Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine

falling from
low-lying clouds,
light flurries
and the voices
of snow geese

                        by Ayaz Daryl Nielsen

fight unresolved  . . .
so wanting to turn over
I remain
looking out of the window
and feel the moment pass





leaves hum
on a gentle note
a restfulness
as I lie under the canopy
of dancing thoughts




 
all around me
champa and chameli blossom
never satisfied
I wondered from childhood
what it would be to be a sunflower

                        by Kala Ramesh

cut, fold, tape.
the girl does it again
and again:
gift-wrapping
her life in holiday seasons





nothing new
under the sun --
I wage
one fight after another
against a poet’s loneliness






constantly
standing before the attic
mirror
on these winter days
makes me feel less alone






standing like a pole
on the street corner
he shouts...
a string of Chinese f-words
at the white sports cars






all that noise
through the paper-thin wall
in my motel room
I start counting
summer stars in the window 






my powwow solo
makes the attic as big
as the whole world...
hanging low in the sky
the mid-autumn moon





my dog
seems to know the length
of its leash
I've no clue
how to measure nostalgia

                                by   Chen-ou Liu

on tatami
a young girl plays
the samisen –
while her father is out
making money.





before getting down
to it
the businessman
and his new mistress
discuss last night’s moon.

                          by   Alexis Rotella

I sleep
in his shirt
so I wake
smelling
of happier times






velvet petals
of snapdragons
crumble
into dust
beneath his rough hands





snow-speckled mountains
the last thing
I see
riding the crest
of an avalanche


                         by Tracy Davidson

she asks 
if I want children
a breeze through
the half-open window
flips the calendar

                          by   Lucas Stensland

samsara..
winged maple seed
blown far from your tree
we are not so different
you and I..





all too human
we map archipelagos
and plot the stars
yet pin our hopes
on cherry blossoms

                          by   Claire Everett

I close the door
to quiet her cries
pushing hard
against
my guilt






summer heat
we make our escape
by reading
about penguins
in Antarctica






I’m here
but now
I forgot why –
one perfect thumbprint
on the chrome faucet        

                       by Christina Nguyen 

all these socks
without mates,
yet not one 
of them is willing
to pair up with another






beyond the flickering
wafts of sandalwood incense,
the shadowy presence
of things unseen 
but not unfelt






my cat
attempting to escape
by digging a hole
all the way 
to China
                              by   M. Kei

school of angel fish
flashing the sun of heaven
turn right on a dime
which I pick up off the sand
to drop in the box at church
 
 
                             by William Cullen, Jr.

her last letter
smells of withered roses...
counting
chocolate hearts
I've eaten since daybreak






Only You
from the stereo she gave me
years ago --
one glass after another
the moon and I get drunk






bare maple tree
standing on the front lawn…
with no one around
I speak to it
in my mother tongue






in the depths
of an autumn night
the mailbox
of a foreclosed home
click-clack, click-clacks...

                              by   Chen-ou Liu

the year West Nile
wiped out the crows
we had to go it alone
without omen
or apparition






beneath her fingers
the strains of Liebesträume
lull us to sleep
damper pedal staying
a mutual fear of the dark

             (previously published "Modern English Tanka, Winter 2008)




the half-moon’s
fitful dreams
this sweltering night
on half
a sleeping pill






delicate tracings
transparent
to the sun—
veins
of red hibiscus






the cardinal
shows interest
in his song alone
leaving the crows
to quarrel

                             by Brian Zimmer