poetry
Once upon a Winter’s Night (poem)
Once upon a winter’s night—
bittersweet, sleepless,
lit by the pale light
of the blue-eyed moon—
you’ll find that your room
is a boat with white sails—
summer bound, ready—
you’ll sail away, away
to the place that has no use
for riddles, because youth
has all the answers, the place
ringing with echoes
of laughter, full of traces
etched on the golden sand.
Meet you there. I’ll stand
on the shore of that place—
so distant, so near—
where time’s but a long tress
wrapped around a girl’s
little finger, twirling, twirling…
Image: Ilya Yefimovich Repin, Moonlit Night at Zdravnevo (1896), oil on canvas, 143 x 90.4 cm, The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk. Public Domain
Writing Opportunities
- Is English your first, second, or third language?
So, pick you age category, pick your topic, and write a winning article!
- $10K for a single poem!
The deadline for the Rattle Poetry Prize is approaching. There’s a $25 fee, but it comes with quite a few perks.
Get your best four poems ready, and go rattling!
Happy writing!
Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Louveciennes, c. 1872–1873. Oil on canvas, Overall: 15 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (38.7 x 46.4 cm). BF860. Public Domain.
Happy May
I know…
Still, be that as it may,
I’ll bloom my heart out
come sweet May,
then petal-light
I’ll fall and flow
where all spent hours
and flowers go…
Yet till the end
my fate I’ll tease
while days of May
will past me breeze.
© 2016 Sasha A. Palmer
Image: © 2017 Nino Chakvetadze, reproduced with permission.
Is Your Blog in a Rut?
- Does your blog need a little help?
Bryn Donovan, editor, novelist, non-fiction writer, and blogger, shares 25 ideas for blog posts — try them all, or take your pick. Have fun blogging!
- Are you poeming yet?
National Poetry Month is here. One of the many ways to celebrate April is to take part in the annual April Poem-A-Day Challenge. Catch up!
By the way, posting your poems on your blog throughout April–daily, or almost daily–is bound to give your blog a boost. Ready…Set…Go write poetry!
Happy April!
Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Cup of Chocolate (Femme prenant du chocolat), c. 1912. Oil on canvas, Overall: 21 5/16 x 25 5/8 in. (54.1 x 65.1 cm). BF14. Public Domain.
Do You Rattle?
Submitting to Rattle is a cinch. Getting published in this American poetry magazine is not easy. But it’s worth a try.
Do you dream of getting published in Rattle?
- Follow the weekly critiques Timothy Green (Rattle’s Editor) posts on Facebook.
They just might bring you a step closer to the realization of your dream.
Tim’s critiques are respectful, insightful, thought-provoking, and fun.
Watch them live if you can, post questions or comments in the thread. Or catch up later. Submit your own poem for a critique, if you dare.
Watch, listen, learn, contribute, have fun, keep writing, keep submitting, get published!
Image: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Pensive Young Woman (Jeune femme pensive), 1855–1860. Oil on panel (later mounted to plywood), Overall: 12 1/2 × 9 5/16 in. (31.8 × 23.7 cm). BF822. Public Domain.
On Google Plus and Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Happy Pi Day!
- Are you still on Google Plus?
Google Plus is leaving us for good. Time to “ungoogle+”.
Anne R. Allen takes you through all the steps of doing it properly.
Do it now — April 2 will be here before you know it.
- Feeling a bit down?
Why not write a fun poem, and submit it to a contest?
Why Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest?
- No Entry Fee.
- Published poems are eligible.
- In addition to English submitted poems may contain “inspired gibberish.”
- First prize is $1,000.
- Sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope — legit.
Deadline is April 1, 2019.
Write and submit!
Image: Pi Pie, created at Delft University of Technology, applied physics, seismics and acoustics; Public Domain
How’s your February, Kids?
Kids, busy living,
have no use for our
big grownup words —
they know a better way
(the best there is)
to spend this precious hour,
so bite your tongue
and let them fly away.
Let them be children,
though it will not last.
Just let them be.
They’re in that magic place
where time is stalled—
no future yet, no past—
just happy now
shines on the old clock’s face.
© 2014 Sasha A. Palmer
Image: © 2013 Nino Chakvetadze, reproduced with permission.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
HAPPY
I’ve no weight, I’m a kite,
Fly me high, hold on tight,
Don’t let go of my hand,
Bye-bye, land!
Keep your feet on the ground,
Planet Earth’s small and round,
With its oceans and all,
Like a ball.
Limitations disperse,
You are my universe,
Standing firmly, and bound
To the ground.
I am air, I am light,
I am day, I am night,
Watch me how I go whee!
Fly with me?
Burning bright, burning clear,
From this world disappear
In the blink of an eye
You and I.
© 2013 Sasha A. Palmer
Image: Marc Chagall, The Promenade (La Promenade) 1917-18; displayed under Fair Use.
Submission Alerts for Poets and Writers
- Are you a poet residing in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, or Michigan?
Submit your previously unpublished book-length collection for a chance to win The Ballard Spahr Prize for Poetry.
The prize awards $10,000, publication by Milkweed Editions, and other cool things.
Deadline: February 15, 2019.
- Are you a writer with a track record of publishing creative writing in the UK or Ireland?
Don’t miss your chance to win £30,000 (!)
Submit your writing to The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award — the world’s richest and most prestigious prize for a single short story.
Deadline: February 15, 2019.
Good luck!
Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Fruit and Bonbonnière, c. 1915–1917. Oil on canvas, Overall: 9 7/16 x 12 5/8 in. (24 x 32 cm). BF39. Public Domain.
sasha a. palmer 