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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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Feb 6
THE POET EMERGES
By John Grey — What was done to the smallest was done to you in grades one through six. You needed only to look twice at a bigger boy and
Jan 25
Boy Scout Cookies
By Peter Mladinic — “I’m selling cookies for the Boy Scouts,” you say, thinking, because my sister’s eyes in the photo suggested this is
Jan 19
DEATH WALKS BESIDE ME
By Kathleen Poncher — Death walks beside me on majestic mountain trails and in murky hospital halls. I see you in ritual civility and
Jan 13
How to Visit El Sueño Americano: The American Dream/artist Tom Kiefer
By Barbara Simmons — Don’t read the curator’s words. They are only commentaries next to the heart of the matter. Instead, stand before the
Dec 24, 2024
The Humble Janitor
By Danny P. Barbare — Humble, says the janitor no matter how less or more, rich or poor, a broom in one hand or rather a mop wealthily
Dec 15, 2024
We Under the Net
By Leonard S. Tao — There is a net, like a spider's web. Grids of class entrap us. You are on one end. I on the other. Flies hover at the
Dec 13, 2024
British riots, August 2024
By Colin Ian Jeffery — Hate rioted running amok. Screaming for civil war. Attacking police who held the line. Mindless thugs, fiendish
Nov 29, 2024
EITHER WAY IT'S BAD
By Stephen Philip Druce — Trapped and hitched or single and ditched, either way it's bad. Coupled and chained or rejected and shamed, don't
Nov 13, 2024
The Greatest Year
By Polly Kreisman — Stacks of tomorrow morning’s freshly printed papers lean against a shuttered newsstand, bundled with rope like unopened
Nov 2, 2024
Renaissance of Genuine Creativity
By CJ The Tall Poet — Devouring poorly planned adaptations may motivate one’s creativity, the blandness blended well with detachable hearts
Oct 24, 2024
The Meaning of Grief
By Emilie Brannan — Here I am talking about how I feel instead of reflecting on my sister, whose life was taken way too early. But I want to
Oct 11, 2024
In Interim
By Miriam Brantley — I sit on a bench in a courtyard, shaded by a tree with signs of a dying summer on every side. The mountain tops have
Oct 5, 2024
The Box
By Molly Arbuthnott — I carried my box of books and got rather strange looks as it fell from my arms yet again. It all began yesterday when
Sep 27, 2024
SUFFICIENT
By Dee Allen — I understand this hatred well. The strong dislike for who's different. Our two people have endured slavery in the past. Then
Sep 8, 2024
The Cruelty of the Blue Sky
By Doug Holder — I am frightened by its blue purity. Some say it makes a simple statement. There is indeed a silver lining but it is way
Sep 6, 2024
A Moment
By Elijah Silva — In the realm of walks home from my campus to the myriad of apartment complexes directly to the south, a heavily debated
Aug 22, 2024
Wednesday morning on the island with friends
By Craig R. Kirchner — Coffee brewing at 6:45 and the ants beat me to the sugar. The size of two pinheads, but there are hundreds, in an
Aug 14, 2024
What Smokey Robinson Hears
By Vicki lorio — The summer when I play Motown records at my friend's house, Smokey hears my friend's father say the only good black man is
Jul 31, 2024
Women too often can see beauty in everyone else but themselves.
By Amanda Werner — When I notice I am resenting my body for not looking a certain way, I try to remind myself of two women I cared for while
Jul 9, 2024
enigma
By Joan McNerney — Shapes of time, our time, pulsing in this labyrinth of today's bizarre maze, leading to confusion as we witness never
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