A selection from the 2002 issues of paper wasp

tonight
her eyes blue
under wine-dark sky

3 strand fence
leaning towards
its shadow

glistening on her lips
juice of passion
-fruit

dancing by car light
my shadow
an astaire

insomnia:
36 views of
full moon

Ross Clark

meditation hall . . .
an ant carries away
my concentration

autumn sky the drifting clouds and crows

morning light -
the dewdrop not long
on the sunflower

the geisha's kimono
slightly open -
crescent moon

indian summer -
the lost poem
I wrote as a child

attached to my sorrow -
winter staying
a little longer this year

kicking a rock all the way home autumn cloud sky

Stanford M. Forrester

another drink
his shadow
reaches mine

sidewalk cafe
rain filling
wine glasses

on her cheek
his kiss turns into
nothing

lazy afternoon
bottom of my wine glass
eclipsing sun

sunday breakfast-
from leaf to leaf
sunlight jumps

early start-
dust on the windscreen
turns pink

cold night
feeding flames
with old letters

how the trees have grown
... still your voice
can stop my heart

katherine samuelowicz

a steady tick
from the clock pendulum--
mother's illness

Kathy Lippard Cobb

tunnel entrance -
lone boy talks
to his echo

sushi lunch -
tentacles stick
to the roof of my mouth

washed by waves
the seagulls
reflection

darkening sky
on the horizon
a wide arc of crows

Graham Nunn

flowing over
sun-drenched rocks
water snake

in his absence
lying awake not listening
to him snore

cathy drinkwater better

still pacing
from room to room
my dead aunt's cat

evening hush
the approaching spatter
of rain

bridal march
curved around her ankle
a dragon tattoo

swaying grass stem
a ladybird falls
as I pass

Sue Mill

spring clothes
in the dryer...
loneliness extreme

garden gate
covered with dew...
his last footprints

Pamela A. Babusci

wind on my cheek--
grandchildren sharing stories
in a backyard tent

my wife away . . .
the dripping of the faucet
from her last shower

Edward J. Rielly

The rainbow fades
An echo of your goodbye
Softer now

Jo Wynne

Halloween night
dreams
of rotten teeth

february's chill
my annual depression
settles in

cat nap
beside me
the cat naps

William S. Simms

fire escape
a cascade
of potted fuchsia

Tom Painting

in the flower
arrangement
her beauty

Owen Bullock

sun on bare willow
the brilliant white
of a magpie`s breast

bad foot
so many people
limping

between
frost and stars
a smoking chimney

river path
by rushing water the tick
of a bicycle wheel

a passing girl
giggles
I check myself over

Peter Williams

beyond the verandah
grey rain lost in green
horizons

Joan Davis

Hoisted upon
dad's shoulders little girl
with her mother's face

William Scott Galasso

fever of the night
molten drops
across your face

Prasenjit Maiti

dawn on my deck
the mystery
between the fog and the grass

Fran Masat

reef dive ~
a bug-eyed fish
stares at me

sheet lightning ~
unable to stop
seeing ghost gums

John Bird

where the sea
meets the air
- being there

Ernest J Berry

i dream of rain on
your skin and chocolate
lilies on your tongue

i dream of swimming
and you feel slippery
as a green river

Gaylene Perry

once more
we pass in the corridor
not speaking

house bricks
carpet snake curled up
against yesterday's sun

tossing in my sleep
the curlew's cry
from the moor

she looks at me
with real love
after the third glass

our creaking bed-
the next room's lovers
stop whispering

john knight

windshield wipers
streak away
the sun

J. Marcus Weekley

stained glass
light fills
the collection plate

jazz in the park
"fish gotta swim..."
kids gotta chase the ducks

Jeffrey Harpeng

winter morning
sunlight reaches
the leaf tips

Vanessa Proctor

in the rustling dark
only distant forest fires
to guide me home

Wacol prison
grey gangs of kangaroos
scratch and stretch

afternoon light
lays gilt on the brothel roof

early start
in the mirror
a crumpled old stranger

Ynes Sanz

curtains' slight
rise & fall breathing
the green smell of cut grass

bruce roxburgh

empty apartment
I try on
another life

Ruth Holzer

winter skies . . .
we make love beneath
three blankets

touching my breast
with just a fingertip
new lover

Patricia Prime

lawyer's office ­
she adds three kisses
to the divorce settlement

sunbaking ­
the neighbour's sunflower
peeps over the fence

Joanna Preston

March thaw--
a homeless man puts up
his beach umbrella

late morning bus ride--
a student curled up
with King Lear

Barry George

a hundred cars pass
magpie swoops
on the lone cyclist

misty rain
shimmering in the web
a hundred spiderlings

Ron Heard

a hush
in the crowded room...
her red dress

Judith Walsh

a few clouds-
one of them
over me

Catherine Bullock

hand in his pocket
he recounts the same five coins
no bargains today

Ross Figgins

at summer's end
the soles of my feet imprinted
on my sandals

Angela Smith

heavy rain-
umbrellas
racing satchels

Giovanni Malito

airport cafe
just before departure bell
he makes eye contact

Jean Rasey

may I ask
is it starting or stopping -
spring rain

sad thoughts
caught up and carried off
in tails of swallows

man fishing-
osiers leave faint traces
on the fog

village church -
on the door of the crypt
election flyers

H.F. Noyes

storm coming
the green shallows
darken

Lyn Reeves

that window - was it
the breeze, or did someone
pull aside the curtain

flowing, a red stream
into a turbulence
rising in a wineglass

William Woodruff

around the grave
hands and mimosa leaves
fold together

mail-order bride
the round back
of the groom

Steven Dolphy

King sized bed
second honeymoon
you're out of reach

Estelle Randall

Punctuates the reeds
Sleek question mark
Preening ibis

Valerie Matsumoto

grey morning
on the footpath
oil slick sun

sun's last rays
on the unmade bed
her silver cross

blue shadow
on the mountain road
I saw yesterday

in the darkness
songs my mother taught me
aganst the pain

Peter Macrow

distant sky
the whisper of a wave
between my feet

Sue Mill

in the football field
pigeons feed
hoarfrost on the grass

vanishing snow
a homeless man passes
my hom

Jack Galmitz

hundreds of
autumn winds blowing onto
floating river gulls

Isamu Hashimoto

autumn night : computer breathing through the rain

Tuesday's bin day-
other people's rubbish
more interesting than mine

cold night
the neighbour's dog
gets an extra biscuit

Gloria Yates

boarding house cats
wait for leftover
leftovers

rain outside
the cat tightens
in its basket

dull chime
of plant pots
sudden cold

checked shirt
all winter
one rinse will do

Tony Beyer

sylwester trzech zer
nawet czas
zaczyna od pocztku

year of three zeros
even time
starts from scratch

Grzegorz Kosson - translated from polish by katherine samuelowicz

granite tomb
still warm
at midnight

busy cafe
waiting
for each other

wife away
she keeps me up
on the phone

argument -
he falls asleep
against her

tim bravenboer

twilight
pale gleam
of kitchen plates

rock pool
transparent inchlings
their shadows hover

Esther Theiler

a long dream
waking to a
purring cat

Ayaz Daryl Nielsen

endless night
but in my square of sky
a thousand stars

chemist's shop
first glimpse
of summer's snaps

Nicholas Barwell

only
from the passing train
this flowering cherry

lonely intersection
a single street light
steadfast in the storm

Michael Ketchek

by the campfire-
the deaf girl watches
the storyteller's hands

Mark Arvid White

skinny dipping...
her thighs
colored by moonlight

Michael Meyerhofer

the year's last sunset
we eat the leftovers
from the fridge

Cathy Drinkwater Better

parents old homestead
where father's prize garden was-
the weeds grow taller

a slick of oil
in the dirty harbor-
rainbow floating

F. Matthew Blaine

at the hospital
cpr dummy
unresponsive

Susan A. Holdridge

This year,
there is no single fruit
on twenty lemon trees

Franko Busic

school graffiti
the four letter words
spelled correctly

Carla Sari

Midnight branches
a possum
walks over the moon

Jennifer Chrystie

sunday morning
blinded by the white
sheets drying

before I'm ready
autumn evening
closes in

winter moon
and me
miles away

Rowan Donovan

a hawk hovers
above the place
it hovered yesterday

Bob Mill