Kelly Moyer

ladylike
i step around the stench
of my corpse

— Kelly Moyer

bloodless

the sorrow that turned

her kettle black

— Kelly Moyer

Jacek Wilkos

moonlit room
a pile of clothes on the chair
starts to rise

— Jacek Wilkos

Minal Sarosh

casting a spell
in the cat’s eyes 
a sudden glow

— Minal Sarosh

Sankara Jayanth Sudanagunta

ancestral home
the foundations reinforced
by fresh sinew

— Sankara Jayanth Sudanagunta

town square fountain...

under the full moon

thick black tar

— Sankara Jayanth Sudanagunta

David C. Kopaska-Merkel

cold dreams
damp leaves settle
on my bones

— David C. Kopaska-Merkel

hat trick

coil after nightmare coil

of scaled bunny

— David C. Kopaska-Merkel

Roberta Beach Jacobson

zipped
inside couch cushions
whispers

— Roberta Beach Jacobson

furnace ducts

nighttime rattle

of rodent bones

— Roberta Beach Jacobson

Jerome Berglund

frosty glass
they survive
but don’t escape 

— Jerome Berglund

petro c. k.

glint of a ruby
among the reeds
the only color left on her

— petro c. k.

covering back up

the lost skier . . .

snow flurries

— petro c. k.

Reid Hepworth

the art critic’s face
s t r e t c h e d on canvas
closing night

— Reid Hepworth

spring cotillion…

after the disemboweling

some finger food

— Reid Hepworth

Thomas Zimmerman

blood moon
and two red eyes
in sighing pines

— Thomas Zimmerman

wet dream

your swollen corpse breaks through

the river ice

— Thomas Zimmerman

Rich Schilling

sickle moon

the babysitter leaves

a trail of blood

— Rich Schilling

unearthed skulls

missing gold teeth

the graverobber’s grin

— Rich Schilling

Mark Gilbert

invite only—
bringing a shovel
to the party

— Mark Gilbert

David C. Kopaska-Merkel

circle me
in an unstable orbit
your rictus mouth

— David C. Kopaska-Merkel

Kelly Sargent

sleepwalking 
in the basement —
his exorcised demons 

— Kelly Sargent

father’s fatal fall —

sunset shadows

slip into place

— Kelly Sargent

John Hawkhead

brittle light  
snowmelt uncovers 
gnawed bones

— John Hawkhead

Richard L. Matta

noodle soup 
the sweet and sour taste
of a smirking smile

— Richard L. Matta

wet concrete

the last overlay quells

a beating heart

— Richard L. Matta

Barrie Levine

biker’s joint
the short order cook
stirs up a broth

— Barrie Levine

military brat her trail of pet burials

— Barrie Levine

Sankara Jayanth Sudanagunta

oak tree—
tension in the corpseless noose

— Sankara Jayanth Sudanagunta

Chris Langer

falling leaves-
along the tombstone hangs
silence

— Chris Langer

shallow fog-

quietly she sews

his lips shut

— Chris Langer

C.X.Turner

blood puddling
in the neighbourhood
blended family

— C.X.Turner

ghost town

blood circling

the drain

— C.X.Turner

Bette Hopper

check-out
empty bottles
on the nightstand

— Bette Hopper