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THEMES by PROMPT
We publish writing using a series of prompts as an entry point for exploring emotions, personal histories, shared truths, joy, grief, shame, and those themes that matter most to us in our hearts.
Explore the themes by prompt below:
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Vietnam Memories
By John L. Swainston — We learned it was to late to say: "Hell no I won't go!" We had learned to shoot straight. We found our need to sin,
Mar 29, 2021
Turn the Corner
By Marjorie Moorhead — Goodbye 2020. I’ve eaten my fill of snickerdoodles, gingerbread, chocolate chip cookies, yeast bread ladened with
Mar 26, 2021
Another Lockdown
By Richard LeDue — My window is dirty:
tiny smudges that tried to get in are gone to bug heaven, where the insect god is the size of my
Mar 3, 2021
Tick-Tock Clocks
By Áine Greaney — The clock on my kitchen wall is starting to drive me mad. Oh, I’ve had tick-tock clocks before. In kitchens and bedrooms;
Feb 9, 2021
The Sour Cherry Tree During Quarantine
By Claire Doll — For a few several months, I watched the world from my window only. If I woke up early enough, the sunrise waited for me, a
Jan 16, 2021
I Refused to Wear a Mask
By Priya Patel — High risk, low on practical common sense, I would strut around, basically a spokeswoman for COVID to attack. It took many
Jan 5, 2021
Covid Christmas
By Samuel Strathman — Haven’t seen a tall stack of Christmas trees all year,
just their shadows looming, miserly watchmen scrutinizing the
Dec 20, 2020
Fear
By Sergio Inestrosa — The persistent fear of contagion has robbed me of sleep, and the hours in my bed have become a torment, a sea of
Dec 17, 2020
She's No Longer My Best Friend
By Dipti B. — We asked and we claimed we were fine, however, I am pretty sure we both knew we were not really fine. Seriously, no one is
Dec 1, 2020
This is the Year the World Cried: No More
By Diane Van Hook — As I pass months at home, out of work, out of money, and almost out of hope, I watch the numbers of the dead ratchet up
Nov 24, 2020
Twine
By Cheryl Caesar — The Civil War has twice returned. Age and gender are an illusion. “Tell me why the ivy twines..." sing the contrapuntal
Oct 12, 2020
General Corona Appears in a Vision
By Jake Cosmos Aller — One day I was half napping, watching the President drone on about him being a war time president battling
Oct 6, 2020
To-Do List
By Jackie Bluu — To-Do List (Day 5) - Wake up - Brush teeth - Eat food - Do work.
Oct 1, 2020
Split
By Abha Das Sarma — She had waited for this very moment, Rising heartbeat and racing expectation, Now would be, the end, Of obscured nights,
Sep 14, 2020
Walk on Water
By Jeremy Nathan Marks — I am standing in the middle of the Detroit River, my mother asking me from the Michigan shore, do you know where
Sep 8, 2020
Look for the Silver Lining
By Nancy Levinson — even if it’s but a glint a splash of rainbow painted on a window
a DIY covid pinata you can kill with a stick
Sep 1, 2020
Liberate Minnesota!
By Christian Garduno — Disturbance, uprising, underserved, underprivileged
rebellion, riot, disadvantaged, at-risk youth, eruption, melee
Aug 31, 2020
My Wife Died
By Dane Ince — During Covid 19, My wife died,
Cats sat on my lap, Purring,
I went to AA in Australia, I read poetry in Berlin
Aug 19, 2020
Both are True
By Matthew Miller — The maple is a green torch this morning, cardinal washing his beak in my coffee.
Aug 16, 2020
Dreams
By Broeck Wahl Blumberg — In the distance, I can see and hear my people. All of them—mother, father, friends,
my beloved deceased
Aug 13, 2020
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