The Artist.

colors my soul purple,
a royal color born of
contrast entangled:
warm and cool
fire and water
burning and soothing
everything else and
you.

Fireflies

Mike Lewinski

Maybe love looks like
letting them fly away
when you’d rather them stay
because they shine brighter
in the sky, even if it means
you must watch them glow
from the ground.

Remnant

Giga Khurtsilava

we float
though the last peaks of our solid ground
have been washed over by vengeful waves
we have built our homes upon the surface
in nomadic ships sailing as new continents
in bamboo barges anchored to the sun
in dry arms that wrap us like life vests
as buoys above the salty crests
we float

Other

Kenrick Mills

a concern
a deep worry
for other
a curiosity
a longing to connect
with other
a wish
a desperation
to no longer be
other

---

Connecting with other people, no matter how much I care for and empathize with them, has always been a challenge for me.  

Addict

Wendy Bandurski-Miller

It’s the gray that gets me,
that gloomy ash that caresses me.
I am nestled cozily in its grasp and
I don’t know whether to scream or sleep
(maybe a little of both.)

Just a little more time below
is all I need, I swear.
Just one more nap in this cold embrace
will satisfy my longing
(but I long for you.)

 

Haiku to remember.

Why is it that I
forget the heat of summer
in the winter chill?

For E

Austin Ban

pieces of you
fragments, dust
of your soul
sacred and scattered
not enough to go
around, not enough
to fill the spaces
you left, so many
hold what they
can of you, settle
for ashes where
hands should be