Submissions to tinywords 25.1 — and a new writing prompt
It’s that time again. tinywords 24.2 has now ended with Elisa Theriana’s “until we meet again”. We will be on pause until the next issue, 25.1, begins late in March.
The submission window for tinywords 25.1 opens on February 1st and closes on February 28th, 2025. Sending regular submissions to tinywords is a simple two-step process. Just check out our guidelines and send in your work using the form on the Submissions Page after the window opens on February 1st. Please send us your haiku, tanka, small poems, haiga, or brief haibun to be considered for our next issue: tinywords 25.1. Our 25th year!
To keep things interesting while we work on the next issue, we present a new writing prompt: A starkly beautiful image of a winter scene in black and white that seems to speak of solitude, memory and perhaps longing. What do you see? We hope the image will inspire you to write a tiny poem or two. Please 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 at the start of tinywords 25.1, due out in late March, 2025.
Thanks again for dropping by. We look forward to reading what you have to say.
Be well,
The editors
January 28th, 2025 at 8:08 am
that’s such a beautiful photo <3
~
deep winter
my memories swing
between light and dark
~
January 28th, 2025 at 8:51 am
memory the silence of a first snow
January 28th, 2025 at 8:54 am
Hello there!
Here is my haiku:
“Winter light
twenty-five years ago
our swing.”
Cendrine Marrouat
January 28th, 2025 at 9:36 am
black and white photo
setting colorful memories
in motion
January 28th, 2025 at 9:43 am
a motionless swing
above the untouched snow
waiting for the joy of children
January 28th, 2025 at 10:26 am
Like the memories
from my childhood, blanketed
over with snowfall
January 28th, 2025 at 10:29 am
winter silence
that place I go
to find myself
January 28th, 2025 at 10:40 am
Memories frozen
so deep that the impending
thaw cannot unearth
January 28th, 2025 at 11:11 am
tree swing’s shadow—
the length
of a winter morning
January 28th, 2025 at 11:14 am
those days
when we had wings
school swing
January 28th, 2025 at 11:48 am
the swing
waits for the baby
winter will thaw
into spring
January 28th, 2025 at 11:51 am
winter blues swing low
January 28th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
chiaroscuro
what lies beneath
the shadows
January 28th, 2025 at 12:41 pm
heartland solitude abandoned
January 28th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
late winter
the swing where she was
abducted
January 28th, 2025 at 3:36 pm
virgin snow
untouched by
angel wings
January 28th, 2025 at 4:09 pm
waiting
to take the first step
into treatment
riding the second swing
a ghost
leaves no footprints
just enough
snow
to start anew
January 28th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
the shadow
of an empty swing
winter deepens
January 28th, 2025 at 6:44 pm
empty swing
above snow drifts
pushed by the wind
January 28th, 2025 at 7:53 pm
childhood—
pure as snow
just as fleeting
January 28th, 2025 at 8:43 pm
Let me do that one over again:
Frozen memories
so deep, the impending thaw
cannot unearth them
January 28th, 2025 at 9:18 pm
frozen silence
thoughts sway towards
our time together
January 28th, 2025 at 10:20 pm
white winter…
the quixotic appeal
of quietude
January 28th, 2025 at 10:47 pm
first snow
completely different
scent of porridge
January 28th, 2025 at 11:38 pm
tomorrow,
clean slate, passages wiped white –
only shadows remain
January 29th, 2025 at 4:06 am
Still cold silent
but the swing moves both ways…
January 29th, 2025 at 4:41 am
light and shadow
the memories
that define us
January 29th, 2025 at 6:58 am
caught in the branches
of memory
one shadow
January 29th, 2025 at 11:44 am
that winter when
everything stopped
deepening snow
January 29th, 2025 at 3:51 pm
deep winter –
childhood returns
in the shadow of the swing
January 29th, 2025 at 3:55 pm
the silent presence
of the shadows…
memories of that far away winter
January 30th, 2025 at 2:15 am
pencil shavings
the shadows from a sketch
as snow at night
Alan Summers
January 30th, 2025 at 6:45 am
between
the arc of snow
a dreamer’s flight
January 30th, 2025 at 11:45 am
winterlight
at the window
toddler’s handprints
***
the stillness
between songbirds
winter light
***
passing my days
in your absence
winter light
***
separating wants
from needs
winter light
January 30th, 2025 at 12:44 pm
wrapped
in a winter blanket
deep sorrow
January 30th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
walk and grandson
discovering anew
the taste of snow
January 30th, 2025 at 6:32 pm
snow worn in stretch marks…
January 31st, 2025 at 12:49 am
empty arms
all that time
must take away
January 31st, 2025 at 3:59 am
sharing the cold
each day our shadows
come and go
January 31st, 2025 at 4:08 am
fleeting motes
each one a hidden colour
that slows a heart
Alan Summers
January 31st, 2025 at 2:05 pm
empty swing
in each sway
the loneliness
February 1st, 2025 at 3:41 am
another winter
the old swing tree
sleeps through it all
February 1st, 2025 at 3:11 pm
roots go both ways
whiskey with a single block
of ice and regret
Alan Summers
February 1st, 2025 at 9:10 pm
swing low
sweet winter snow
shadow me home
February 2nd, 2025 at 5:32 am
untouched snow—
creating my own path
February 2nd, 2025 at 5:52 am
first snow
softening the edges
spiced apple tea
February 2nd, 2025 at 8:30 am
holding hands
I lean
into your silence
Line 2 is indented.
February 2nd, 2025 at 8:57 am
falling snow
the tinkling
of a wind chime
February 2nd, 2025 at 10:48 am
our earliest playground
pristine
in the snowpack
February 2nd, 2025 at 4:39 pm
the pendulum awaits
a force to set it
to swinging
February 3rd, 2025 at 2:07 am
winter hibernation—
the silent creak of a swing
in untouched snowfall
February 3rd, 2025 at 7:16 am
deep snow . . .
bancha tea leaves
slowly unfurling
February 3rd, 2025 at 10:40 am
geese in flight
the cold sound
of an empty swing
February 3rd, 2025 at 12:18 pm
untouched snow—
creating my own path
February 3rd, 2025 at 12:33 pm
menopause . . .
trying to reconnect with
the little girl in me
February 3rd, 2025 at 3:15 pm
empty playground
frozen memories
shadowed on snow
February 3rd, 2025 at 8:39 pm
my childhood
and my now
so many seasons
in between
February 4th, 2025 at 5:45 am
Footsteps and laughter
Hidden away and waiting
Beneath the drifting cold
February 4th, 2025 at 3:25 pm
reading Dōgen
snow falling
on snow
Line 2 is indented.
February 4th, 2025 at 3:41 pm
years later
she still brushes the snow
from the swing
February 5th, 2025 at 9:15 am
deep snow
bancha leaves
slowly unfurling
February 5th, 2025 at 12:22 pm
snow glare
black shadows
February 6th, 2025 at 10:12 am
first snow
daring myself
to be a kid again
February 6th, 2025 at 10:14 am
empty swing
the silence
of loneliness
February 6th, 2025 at 10:31 am
snow raises the ground
no room for swinging legs
yet
February 7th, 2025 at 6:05 am
second childhood
sometimes I still swing
when no-one’s looking
February 7th, 2025 at 6:06 am
leaving no footprints
the lonely spirit
of the child who fell
February 8th, 2025 at 6:15 am
winter
is upon us
the beauty that we knew
faded with the days of summer
and sleeps
February 8th, 2025 at 10:57 am
an empty swing
the silence
of loss
February 8th, 2025 at 11:03 am
An empty swing
knows my silence
February 8th, 2025 at 6:57 pm
even a rope swing
missing children’s laughter
longs for summer
February 9th, 2025 at 7:02 pm
winter trees –
their only leaves
a flock of finches
February 10th, 2025 at 8:50 am
flying towards
the swing
untouched snow
February 11th, 2025 at 6:07 am
the White Album
another serial number
filed away
Alan Summers
NOTE:
The Beatles (album)
commonly referred to as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album released in November 1968.
It featured a plain white sleeve:
Each copy first featured a unique stamped serial number:
“to create the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies”
Just like snow, each one unique.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:09 am
the White Album
another serial number
filed away
Alan Summers
February 11th, 2025 at 10:10 am
alabaster white
just as the sun sets up
another day’s angel
Alan Summers
February 11th, 2025 at 10:15 am
the White Album
another serial number
filed away
Alan Summers
NOTE:
The Beatles (album)
commonly referred to as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album released in November 1968.
It featured a plain white sleeve:
Each copy first featured a unique stamped serial number:
“to create the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies”
Just like snowflake, each one is unique.
February 12th, 2025 at 12:05 pm
loneliness swings
under gray clouds –
no sky
February 12th, 2025 at 1:36 pm
slowing down
the pace of life
snow day
February 12th, 2025 at 11:30 pm
still
the echo of you
monochrome dream
February 12th, 2025 at 11:33 pm
pain
no more
snow angels
February 13th, 2025 at 9:50 pm
a childhood, crystallized:
swinging high
with soft landings
February 14th, 2025 at 4:32 am
the swing silenced
after your departure
icy breath
February 14th, 2025 at 4:35 am
icy wind
the persistent flutter
of a missing cat sign
February 15th, 2025 at 10:27 am
I see memories of my youth
in the swing’s shadow
***
A snow-covered swing awaits
eager hands to grab it
and climb onboard
***
All a snow-covered swing
can do is sleep until Spring
February 15th, 2025 at 12:30 pm
dead of winter
the year’s ups
and downs
February 16th, 2025 at 2:22 pm
incoming fog
so much that was clear
is lost
February 17th, 2025 at 10:23 pm
the swing misses
the laughter that rode it as
the tree its long-buried seed
February 18th, 2025 at 12:50 am
the swing
after long silence
shadows on the snow
February 18th, 2025 at 3:29 am
Silence in the Snowy Fields
for now the light burden
of snow on the swing
Tribute to Robert Bly
February 18th, 2025 at 7:55 am
swinging
to the rhythm
and blues
February 18th, 2025 at 5:57 pm
subzero
even the shadows
freeze
February 19th, 2025 at 11:57 am
the shadows that hang over us
***
windswept
the silence
of swirling snow
***
the way a memory
can make time
stand still
February 21st, 2025 at 2:57 am
Stoic shadows still
above frosty white blanket
echoes snow moon’s glow
February 22nd, 2025 at 12:57 am
middle of nowhere . . .
free in fairy-tale ending
fleeting snow angel
North America all winter season word, kigo 季語: snow angel, yuki no tenshi 雪の天使
[The Yuki Teikei (有季定型) Haiku Society (YTHS) 2023 Contest Kigo List]
February 22nd, 2025 at 12:59 am
taste of tomorrow . . .
conjure in cabin fever
all-day al fresco
North America all winter season word, kigo 季語: cabin fever, snowbound, snowed in
[World Kigo Database]
February 22nd, 2025 at 1:01 am
no more make-believe . . .
not even a boot print where
mittens went missing
All winter season word, kigo 季語: gloves, mittens, tebukuro 手袋 or mittens, shutoo 手套 (しゅとう)
[World Kigo Database]
February 22nd, 2025 at 1:03 am
swings the earsplitting
silence of Elysium . . .
freshly fallen snow
Late winter season word, kigo 季語: freshly fallen snow, new snow, shin setsu, shinsetsu 新雪
[World Kigo Database]
February 22nd, 2025 at 5:27 am
moonscape
the museum echoes
with children’s laughter
February 22nd, 2025 at 7:44 am
vintage shoot
skeletal
chic
February 22nd, 2025 at 8:14 am
Chanel bag completes
the ‘moon river’ look
frozen in time
February 22nd, 2025 at 8:52 am
Don’t swing into the sun –
the real of wood is today
too much.
Today, balance on the plank of shadow.
Lean back into the frost and
be you, too, the snow and
falling
February 22nd, 2025 at 10:56 am
hush!
speak not a word ’til
this silence is broken
February 22nd, 2025 at 4:13 pm
empty
the wood
snakes
February 23rd, 2025 at 5:43 am
long shadows
\\\
my texts
unanswered
February 23rd, 2025 at 3:32 pm
early arrival
a dusting of snow
on the fawn
February 23rd, 2025 at 10:35 pm
early arrival
swallow prints
in a swing’s shadow
February 23rd, 2025 at 10:39 pm
Sorry… my previous haiku needs a slight
edit:
early arrival
swallow prints
in the swing’s shadow
February 24th, 2025 at 5:40 am
winter trees
filament fingers
brush the pale sky
***
January—
nothing but black wisps
etched against the white
***
a lone swing—
and so many ghosts
February 24th, 2025 at 7:47 am
Final version:
early arrivals
swallow prints
in the swing’s shadow
February 25th, 2025 at 11:01 am
infant wood snake lies cold
February 26th, 2025 at 11:46 am
entranced by the white
behind her blue eyes
snowfall.
February 26th, 2025 at 10:24 pm
unmarked snow
beneath a swing
last child leaves home
— Marietta McGregor
February 26th, 2025 at 10:27 pm
storm’s retreat
over us an arc
of daylight
February 26th, 2025 at 10:30 pm
ground zero . . . how to imagine this world?
February 27th, 2025 at 7:43 am
the only sounds…
bird song
and crunching snow
February 27th, 2025 at 10:30 am
Still,
there is
no footprint.
February 27th, 2025 at 1:09 pm
chains can be used
for so many
things
February 28th, 2025 at 7:14 am
winter trees
filament fingers
brush the pale sky
***
January—
nothing but black wisps
etched against the white
***
a lone swing—
and so many ghosts
February 28th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
snow
receding to gray
into leafless woods
March 1st, 2025 at 5:16 pm
snow
redshifting to gray
into distant woods
March 22nd, 2025 at 9:22 am
drifting snow outside the city in my head
March 23rd, 2025 at 3:44 pm
[…] response to this photo, used as a recent writing prompt by tiny […]