Like many families, my siblings and I dispersed as we grew older. The eldest of six, I went the farthest away because I had the most to forget. Not even Christmas could bring me back some years, except this one. It’s the year of the Millennium.

across a rumpled bed
we exchange presents
the drifting snow
of Mother’s
coma

Peter Jastermsky

is an award-winning cherita poet and a Dwarf Star Award nominee. He writes short-form works, with a focus on haiku, senryu, haibun, and cherita. His writing has appeared in numerous print and online journals and anthologies, including Failed Haiku, Haibun Today, KYSO Flash, The Aurorean, and The Cherita; and his work has been translated into Chinese, German, and Italian. He is the author of two books: a collection of haiku and senryu, Steel Cut Moon (Cholla Needles Press, 2019), and a chapbook of haibun, No Velcro Here (Yavanika Press, 2019).

Peter is a licensed clinical social worker who’s worked as a counselor in a variety of settings for more than 30 years. Born in Connecticut, he lived in Philadelphia for many years before relocating to Southern California, where he now lives with his family in the high desert.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Blue Tarp Rich in KYSO Flash (Issue 11, Spring 2019)

⚡ In Check in KYSO Flash (Issue 7, Spring 2017)