Submissions for tinywords 20.1 — and a writing prompt
Spring is just a few weeks away here in the northern hemisphere and TINYWORDS 19.2 has ended with Marrietta McGregor’s haiku “spring breeze” waving a goodbye to winter. It’s time to begin anew. The submission window for TINYWORDS 20.1 opened on February 1st.
The entire month of February is the time to send us your small poems, haiga, or brief haibun for the new issue of TINYWORDS 20.1. We have already received quite a few submissions. Thank you.
Sending work to TINYWORDS is a simple two-step process. Just check out our?Guidelines?and click on the?Submissions Page?from Feb. 1 through Feb. 29, 2020. One month window, as usual.
To keep things interesting while we work on the new issue, we present a new writing prompt. This image of a starling murmuration near the ruined West Pier in Brighton, England, taken by James Offer, is the current challenge. Why not pen a tiny original poem or two in response to this glimpse of the fading past or is it the coming future? ?Leave your best efforts in the comment box below and the TINYWORDS editorial team will share the best of the best in TINYWORDS 20.1, due out in late March 2020.
Thanks again for dropping by. We look forward to reading what you?have?to say.
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:07 am
before
the stars
starlings
starlings
the first murmuration
of spring
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:15 am
Sunset Waltzes in
the empty ballroom –
flock of starlings
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:28 am
gone to sea
for nesting birds
the old pier
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:45 am
your brown eyes nearly blue
that day we couldn't help
ourselves to enough
February 22nd, 2020 at 11:24 am
below cold black clouds starlings flock, soar, spiral
February 22nd, 2020 at 11:33 am
there were penny slot
machines on the pier
teens' flight of fancy
February 22nd, 2020 at 11:41 am
a thousand starlings
above the stark pier
their boardwalk gone
February 22nd, 2020 at 11:43 am
burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
Alan Summers
February 26th, 2020 at 1:06 am
I've been to Brighton U.K. several times, home of many famous activities and the book and film(s) of Brighton Rock.
.
Note: Brighton Rock is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1938 and later adapted for film in 1947 and 2010. The novel is a murder thriller set in 1930s Brighton.
.
It's a great place, but I do remember one day…
March 9th, 2020 at 11:29 am
Hope it wasn't you who was covering his tracks, Alan. That's one heck of a burn up :)
Now that would be something to remember.
March 9th, 2020 at 11:35 am
No, all very legal, and to do with educational conferences usually. The conference and the people I used to meet were a relief compared to the stress of dealing with family and business. So arrive there burnt out, and leave feeling much better.
I even got trained by an American who trains US military in security measures. As this particular time we still had the risk of another IRA attack on Brighton.
So nothing exciting, but the excitement of the conference and meeting up with old friends, and the bracing sea air revived me. :-)
Alan
March 9th, 2020 at 11:38 am
Just as the Japanese people imply but don't voice their personal pronouns in conversation or in writing, even though the black text says:
burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
The white text if revealed from the white space makes this:
[I'm] burnt-out in Brighton the starlings murmur on the wing
Or as a duostich:
[I'm] burnt-out in Brighton
the starlings murmur on the wing
So it's all down to Japanese practice, as well as good old white space! :-)
Alan
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Haywired again
Haphazard night formation
Dawn — drones on and on
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:10 pm
derelict pier gulls settle where people once flocked
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:34 pm
starlings take
the sunny spots
wabi sabi
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:45 pm
ever so slowly
the drift of my daydream
murmuration
February 22nd, 2020 at 1:07 pm
end of summer
how long has it been
since we danced?
February 22nd, 2020 at 1:35 pm
starlings circling
the bones
of the pier
February 22nd, 2020 at 2:06 pm
the ruins take flight
the flock transforming
a big sky bowl
February 22nd, 2020 at 2:12 pm
First day of spring
starling’s song
completed
February 22nd, 2020 at 2:36 pm
alive in the now starlings swirl over what was
February 22nd, 2020 at 3:19 pm
from the bones
of a pier
a breath of starlings
February 22nd, 2020 at 4:20 pm
starlings
in the sky
sunset
February 22nd, 2020 at 4:28 pm
murmuration the rhythms of sunset
February 22nd, 2020 at 6:04 pm
sunset?
gulls wait
for fishermen
***
steel and lumber again
but this time both
supporting birds
***
drifting snow?
a flock of gulls
change direction
February 22nd, 2020 at 6:15 pm
seaside resort
the crowd ebbs and flows
around my solitude
February 22nd, 2020 at 7:30 pm
They flew from the wreckage
in uniformed frenzy
a hundred or more,
one dark fingerprint on the sky.
February 22nd, 2020 at 7:54 pm
a murmur
of spring's approach
starlings
February 22nd, 2020 at 7:58 pm
I just realized this is very close to a poem by Cody Huddleston.
Totally a coincidence. Sorry about that. Should have read through these first.
February 22nd, 2020 at 8:14 pm
appointment –
migrating north
cranes in flight
February 22nd, 2020 at 11:12 pm
Coney Island creek
barge rats follow the floating grebe
. .
https://youtu.be/TjkRfm4ha4I
February 23rd, 2020 at 4:18 am
now silent pier
the shrieks of the starlings
unchanged
February 23rd, 2020 at 4:20 am
sunset
in the murmur
of starling wings
February 23rd, 2020 at 4:25 am
star
ling
ering
clouds
after
sun
set
February 23rd, 2020 at 4:54 am
mid March
my starlings late
for two weeks
February 23rd, 2020 at 5:01 am
.
where eyes meet the sky exploding starlings' breadth
.
February 23rd, 2020 at 5:09 am
.
between past and future my breath rides on starlings' extravaganza
.
February 23rd, 2020 at 10:26 am
the birds?
mesmeric ellipticals
entered my peripheral
thanks to you
February 23rd, 2020 at 10:36 am
migratory birds
the fisherman shades
his eyes
February 23rd, 2020 at 11:04 am
daybreak
the clamor overhead
increasing
February 23rd, 2020 at 11:10 am
spring
the caged birds
fly free
February 23rd, 2020 at 1:25 pm
murmuration
what passes
between sea and sky
February 23rd, 2020 at 5:18 pm
their community
twists
in unison
I wish I could
join their dance
February 23rd, 2020 at 8:22 pm
swarming
as if nothing has changed
starlings honor your memory
February 23rd, 2020 at 11:39 pm
starlings
shape-shifting
dusk
February 27th, 2020 at 7:46 am
This would work well as a concrete haiku–
starlings
shape-shifting
dusk
February 27th, 2020 at 7:47 am
however the format doesn't allow it apparently.
February 24th, 2020 at 4:20 am
from the embers of my childhood starlingsong
February 24th, 2020 at 5:58 am
at the caucus
I change my mind
others follow
February 24th, 2020 at 7:12 am
starlings
breaking the silence
between us
February 24th, 2020 at 7:25 am
Ash Wednesday
the shape of a murmuration
against the sun
February 24th, 2020 at 8:44 am
hoisted high
upon Brighton's bare shoulder
crowds still gather
February 24th, 2020 at 9:06 am
migrants headed from sunset to sunset
February 24th, 2020 at 10:22 am
Victorian pier
the bones
of its loosened corset
February 24th, 2020 at 10:27 am
or better:
Victorian pier
the bones
of a loosened corset
February 24th, 2020 at 1:39 pm
my early days lost in a cloud
February 24th, 2020 at 1:45 pm
toasted barnacles
each murmur lost
in a wave
February 24th, 2020 at 1:52 pm
heyday-
a pinch in the pocket
for the puppeteer
February 24th, 2020 at 2:13 pm
no bones about her
a rejected offer
from the rag man
February 24th, 2020 at 2:19 pm
everything in a constant state of flux, soon the moon easing from girder to girder
February 24th, 2020 at 3:46 pm
above the blackened pier starlings move their shadow
February 25th, 2020 at 2:24 am
end of pier starlings blinking at sunset
February 25th, 2020 at 7:07 am
sunset over
hell's kitchen
February 25th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
with closed eyes
dark blue sound
of murmuration
February 25th, 2020 at 12:17 pm
the flock
some of us are more
than lonely
February 25th, 2020 at 12:17 pm
aerial ballet we don't move
February 25th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
a starling's feather
all that remains
of migratory birds
February 25th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
watercolor clouds
the spring sky ripe
with starlings
February 25th, 2020 at 2:30 pm
old pier
a blush of wing-sound
at the close of day
February 25th, 2020 at 4:48 pm
Drones miss formation
In early morning call up
— good intentions lost
February 25th, 2020 at 7:38 pm
scattered ashes
I shall never forget
that day in Brighton
February 25th, 2020 at 7:41 pm
mother said
we were walking in Brighton
when the blackouts started
February 25th, 2020 at 10:16 pm
hints of spring…
heavy winter days start
to grow wings
February 25th, 2020 at 10:56 pm
no bones worth picking
the sound of birds
February 26th, 2020 at 4:51 am
letting go
of flickering thoughts—
evening meditation
February 26th, 2020 at 8:18 am
the balloon
dives and drifts
starlings
February 26th, 2020 at 1:46 pm
loneliness fades
with the light
of friendship
February 26th, 2020 at 2:20 pm
the twists and turns
of cat's cradle
murmuration
February 26th, 2020 at 5:28 pm
the tick tick ticking towards dawn
February 26th, 2020 at 6:06 pm
ocean dusk
waves of starlings
revisit the past
February 27th, 2020 at 12:13 am
a symphony in motion…
the dog and I
watch the day’s finale
February 27th, 2020 at 12:39 am
a gutless cry from the matchmaker
February 27th, 2020 at 4:49 am
end of day dream in nacre
February 27th, 2020 at 8:02 am
An Ozemandias of a pier
mocked by nature's
winged changlings
February 27th, 2020 at 12:05 pm
ocean dusk
waves of starlings
revisit the past
Gary Hittmeyer
February 27th, 2020 at 3:18 pm
starlings and sunlight
breath life
into the ruined pier
February 27th, 2020 at 9:56 pm
flipping the lid
the pie dish
loses its sauce
February 28th, 2020 at 4:27 am
beholdthemagicallymysticalforcethatbindsus
(intentionally no space between words)
February 29th, 2020 at 3:10 am
old school photo
"smallest in front"
coolest take flight
February 29th, 2020 at 4:51 am
refugees the flight of a ruined summer
March 1st, 2020 at 5:27 am
flight
what
remains
March 1st, 2020 at 5:40 am
skeletal silhouette
a whoosh
of rising wings
March 1st, 2020 at 9:51 am
past loves
birds still perch
on the pier
March 11th, 2020 at 10:20 am
What was once for people
Now for birds
Soon for fish
March 19th, 2020 at 6:38 pm
so much laughter lost to the sea breeze
slack tide
bones of a broken ship
its cargo of gold
March 30th, 2020 at 12:35 pm
[…] Olivier Schopfer and Seren Fargo who open the new issue with their winning poems inspired by our photo prompt. Their poems are featured below. As always there were many fine offerings well worth reading in the […]
March 30th, 2020 at 12:46 pm
Congratulations to the winners.
Well done everyone else.
A very enjoyable challenge and read.
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Thanks to the editors and judges for the platform.