Writing prompt for tinywords 18.2
There’s nothing like a good summer thunderstorm to set the hairs on your arm on end. When the dark night sky flashes bright with lightning you know you’re alive.
For this issue’s photo prompt we present just such a scene. Your challenge is to pen an original poem or two in response to this dark and stormy night. Leave your best efforts in the comment box below and the?tinywords?editorial team will share the best of the best in?tinywords?18.2, which is due out in late September.
Keep in mind, we will continue to?accept regular submissions?for the next issue (issue 18.2) through the end of August at our?Submit page.
Thanks for dropping by and for sharing your poems.
August 18th, 2018 at 8:11 am
late power outage
Andersen’s Little Match Girl
cuts away her strings
Alan Summers
August 18th, 2018 at 8:43 am
monsoon summer
another dark day
inside
August 18th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Those dark days, no light in the house, awful!
August 18th, 2018 at 9:04 am
lightning strikes
no room at the barn
for a tawny owl
August 18th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Or a Brown Owl. :-)
August 18th, 2018 at 9:16 am
tiny house nation –
lightning penetrates the darkness
in a zigzag way.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Ah, the TV series. In Britain we have 'George Clarke's Amazing Spaces' plus he has a separate series about sheds.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:18 am
fire and water
a primal combination
a hidden frog croaks
August 18th, 2018 at 9:38 am
I remember in the downpours this, when I lived in a Queenslander house (Australia):
sudden rainstorm
the queenslander’s plumbing
reverberates with frogs
Alan Summers
Anthology: Azami Special Edition ed. & ill. Alan Summers (Japan 1997)
Collection: sundog haiku journal: an australian year (sunfast press 1997 reprinted 1998)
p.s.
I don't know if you can see an edit option but I wonder about instead of:
fire and water
a primal combination
a hidden frog croaks
Maybe:
fire and water
a primal combination
of hidden frog croaks
So that you have a fragment and phrase?
Just a thought.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:24 am
Thank you. Lovely idea.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:22 am
wartime?s stormy night
my mother?s face lit by a
sudden gun barrage
August 18th, 2018 at 9:34 am
Oh gosh! My mother barely told me anything. My father only two or three things, and only one of them a truly horrific experience:
my father's war
a story of the dark
collecting its own
Alan Summers
Presence issue #55 2016
August 18th, 2018 at 9:27 am
distant thunder
loneliness roars
in my ear
August 18th, 2018 at 9:31 am
Wonderful!
August 19th, 2018 at 4:44 am
Thanks, Alan.
August 19th, 2018 at 1:29 am
Very effective, if rather sad :)
August 19th, 2018 at 4:49 am
I am glad the sadness came through. The photo reminded me of an Andrew Wyeth painting – Christina’s World.
storm clouds
all I can do is sit here
and watch
August 18th, 2018 at 9:49 am
for just a moment
enlightened
then the veil drops again
August 18th, 2018 at 9:51 am
Rain
frightening lightning
runoff
August 18th, 2018 at 9:59 am
lightening flash
the old barn stands alone
in the meadow
August 18th, 2018 at 10:09 am
Just for fun, as it's previously published etc…
heat lightning
the rain on the grass
reflects each strike
Alan Summers
1st Prize The Liverpool Virtual Book Fair Twitter Haiku Contest 2014
(part of the International Festival of Business)
Accepted later:
tinywords ISSUE 14.2 | 12 NOVEMBER 2014
August 18th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
beautiful
August 18th, 2018 at 10:23 am
the loneliness
of a single old age
distant lightning
August 18th, 2018 at 10:26 am
thunderclouds…
lightening flashes
through the empty barn
August 18th, 2018 at 11:09 am
Do you mean 'lightning' or lightening?
Congrats on your SECOND PRIZE haiku for the 2018 Creatrix Prize, brilliant!
August 18th, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Oops and thanks Alan!
August 21st, 2018 at 12:51 am
Alan corrected me on the very same thing several years ago, Rachel!
Yes, many congrats.
August 21st, 2018 at 2:53 am
thanks Marion…and glad I'm not alone !
August 21st, 2018 at 5:35 am
:) :) :)
August 18th, 2018 at 10:31 am
thunder clouds
a warning bark
from the black dog
August 18th, 2018 at 11:30 am
Well done!
August 18th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Thanks!
August 19th, 2018 at 1:27 am
I really like this!
August 19th, 2018 at 2:50 am
thank you!
August 18th, 2018 at 10:46 am
approaching thunder
our dogs ears
listen up
August 18th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
delightful
August 18th, 2018 at 10:51 am
Porch candle quivers
The oldies still play and I sing
Through thunder and static
August 18th, 2018 at 10:57 am
shattered dreams
it took lightning
for me to see you
abandoned
each downpour
a brush with death
August 18th, 2018 at 11:18 am
summer doldrums . . .
the sudden roar
of thunder
August 18th, 2018 at 11:29 am
not yet
the boom of muse
but a crack
August 18th, 2018 at 11:29 am
stifling heat . . .
the sky breaks
its silence
August 18th, 2018 at 11:30 am
For an instant
There was nowhere left
For shadows
August 29th, 2018 at 8:56 pm
Brilliant! (No pun intended…)
August 18th, 2018 at 11:39 am
approaching thunder
our dog's ears
listen up
(grammar correction, oops)
August 18th, 2018 at 11:53 am
lightning strike
small faces brighten
at the window
advancing storm
we watch it
on our smartphones
Lucy Whitehead
August 19th, 2018 at 1:28 am
I really like this – great social comment!
August 18th, 2018 at 11:57 am
sunset glow
a soldier hardens himself
for the night to come
August 18th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
an old barn accepts its fate lightning strike
August 18th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
thunder and lightning
first love still standing
August 18th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
prairie lightning
the old cabin
remains stoic
August 18th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
weathered barn
endures prairie lightning
townspeople cringe
August 18th, 2018 at 12:29 pm
weathered barn
survives prairie lightning
townspeople cringe
August 18th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
thunderclap
my firstborn
finds his voice
August 19th, 2018 at 10:48 am
Ah that first cry of indignation from a healthy newborn. This brought me a feeling of joy, in spite of the photo!
August 20th, 2018 at 1:32 am
Joy and wonder; that is what I was trying to convey – thank you!
August 18th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Correction … thanks Alan!
thunderclouds…
lightning flashes
through the empty barn
August 18th, 2018 at 12:57 pm
hunkered in the bunker a rain of rockets
August 18th, 2018 at 2:19 pm
a wrong turn
on a lonely road
lightning points the way
August 18th, 2018 at 2:34 pm
ghosts howl
lightning strikes
the old barn
August 18th, 2018 at 3:02 pm
nothing but
the sound of thunder…
his last breath
August 18th, 2018 at 4:17 pm
what happens when_I repress_all that anger_
August 18th, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Threatening clouds build
Lightning rents the roiling sky
A wild summer storm.
The old wooden barn
Leaning into the prairie wind
Distant lightning strikes
August 18th, 2018 at 5:00 pm
Storm on the prairie
Bright lightning and driving rain
Where do creatures hide?
Lighting in grey clouds
Little barn on the prairie
Dark and stormy night.
August 18th, 2018 at 5:11 pm
the scent of electrified earth turning cold
a blue pail
full of rain
all the horses
August 18th, 2018 at 5:17 pm
This is really two separate poems – the first being a single line haiku.
August 18th, 2018 at 7:20 pm
incoming storm
sheltering in place
a prairie wolf
********
warrior spirits
restoring harmony between
here and beyond
August 18th, 2018 at 8:01 pm
battered barn
an illusion of safety
lightening strikes twice
August 18th, 2018 at 8:07 pm
Sorry, it incorrectly autocorrected. Should be:
battered barn
an illusion of safety
lightning strikes twice
August 18th, 2018 at 8:17 pm
Very much enjoy #43
August 18th, 2018 at 8:19 pm
Very much like #43
August 19th, 2018 at 1:22 am
dark brooding tension snaps
igniting swollen air
nature breathes a sigh
August 19th, 2018 at 7:31 am
distant thunder
inside the open garage
smells like Dad
August 26th, 2018 at 7:20 am
I love this.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:23 am
flash of lightning
a field mouse takes refuge
in the abandoned cabin
August 19th, 2018 at 8:43 am
lightning on the horizon
the earth and sky
join forces
August 19th, 2018 at 9:36 am
from a sound sleep
lightning streaks and thunderbolts
terror ?til dawn
August 19th, 2018 at 10:10 am
late night
enlightenment
summer storm
summer storm
his snoring
competes with the thunder
August 19th, 2018 at 11:17 am
a streak of light
across a prairie
of faces
August 19th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
sunburnt grass sways to
echoes of distant thunder
grandfather's bones
that old barn
all that remains
August 23rd, 2018 at 7:52 am
This hauntingly beautiful poem defied me to be content with a single reading. Like the echoes of distant thunder, it reverberates with the memories of the distant and not so distant past. Not so long ago the grass, new and green, was swayed by fresh winds; perhaps the grandfather was young when the barn was new. You now memorialize their remaining bones and dry, aged timbers. I’m reminded of the line from a song, “long ago and far away”. Your echoing images will long stay with me. So very well written m.! I look forward to reading more of your work.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:58 pm
thunderstorm—
the thrill
of being afraid
August 19th, 2018 at 1:11 pm
on the porch
commiserating with a sky
tearing itself in half
August 19th, 2018 at 1:22 pm
never too old
for a game of flashlight tag
with fate
August 19th, 2018 at 1:35 pm
middle of nowhere
only the lightning here
knows how to leave
August 19th, 2018 at 1:52 pm
buzzing
of a mosquito-
thunder night
highway-
in a flash
sunflowers
Angiola Inglese-Italy
August 19th, 2018 at 3:17 pm
I apologize, but I put like an error to my comment, and then another trying to take it off
angiola inglese
August 19th, 2018 at 3:25 pm
buzzing
August 19th, 2018 at 3:27 pm
tunder
August 19th, 2018 at 3:36 pm
lightning strike…
throwing away another
lottery ticket
*
lightning flash…
the widening pupil
of the moon
*
lightning bolt…
how dare
god
August 19th, 2018 at 7:00 pm
in the tall grass
the quail tense
and wait
August 19th, 2018 at 7:02 pm
after the ache
and shudder
your hand in mine
August 19th, 2018 at 7:06 pm
in the tall grass
the quail tense
and wait
August 20th, 2018 at 4:02 am
playing poker
even further
the other one
August 20th, 2018 at 4:41 am
heat lightning
the weight of the world
crashing down
August 20th, 2018 at 5:59 am
deafening crescendo
a thunderbolt
splits the night
August 20th, 2018 at 6:03 am
clearing the air
a raging storm passes
from my father's eyes
August 20th, 2018 at 6:05 am
our old barn
reduced to splinters
the tramp who sought refuge there
August 20th, 2018 at 6:50 am
approaching storm
a one one thousandths
of silent prayer
August 20th, 2018 at 7:38 am
lightning
our world
on a spit
August 20th, 2018 at 9:55 am
Crazy, true, striking, direct image; feels like the world is being roasted and eaten by some force that is relishing the experience…though I'd never have said that before reading your apt poem. Lovely and lyric, too: the o's and r's of "our world"…the n's and t's in lightning echoed in "on a spit". Beautiful ku.
August 20th, 2018 at 10:05 am
Thanks so much William – I reckon we're all implicated in that force to a greater or lesser degree…..
August 20th, 2018 at 7:53 am
yellow jacket nest
we discover each other
sumultaneously
August 20th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
her flashing eyes
and explosive laughter
attract all men—
I would tell them to seek shelter
but why rain on her parade?
August 21st, 2018 at 12:32 am
end of summer
the growing fear
of what’s inside
August 21st, 2018 at 12:48 am
finding myself
in shadow-shelter
hiss of sweet rain
August 21st, 2018 at 1:25 am
My word rocks
as the sky splits
clouds are torn asunder
the following brightness
burns the last of my fear
August 22nd, 2018 at 6:05 am
a leap of joy
through my ancestors' hearts
summer lightning
August 22nd, 2018 at 1:28 pm
flashes of anger
cooled by
summer rain
August 22nd, 2018 at 3:12 pm
summer romance
a storm forming
in the distance
August 22nd, 2018 at 3:18 pm
jagged sky
kids pedal their bikes
faster
August 22nd, 2018 at 6:22 pm
summer storm
sudden power outage
… SERENITY!
August 22nd, 2018 at 7:31 pm
flicker of light
darkness comes inside
with the storm
Ron C. Moss
Tasmania, Australia
August 23rd, 2018 at 6:45 am
lightning!
a creek in the sky
over dry earth
August 23rd, 2018 at 9:26 am
without warning
a thunderstorm of grief
builds in my heart
August 23rd, 2018 at 11:10 am
thunderstorm
electrical magic
fills the night sky
August 24th, 2018 at 2:54 am
wild night wringing the rain from our thermals
August 24th, 2018 at 4:31 am
a rumble of thunder
breaks the silence
between us
August 24th, 2018 at 8:19 am
Warning: Clichés may
Retain their power
To strike
August 24th, 2018 at 8:20 am
Purple prose
Purple rain
Snapchat filter
August 24th, 2018 at 8:20 am
It was a dark night
When Snoopy lost Sparky.
The Ace thunders on.
August 24th, 2018 at 9:27 am
the night touched by a gleam of white hilltop accolade
August 24th, 2018 at 12:29 pm
the cigarette stub
he threw away
summer thunderstorm
August 26th, 2018 at 12:40 am
gorged with raindrops
black migraine of thunderstorm
tight and fit to burst
August 26th, 2018 at 5:39 am
heat lightning
the way the cabin
holds the silence
August 26th, 2018 at 5:43 am
heat lightning
the sudden scent
of wild mint
August 26th, 2018 at 7:30 am
Chaorite fills the sky
Opalescent zaps strike us
You want to see more
August 26th, 2018 at 2:49 pm
the sky wracks open
to crashing thunder
the nurse whispers
stillborn
August 26th, 2018 at 9:52 pm
lightning strikes—
I stop growing new excuses
for old fears
quiet at home
thunderstorms outside
for a change
Rashmi Vesa
August 27th, 2018 at 7:20 am
lightening
I just noticed
father patched the roof
August 27th, 2018 at 7:22 am
on and off
lights in the abandoned house
night thunderstorm
August 27th, 2018 at 7:29 am
thunderstorm
the door shuts
against the wind
***
lightning
a bird twitches
at my stare
August 27th, 2018 at 8:00 am
My leg out of bed
The drapes twist with the monsoon
The lightning shines through
August 28th, 2018 at 7:44 am
fragmented woman
waiting for a lightning strike
to go home through
August 28th, 2018 at 9:32 am
lightning whip
the field barn's moment
flight or fight
August 28th, 2018 at 5:41 pm
a split-second lightning flash
caught in a picture
stays forever
lifeless countryside
lightning charges down
to energize
life in countryside
completes the full circle
when thunderstorms arrive
A.J. Anwar
Jakarta, Indonesia
August 29th, 2018 at 12:40 am
A refinement on the earlier version, if allowed, should read:
a split-second lightning bolt
caught in a picture
flashes forever
August 29th, 2018 at 10:47 am
light through the crack —
a barn left to fall
stands on its own
August 29th, 2018 at 11:19 am
thunderstorm at seventeen
waiting
for sparks to fly
—————-
weathering the late
summer storm
without her
August 29th, 2018 at 11:45 am
instant accident
– like a lighting bolt
… now he?s an angel
August 29th, 2018 at 4:28 pm
for a moment
what once was bright
made brighter
August 29th, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Summer days depart the planes.
Lightening strikes less often -but autumn
thunder wakes within the waves of wheat
a trembling like no spring that came before.
August 29th, 2018 at 6:36 pm
lightning storm?
between the bolts I count
the breaths of my newborn
August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 pm
barn hesitates
between a flash
and the dark sun
August 30th, 2018 at 6:01 pm
fire in the sky
our stormy past
haunts us
August 31st, 2018 at 4:37 am
Really like this, KJ, 'haunting'.
August 30th, 2018 at 11:52 pm
thunderclouds
a cold wind
ruffles my hair
.
.
clouds gather
a far wind
slams the door
August 31st, 2018 at 2:32 am
summer sighs a storm
cool waters
soothing concrete
–
under this swollen thunderclap
i am only a raindrop
–
asleep you frown
at storms that waking
you'll shrug off
–
by @haikurkbride
August 31st, 2018 at 3:51 am
he looks up in awe
at the storm and he
knows the earth knows how he feels
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:43 am
night storm
through the empty lamp
passing shadows
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:12 pm
sitting on the roof
to see lightning
walk
June 3rd, 2019 at 1:26 pm
the face-off
a barn-owl in the window
looks at you