on the riverfront
a stranger
takes my smile
Anita Virgil
After I walk him
to his car he walks me
to mine.
Alexis Rotella
I swore I wouldn't ~
yet here I am again
calling him
Jodie Hawthorne
after the date
letting my belt out
a notch
Mykel Board
unpredicted snowfall
his new haircut
growing on me
Tanya McDonald
she stops
on the secluded path
to look at her engagement ring
Cor van den Heuvel
At our wedding
his mother’s
iced kiss.
Alexis Rotella
After the nuptials,
his debts
become hers
Cheryl Daytec-Yangot
moving day —
she packs his viagra in the box
marked "FRAGILE"
Carol Raisfeld
On honeymoon night
he stands before the mirror
and tries on her gown
Cheryl Daytec-Yangot
digging in front
of the love hotel
a pink bulldozer
Mykel Board
just as he hoped
her bra
black and transparent
Claudia Coutu Radmore
foreplay
the band marks from her stockings
fade from her thighs
Al Pizzarelli
wild night
combing out the
knots
in my hair
Donna Beaver
unfiltered sake —
he tries to remember
her name
Tanya McDonald
Valentine’s Day
I wake up on her
side of the bed
Christopher Herold
hangover
can't remember if
it was worth it
Mykel Board
coffee lounge . . .
we act out each other's
bored look
_kala
after three years of marriage
they bought a new bed
after thirty, separate bedrooms
Bob Brill
porno movie
acting like
she enjoys it
stephen a. peters
a bumper sticker
I  my wife
the red faded
Paul O. Williams
He kisses her,
sighs, whispers
a name not hers
Cheryl Daytec-Yangot
another argument unfolds the futon
W.F. Owen
morning chill —
sandals crushing shells
they talk of divorce
Carol Raisfeld
“only temporary” —
about our separation
we agree to lie
Michael McClintock
last days together
she sings softly
in the bathroom
Dee Evetts
the doll house
under construction—
the marriage finished
Carol Raisfeld
“men are scum”
she says
divorcing a 3rd time
A Thiagarajan
she has so much in common
with her new friend,
her husband's ex
Bob Brill
remembering once
she spent the night
crying in my arms
Ed Higgins
really alone:
an itch on my back
I can't reach
Anita Virgil
Sipping wine:
I remember your face
the way it used to be
Alexis Rotella
outlasted husbands lovers
these beloved
Xmas ornaments
Anita Virgil
CREDITS:
“on the riverfront” from ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO, ETC, Peaks Press, copyright © 1991 by Anita Virgil; by permission of the author.
“After I walk him” and “at our wedding” from OUCH: Senryu That Bite, Modern English Tanka Press, copyright 2007 by Alexis Rotella; by permission of the author.
“she stops” from Cicada IV,3, copyright © 1980 by Cor van den Heuvel; by permission of the author.
“just as he hoped” from Woman in White Renku, Haiku Canada Sheet, copyright © 2004 by Claudia Coutu Radmore; by permission of the author.
“a bumper sticker” from Fig Newtons -- Senryu to Go, Press Here, copyright © 1993 by Paul O. Williams.
“another argument” from A New Resonance 2, Red Moon Press, copyright © 2001 by W.F. Owen; by permission of the author.
“only temporary” from the haibun The Importance of Gold Fish, Anthology of Days, Backwoods Broadsides Chaplet Series, No. 70, copyright © 2002 by Michael McClintock; by permission of the author.
“last days together” from Frogpond, XXVII, No. 1, copyright © 2004 by Dee Evetts; by permission of the author.
“really alone:“ from summer thunder, Peaks Press, copyright © 2004 by Anita Virgil; by permission of the author.
“digging in front” from Pink Bulldozer, Spring Street Haiku Group, copyright © 1999 by Mykel Board; by permission of the author.
“Sipping wine” from After an Affair, Merging Media, copyright © 1984 by Alexis Rotella; by permission of the author.
Playbill Poster ca. 1903, Before Marriage/After Marriage Photographs ca 1900, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Graphic Design by Donna Beaver.
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