Submissions to tinywords 24.1 — and a new writing prompt
Tinywords 23.2 has now ended with Paul David Mena’s senryu “smooth jazz”. We will be on pause until the next issue, 24.1, begins at the end of March.
The submission window for tinywords 24.1 opened on February 1st and closed on February 29, 2024.
To keep things lively while we work on the next issue, we present a new writing prompt: A photo image of the Sombrero Galaxy, Messier 104, taken by the Hubble telescope. A galaxy so named for its shape’s resemblance to that of the Mexican hat. This glittering galaxy is 30,000,000 light years away and 50,000 light years wide. Proportions and distances that large are hard to wrap one’s mind around. But we hope the enormity and beauty of our universe will inspire you to write a tiny poem or two.
Be sure to share them with us: Leave your best efforts in response to the photo prompt in the comment box below and the tinywords editorial team will share the best of the best in tinywords 24.1, due out in late March, 2024.
Thanks again for dropping by. We look forward to reading what you have to say.
Be well,
The editors
NOTE Feb. 14: We’ve been having problems with the commenting system. We’re hoping that people can post now without having to log in. If you posted a comment earlier, and it doesn’t appear here, please re-post it (and please accept our apologies).
February 5th, 2024 at 3:23 pm
windowpane a breath against the winter night
February 5th, 2024 at 4:30 pm
anywhere I hang my hat
is home—
sombrero galaxy
February 5th, 2024 at 7:03 pm
. SMBH .
warps stars / wefts dust / spectroscopal
. hat-trick .
February 5th, 2024 at 7:46 pm
sombrero
it’s a star maker
and deep-space vacuum cleaner
time to tip your hat
February 5th, 2024 at 11:11 pm
at the family's center
grandma
lighting up the room
February 5th, 2024 at 11:12 pm
cruising . . .
the deadly intent
of another missile
February 6th, 2024 at 5:22 am
seen through a lens
the galaxy seems
a frisbee neatly-thrown
February 6th, 2024 at 5:45 am
worn coin—
date lost
in the light
February 6th, 2024 at 5:55 am
a spinning disc
extending to us
the music of spheres
February 6th, 2024 at 9:46 am
galaxies
the relevance
of micropoetry
February 6th, 2024 at 6:24 pm
the beauty of it
thirty-one million years ago
now
February 7th, 2024 at 12:19 am
night silence
where to hang
view
February 7th, 2024 at 1:04 pm
at the crack of dawn I get prepared to sail upon final galaxy
February 8th, 2024 at 6:51 am
Hubble
finding our mirror image
in the stars
February 8th, 2024 at 9:14 am
you and I
drifting apart …
galaxies
February 8th, 2024 at 9:52 pm
tipping my hat to
a hubble masterpiece—
sombrero galaxy
February 8th, 2024 at 10:29 pm
tipping my hat to
a Hubble masterpiece—
Sombrero Galaxy
(Correction—forgot to capitalize)
February 8th, 2024 at 11:43 pm
deep winter
the darkness
beyond the stars
February 8th, 2024 at 11:54 pm
a stellar disc illuminating infinite blackness
February 8th, 2024 at 11:56 pm
majestic
floating in the vast silence
Sombrero Galaxy
February 9th, 2024 at 12:22 am
floating above
among sweet stars
a huge pancake
February 9th, 2024 at 2:59 am
It seems it was removed, so trying again:
ring galaxy forgive me the plums so cold
after WCW
Alan Summers
February 9th, 2024 at 8:00 am
Mexican galaxy
a shimmering tortilla
filled with stars
February 9th, 2024 at 12:50 pm
from far enough away
stars only a haze of light
childhood trauma
February 9th, 2024 at 2:56 pm
light years away
beauty
reinvents itself
February 9th, 2024 at 2:58 pm
light years away
beauty
reinvents itself
February 9th, 2024 at 6:13 pm
stardust you had me at infinity
February 10th, 2024 at 3:39 am
spark of urgency
all good things
enlighten me
February 10th, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Hubble photo
closing the distance
between the known and unknown
February 10th, 2024 at 7:14 pm
A glowing dewdrop
captured in a spiders web
gaze into the night
February 11th, 2024 at 1:16 am
cloudless dotted night
and only a dream of worlds
unattainable
February 11th, 2024 at 3:24 pm
castle clouds
how the cake decorations
jump a little in traffic
February 12th, 2024 at 2:59 am
end of story –
a hat full of stars
left behind
February 12th, 2024 at 3:10 am
sombrero galaxy –
enough space left
for my dreams
February 12th, 2024 at 3:15 am
sombrero galaxy –
the many versions
of myself
February 12th, 2024 at 11:37 am
where starlight becomes lamplight Emma Lazarus
February 13th, 2024 at 6:15 am
powerful telescope
picturing
the whole enchilada
February 13th, 2024 at 6:23 am
sombrero
a brimful
of space dust
February 13th, 2024 at 9:42 am
scattered stars
the child’s first night
as a refugee
February 13th, 2024 at 3:05 pm
another galaxy
the new neighbor
I know by name only
February 14th, 2024 at 1:47 am
crispy pancakes
an early start for work
amongst the stars
February 14th, 2024 at 2:44 pm
distant galaxy
billions of stars
to wish upon
February 14th, 2024 at 4:38 pm
gossamer pinhole stars on the rise
— Helen Buckingham
(I’m posting this on her behalf)
February 14th, 2024 at 4:38 pm
dog day
a frisbee too far
— Helen Buckingham
(posted on her behalf)
February 14th, 2024 at 5:14 pm
bombs
falling
stars
February 15th, 2024 at 3:02 pm
black hole
of loneliness
surrounded by stars
February 15th, 2024 at 4:52 pm
dark is still dark, stars
harness our imaginings
my sight’s not so good
February 16th, 2024 at 11:42 am
go far enough &
everything’s a lot less
Messier 104
February 16th, 2024 at 12:17 pm
earthly quibble
no head big enough
nor in these clouds
February 17th, 2024 at 1:41 am
chapeau! distant swirl
of brilliant stars suns worlds
sparking imaginations
February 21st, 2024 at 2:43 am
woven in Virgo . . .
an ode to murasaki
welcoming the stars
February 21st, 2024 at 3:46 am
spirals in the dark
brimful of eternity . . .
lilac lover’s knot
February 21st, 2024 at 8:04 am
darkest hour
I scour the hob
far from home
–Helen Buckingham
February 21st, 2024 at 12:49 pm
sombrero galaxy
full of light years
dark and deep
sombrero galaxy
full of dark sky
light years wide
February 24th, 2024 at 12:10 pm
pa’s cigar
molten
in moonlight
February 24th, 2024 at 8:52 pm
celestial rings
a quest unfurls
to find my purpose
February 28th, 2024 at 11:03 am
intergalactic
sombrero leaves me somber
the space between us
February 28th, 2024 at 11:25 pm
leap day of leap year
leapfrogs beyond the yonder—
brim of sombrero
February 29th, 2024 at 6:36 am
cat on my shoulder . . .
out
to see the full Moon
February 29th, 2024 at 9:42 am
sombrero afloat
adrift——the wearer
of many hats
March 15th, 2024 at 7:20 pm
light years away
the galaxy’s view
host to a host of light
March 15th, 2024 at 7:23 pm
light years away
sobrero’s view
host to a host of light
March 15th, 2024 at 7:26 pm
light years away
the sombrero
host to a host of light
March 22nd, 2024 at 6:37 am
beyond your skies
where people never went
you can see clearly
March 23rd, 2024 at 3:39 am
the great alien
doesn’t take his hat off
for hubble
March 23rd, 2024 at 11:26 am
a frozen moment
of a time long past
comes to life
March 24th, 2024 at 8:12 am
beneath the hat brim
your eyes shine heavenly bright
serendipity
April 12th, 2024 at 7:17 am
hovering
over bowed heads
unseen halos