blood transfusion
Susan Burch
with Covid-19
we spend hours
surfing the net…
what’s new
in cryogenics
a sudden gust
of cold bitter wind
how many times
do I have to say
I’m sorry
lines taped
to the carpet
at CVS
playing keep away
from each other
George Schaefer
Words splattered about
Poetry from the trenches
Furious, captured
Precision duly noted
we survive and reveal scars
Chen-ou Liu
dewdrops
in winter twilight
Father slips
into a world of his own
there ... but not there
midnight moon
shedding light on the scars
of our past
I hold my first love
closer and tighter
during the checkup
Father nods or shakes
his bald head ...
the doctor's mask
softens the news
Ruth Holzer
this self
shaped and sustained
through the years
by the secret savors
of what it could not have
sunset blush
a girl by the river
scrolling
with scarlet nails
through her selfies
whether
the damage is
reversible
we will find out tomorrow...
sufficient unto the day
Mona Bedi
into the Ganges
I scatter his ashes
the splash of the water
on my face makes me feel
close to him once again
shadow puppets
the only true friends
she ever had
how lonely it is
to be a girl child
winter sadness
I become one with
the grey fog
the memories of us
add colour to my life
Neena Singh
early dawn
rose light awakens
earthlings
to the wondrous gift
of new possibilities
old family album--
a black and white photo
falls out ...
was it as easy to leave
your last-born child
David He Zhuanglang
a silver lining
as the moon hides
behind a cloud...
an old couple
whisper to each other
meditation
in darkness...
in the attic of my hut
the first star
twinkles
moonlight
filters through
the branches ...
the lovers' breath lingers
between their kisses
R. Suresh Babu
his memories
stacked inside my heart
the pain
and the longing
set free in rhyme and meter
my name
carved on his ring
how easily
he slides me out
from his head and heart
Mike Gallagher
mist slides down
the hill my father digs
for worms
a good day
for brown trout
taut straps
slipping through
white knuckles
the cold smell
of broken earth
grandson
loving being close
to grandma
each far away
in daydreams
Giuliana Ravaglia
Nel profondo
Quando l'anima trema
e il buio cigola
nel profondo
riaffilo antichi artigli
in un gomitolo di sole
Deep inside
When the soul trembles
and the dark creaks
deep inside
sharpen ancient claws
in a ball of sun
Il sole della gioia
Vorrei catturare il sole della gioia
entrare senza timore nella sala del banchetto
nutrirmi alla festa della vita
e morire
vivendo in profondità d'azzurro
The sun of joy
I would like to capture the sun of joy
fearlessly enter the banquet hall
feed me at the party of life
and die
living in the depths of blue
Christina Chin
going
from door to door
looking for holy basil
and kafir lime
alter offerings
*times have become even harder for many people. This lady has been going round looking for holy basil and kafir lime for prayers.
the fragrance
of chrysanthemums
and rosebuds
in my tea...
zen garden
Pier Road junction
I whirl round
the lamp post
clinging for dear life
winter squall
*a scary experience for me at the Bournemouth Square.
Daya Bhat
eerie barks
door opens and closes
I see, neither
the guest nor the host
in the new moon light
twilight hour . . .
one two three
four robins
swing on the
clothesline
Jenny Ward Angyal
A Pocketful of Light
shadows
flickering
on the hearth
the old crone dozes
dreaming of a lost key
leaving
no stone unturned . . .
the earth
yields only riddles
of worm and seed
trudging
across mountains
and rivers
to the hermit’s hut . . .
mice in the thatch
poring over
prayers and spells--
the door
to the inner room
locked against her
touching at last
the doeskin pouch
nestled
against her breastbone
since she was born
Swimming Lessons
the brook finds a way
around the milldam--
unlike me
it knows exactly
what it wants to say
raindrops
pock the pond’s surface
one by one
they vanish
into the mind of water
a stream flowing
over solid stone--
in the eye
of the camera
they’re one
GPS
pinpoints my location
on the creek
the grace of an otter
shows me my place
sitting
among bluets
on the river bank
I wait for the quiet
teaching of the moss
Robert Beveridge
knee swollen
to twice its size
corn whiskey
makes them both
the same
one more bag of trash
to go out to the big can
we believe we die
without leaving any sort
of mark upon the planet
M. R. Defibaugh & Christina Chin
pulling notes
from another world
. . . bamboo flute music
the still of night
broken by a potoo
Christina Chin & M. R. Defibaugh
cocktail
in a cobra lily
snails
the barfly's slurred speech
near closing time
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
I am the words scattered within
your thought and imagination
piece together your remedy
to the mystery of your soul
and read your sentence.
two boys ride
on the same skateboard
daredevils
heads thrown back in laughter
living for the moment
feeling her
she sits beside me
telling me all the back routes -
loving me
for all my wrong turns
home from work
I pull on my old man's jersey
forest green -
it feels like shade
on a summer afternoon
Tuyet Van Do
Restricted Account
again
my account is restricted
for posting truth
again and again
I try to wake up the masses
On Leave
work from home
no longer an option
I still dress up
every morning
to keep sanity
Mud Mask
facing the mirror
she puts on
the
last mud mask
for vanity sake
Bryan Rickert
the flowers
gone to seed
I walk the garden
knowing my best day
are behind me
my wife adopting
every sad stray
now I know
what it is she
first saw in me
autumn
a little
of my anger
gives way with
each falling leaf
Roberta Beach Jacobson
so full
of invoices and purchase orders
the accountant
logs off the office computer
to disappear into the cityscape
I boil
a pot of unsalted water
time to
toss in my salty mistakes
from past relationships
letters unsent
feel like failed chances
our eyes lock
as I deboard the bus
I still wonder what if
Gerard Sarnat
Had joy, joy, joy down
In boy’s heart, down in Jew’s heart
--Maybe zilch to do
With later lyrics oy veh
referential to Jesus?
Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
tonight
so saddening bright
the moon
it shines for the lovers
we no longer are
alarm clock sound
still hanging in a dream
my moon
there on a road where
one will never meet
on the riverbank
the light is a sail
towards the sea
a restless sweetness
my melancholy
C.X.Turner
in the sorrow
of a new dawn
a simple kindness
holds great hope
in tiny hands
the magic
of forever wishing
you were the cadence
of my poem
written within me
adrift
in murky waters
I catch glimpses
of hope –
lighthouse lantern
Ram Chandran
lots of differences
this moon
from my childhood moon;
my mom whispers
when I met her last
leaning
on her shoulder
I point to a distant star
as she draws
star on beach sands
red hibiscuses
outside hospital windows
sway-
drop by drop
blood transfusion
Susan Burch
with Covid-19
we spend hours
surfing the net…
what’s new
in cryogenics
a sudden gust
of cold bitter wind
how many times
do I have to say
I’m sorry
lines taped
to the carpet
at CVS
playing keep away
from each other
George Schaefer
Words splattered about
Poetry from the trenches
Furious, captured
Precision duly noted
we survive and reveal scars
Chen-ou Liu
dewdrops
in winter twilight
Father slips
into a world of his own
there ... but not there
midnight moon
shedding light on the scars
of our past
I hold my first love
closer and tighter
during the checkup
Father nods or shakes
his bald head ...
the doctor's mask
softens the news
Ruth Holzer
this self
shaped and sustained
through the years
by the secret savors
of what it could not have
sunset blush
a girl by the river
scrolling
with scarlet nails
through her selfies
whether
the damage is
reversible
we will find out tomorrow...
sufficient unto the day
Mona Bedi
into the Ganges
I scatter his ashes
the splash of the water
on my face makes me feel
close to him once again
shadow puppets
the only true friends
she ever had
how lonely it is
to be a girl child
winter sadness
I become one with
the grey fog
the memories of us
add colour to my life
Neena Singh
early dawn
rose light awakens
earthlings
to the wondrous gift
of new possibilities
old family album--
a black and white photo
falls out ...
was it as easy to leave
your last-born child
David He Zhuanglang
a silver lining
as the moon hides
behind a cloud...
an old couple
whisper to each other
meditation
in darkness...
in the attic of my hut
the first star
twinkles
moonlight
filters through
the branches ...
the lovers' breath lingers
between their kisses
R. Suresh Babu
his memories
stacked inside my heart
the pain
and the longing
set free in rhyme and meter
my name
carved on his ring
how easily
he slides me out
from his head and heart
Mike Gallagher
mist slides down
the hill my father digs
for worms
a good day
for brown trout
taut straps
slipping through
white knuckles
the cold smell
of broken earth
grandson
loving being close
to grandma
each far away
in daydreams
Giuliana Ravaglia
Nel profondo
Quando l'anima trema
e il buio cigola
nel profondo
riaffilo antichi artigli
in un gomitolo di sole
Deep inside
When the soul trembles
and the dark creaks
deep inside
sharpen ancient claws
in a ball of sun
Il sole della gioia
Vorrei catturare il sole della gioia
entrare senza timore nella sala del banchetto
nutrirmi alla festa della vita
e morire
vivendo in profondità d'azzurro
The sun of joy
I would like to capture the sun of joy
fearlessly enter the banquet hall
feed me at the party of life
and die
living in the depths of blue
Christina Chin
going
from door to door
looking for holy basil
and kafir lime
alter offerings
*times have become even harder for many people. This lady has been going round looking for holy basil and kafir lime for prayers.
the fragrance
of chrysanthemums
and rosebuds
in my tea...
zen garden
Pier Road junction
I whirl round
the lamp post
clinging for dear life
winter squall
*a scary experience for me at the Bournemouth Square.
Daya Bhat
eerie barks
door opens and closes
I see, neither
the guest nor the host
in the new moon light
twilight hour . . .
one two three
four robins
swing on the
clothesline
Jenny Ward Angyal
A Pocketful of Light
shadows
flickering
on the hearth
the old crone dozes
dreaming of a lost key
leaving
no stone unturned . . .
the earth
yields only riddles
of worm and seed
trudging
across mountains
and rivers
to the hermit’s hut . . .
mice in the thatch
poring over
prayers and spells--
the door
to the inner room
locked against her
touching at last
the doeskin pouch
nestled
against her breastbone
since she was born
Swimming Lessons
the brook finds a way
around the milldam--
unlike me
it knows exactly
what it wants to say
raindrops
pock the pond’s surface
one by one
they vanish
into the mind of water
a stream flowing
over solid stone--
in the eye
of the camera
they’re one
GPS
pinpoints my location
on the creek
the grace of an otter
shows me my place
sitting
among bluets
on the river bank
I wait for the quiet
teaching of the moss
Robert Beveridge
knee swollen
to twice its size
corn whiskey
makes them both
the same
one more bag of trash
to go out to the big can
we believe we die
without leaving any sort
of mark upon the planet
M. R. Defibaugh & Christina Chin
pulling notes
from another world
. . . bamboo flute music
the still of night
broken by a potoo
Christina Chin & M. R. Defibaugh
cocktail
in a cobra lily
snails
the barfly's slurred speech
near closing time
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
I am the words scattered within
your thought and imagination
piece together your remedy
to the mystery of your soul
and read your sentence.
