the poets' garden

[huariqueje]

Cosmos - Ruth Stage , 2023.

British , b. 1969 -

Egg tempera on gesso board , 100 x 120 cm.

[manderson1970060]

11:42, the night is softly blanketed by smoke, my heart is tempered by storm and thunder, a train passes by in the distance and I miss you

[manderson1970060]

Hope in the trees, hope in the stars flickering, hope an eternal seed, hope born in you and me

[fakesurprise]

the trick to dealing with nightmares lay in forcing them to become dreams trash becoming treasure in the junkyard pain becoming other things entirely grief changing shape the way it must that no story will have a happy ending does not diminish the value of the tale

[oneandocey]

Good Night

Day tumbles into night,

Gold in obsidian hue,

The flower that did bloom on high,

Has gone to sleep anew,

Tomorrow it will bud again,

As flowers are to do,

Till then the soil be left to rest,

And with it so should you.

[autonomy1]

outside counts

in

the angle of now

two rays

diffusing

an angle of night

eyes lead the soul to

distances

no one from you to me

[pelicandensity]

This I Remember

you taught me

to acknowledge

my mistakes and

learn from them

you taught me

not to judge

a person by the

color of their skin

but to look to

their character

for guidance

you taught me

the importance

of being honest

with myself and

the strength that

comes from

admitting my

vulnerabilities

all these things

you taught me and

I remember your love

[agentadjacent]

i feel better tonight than i have in awhile

might catch some restful sleep

which aint really my style

maybe stay present tomorrow

do a bit of upkeep

using energy i dont have to borrow

get an early start and visit the grove

with the hidden lilies

where the fairies smoke

fill my hands with water from the memorial pump

have a sip and a splash

and a sit on a stump

deep breath deep breaths

and a knowing exhale

life can be less difficult

if i dont let it go stale

[tearinmyside]

road cracks swallowing hope...

monstrous

swallowed rainwater under this vacuous evening— streetlights burn out one by one, leave a frame obscured, anonymous, power lines keep no trace of the vanquished, the held breath of a tornado watch, to share a basement with dead spiders and lint, space for hungry flood, the same song on repeat as comfort, as vulnerable limbs stiffen in the summer's tar pit hunger— the resignation of the loss of the hope for the spectacular.

-kab

[twohousesoftheholy]

FLOWING

Walk the dawn

But deeper

Your eyes

Will never

Understand

If you listen

We can flow

Together

Like ever changing

Sand

Or we can fly

If you kiss the sky

While falling

Under a flag of truce

Between us

Love doesn’t lead

It follows

A torturous path

Sometimes

Still life

Can’t always

Be painted

As a song

[manderson1970060]

The plants grew silently in my garden and I learned of care and love

[sakurabreeze]

Mike Smith

Wild Flower Meadow - Upper Wharfedale'

linocut

[velvetversesjournal]

Drinking the sun

Warm heart, veins that glow

Icy walls, melting away

Sunflower petals, gentle breeze

Summery soul, happy feet

How the seasons change

Within me

[anoxfordscribbler]

In which we take tea together; one cup left unfilled in front of an empty seat.

In which I trace patterns on skin; drawing the border of the indent you leave behind.

In which I turn toward you laughing; only to hear the same cadence echoing back.

In which I lean into your warmth; falling through the chill, through the space entirely. In which I learn how you love; in which I miss its sharpness, pressed to my throat.

[elvedon]

[lorienfae]

Parallel, ripples echo a citadel of years that last minutes,

water billows in runaway time, reflections willowy and there's a litany in droplets worshipping our skin...

Are we awake now?

Are we the echo of a lone branch in a tundra?

Wires by wires through infinity, we run currents from the tips of our fingers, firing impulses past Neptune's seas, past the Kuiper belt, past dream and into

being.

— Anna S. © 2026

[summerswages]

the waiting game . . .