Poetry Prompts to carry you through dark days

Are you struggling to rekindle a relationship with your poetry muse? Do you miss those cozy nights, pen in hand. Or those exhilarating mornings by the window, writing about anything - and everything. As most expert authors and poets tell us (over and over) - the way to be a writer is to write. But it can be so difficult sometimes to just sit down an do it!

At the Waters Poetry Workshop we have a forum called 77 Sunset Beach where we challenge ourselves to write a poem a day for seven days. There’s no judgment allowed. Just comments - and poetry.

For me, my first poems in a 7-in-7 are pretty rough, but after I’ve appeared at the ‘poetry table’ a few days in a row, things start to get better. My muse begins to trust that I’ll show up - and she comes by more often. And that’s when things get really good.

A co-moderator on The Waters is poet Antonia Clark and she often treats us to a page of prompts to help our poetry machines start up and get going. This week, we’ve got a 7-in-7 week happening and below are the prompts that Toni has shared. Enjoy!

NATURE POETRY CONTEST — Free the Verse Magazine. You can enter as many as you like. Submission is free (other than a small processing fee). And you can enter previously published pieces. 
Deadline: July 31, 2024
Guidelines and Entry: https://www.free-the-verse.com/

MYTHOLOGY — WayWords Literary Journal says: This issue is open to retellings and new ideas in the old mythology style; when superpowered beings are involved, anything can happen.
Guidelines; https://www.writersworkout.net/waywords
Deadline: Feb 20

For Michiganders Only
WINTER OUTDOORS AND IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS MICHIGAN — Peninsula Arts Magazine says: The Winter 2024 issue (#3) will focus on themes and experiences of winter outdoors and in natural environments across the state. Broad interpretations of the theme are encouraged; if this call brings a piece of work to mind for you, send it in!
Guidelines: https://peninsulaartsmag.com/submit/
Deadline: Feb 24

SEX EDUCATION — Coin-Operated Press Zines says: Sex is a topic that we could all do with educating ourselves a little more on. Pretend this zine is a class of folks anxiously waiting to hear all of the weird and wonderful things you know about sex and submit what you would like to share with them!
Guidelines: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfanqRBUngLDG4eboaVXNFhsCxFVSKlGRS7xSpEkzn8MU9UIA/viewform
Deadline: Feb 25

REINCARNATION — Carbon Chained Magazine. No further information available (which usually means interpret in any way you want).
Guidelines: https://carbonchained.wixsite.com/carbonchained/submit
Deadline: Feb 27

WORD POEM: ORCHESTRA, BEDRIDDEN, SIFT — 3Elements Literary Review.
Guidelines: https://3elementsreview.com/submission-guidelines
Deadline: Feb 28

WORD POEM: RUN, EVER, RISE, GREEN — Eclectica Magazine
Guidelines:  https://eclecticamagazine.submittable.com/submit
Deadline: March 16

BODIES — Free the Verse Magazine will publish an issue on the theme of Bodies. Feel free to interpret that creatively. 
Guidelines: https://www.free-the-verse.com/poetry-submissions
Deadline: Feb 28

MERCURIAL — Apparition Literary Magazine is a speculative fiction magazine. And they’re looking for short, speculative poetry on this theme. That is, Speculative means it focuses on the fantastical, science fictional and mythological themes. Read some sample poems from the magazine if you’re not sure.
Guidelines: https://apparitionlit.moksha.io/
Deadline: Feb 28

ELEMENTS — The Alchemy Spoon. Not sure what they’re looking for. Anything about elements, I guess. 
Guidelines: https://www.alchemyspoon.org/submissions.html
Deadline: Feb 29

TRANSFORMATION & RENEWAL — LIT eZINE Magazine publishes poetry and micro poetry. Flash fiction, too. I didn’t see any particulars about what they want re “transformation and renewal,” but take a look around. Or take a chance.
Guidelines: https://manicsylph.com/lit-ezine-submissions/
Deadline: Feb 29

MUTINY — Rabbit: A Journal for Nonfiction Poetry. For its MUTINY issue, Rabbit says: We seek rogue poems that resist the usual rules of resistance. We’re after nonfiction poems, in all aesthetic registers, that scorn the tyranny of planned obsolescence, false idolatry, rabid anthropocentrism, bad governance, and the logic of the market above all else. Send us your long-sighted, large-hearted, reverent/irreverent calls to arms. Any increment of subversion or transgression, down to and including dumb insolence, is eagerly solicited for this issue. Now is not the time to be a civic coward.
Guidelines: https://rabbitpoetry.com/contribute-to-rabbit
Deadline: Feb 29

RETIREMENT — For its Lifespan Series, Pure Slush is now inviting work for Volumn 10 (of 12) on Retirement. 
Guidelines: https://pureslush.com/submissions/current-submissions/retirement/
Deadline: Feb 29

REALITY — Parabola Magazine. I can’t find any further information.
Guidelines: https://parabola.org/submissions/
Deadline: Mar 1

BOOKMARKS — THEMA Magazine
Guidelines: https://themaliterarysociety.com/submissions.html
Deadline: March 1

ENCLOSURE — Green Ink Poetry invites work on “Enclosure.” The editors say: We are looking for beautiful poems exploring Enclosure and Inclosure; the loss of common land, public access to nature, and environmental management are all specific interpretations of this theme we’d particularly like to see, and we will be selecting work for inclusion based on how well it relates to these themes as well as their integration into natural imagery.  
Guidelines: https://www.greeninkpoetry.co.uk/submissions/equinox-collections-enclosure
Deadline: March 6

Submissions limited to women
CATS — Mslexia Mazazine invites poems on the subject of Cats! “We're looking for stories about fesity felines, mercurial moggies and big wild cats.”
Guidelines: https://mslexia.co.uk/submit-your-work/poetry/
Deadline: Mar 11

INSTANT — Instant Noodles [Devil’s Party Press] is an online literary magazine. Here’s what they say about the theme word, INSTANT: “. . . like an eye seeing a scene at one moment, like something that happens so fast. In your cover letter write one sentence to explain how your work(s) relate to “Instant."
Guidelines: https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/instant-noodles-O0jFm
Deadline: Mar 15



And here are some general poetry prompts from Poets & Writers — Ways to get started when you have NO IDEA what to write about.

Dictionary
Flip through the dictionary and randomly choose ten words. Write a poem with each word in every other line.

Freewrite
Set a timer for five minutes and freewrite—writing anything that comes to mind without stopping until the timer goes off. Then circle every third word or phrase of what you’ve written. Use these circled words as the starting point for a poem.

Copy and Delete
Choose a favorite poem written by somebody else, type a copy of it, delete every other line from the poem, and write your own lines to replace those you’ve deleted. Next, delete the remaining lines from the old poem so that only your lines remain. Read what you have, and revise it, adding new lines to fill in the gaps.

Erasure Poem
Write an erasure poem: Rip out one or two pages from a magazine or newspaper. Read through them, underlining words and phrases that appeal to you and that relate to each other. Using a marker, delete the words around those you underlined, leaving words and phrases that you might want to use. Keep deleting the extra language, working to construct poetic lines with the words you’ve chosen to keep.

Eavesdropping on the World
Collect phrases from overheard conversations, radio broadcasts, TV shows, or magazine articles. When you have a quiet moment, read over your notes and pick one quote that sparks your imaginative impulses. Write a poem that uses the found quote as a first line. Explore your immediate reactions and emotions, allowing those feelings to develop the tone of the lines that follow.