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The AI Poem Generator is an automated tool that uses advanced language technology to create unique and creative poems based on user-selected prompts and themes.

Using the AI Poem Generator is easy. Simply type in what you want the poem to be about and click generate. If you want to go into more detail, fill out the desired options from the dropdown menus, and the AI will create a poem for you instantly.

No, the AI Poem Generator is designed to assist and inspire creativity, not replace human creativity. In actual fact, we analyzed poetry created by art, and we see it more as a tool than a replacement for human poets . It augments the writing process by offering suggestions and generating content based on inputs. With this, the AI Poem Generator is best used as a tool to help spark your poetic writing.

We support any language, from English to Spanish, to French, to the likes of Mandarin. If you find the language you want the poem to be created in is not on the dropdown above, please get in contact with us , and we can tweak the generator to include your language.

Write a prompt to begin with of what you want the poem to be about. The more detail you go into here, adding keywords, the better. Once done, use the dropdown options to add extras, such as topics and forms (like a haiku, sonnet, limerick, etc.) until you feel you have enough information to create your unique poem. Once done, press the ‘Generate Poem’ button, and your masterpiece of poetry will generate!

The Poem Analysis AI Poem Generator utilizes a large language model to create poetry from prompts and options selected. This helps to create better results when it comes to creating poetry for the first time or for the seasoned poet, which we believe can help provide inspiration, especially when experiencing writer’s block.

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What is the best place to submit poetry online? Just like poetry itself, the answer is often complex. Finding the right home for your poetry can take a lot of time and research.

We’re here to help! In this article, we’ll share our 24 best suggestions for where to submit your poetry online. After that, we’ll share key tips to demystify the poetry publishing world, and we’ll finish with closing thoughts on the online poetry journal submission process.

You will want to build a publication history and portfolio before attempting higher-tier journals. So, instead of writing a general list of the best places to submit poetry online, we’ve divided our list of online poetry journals into three categories, based on your own level of experience, publication history, and goals as a poet. In order, they are:

• Great first-publication journals: places to submit when you don’t have previous publications.
• Reputable online poetry journals: competitive journals to submit to when you have a prior publications list.
• High-level poetry journals to aspire for: journals at the summit of poetry that can create new opportunities for your writing career.

Now, let’s dive into the best journals for your online poetry submissions!

Places to Submit Poetry Online: Reputable First Publications

These journals will publish poetry from both new and established poets.

The following eight journals will publish poetry from both new and established poets alike. Any publication in these journals is a great achievement!

1. Thrush Poetry Journal

Thrush Poetry Journal is a bimonthly publication of “eclectic, moving, surprising” poetry. Named after the thrush, a bird with “the most beautiful voice in the world,” the magazine sponsors poets both new and established — just let your poems sing.

2. 3Elements

3Elements Literary Review posts a call for submissions each quarter. All poems have to involve the three elements that the journal chooses; for the Summer of 2020, the elements are “trapeze, pinprick, calico.” 3Elements publishes poems that combine these elements in effective and unusual ways, and this publication provides a great and challenging prompt.

3. FreezeRay

Poetry has never been nerdier than over at FreezeRay ! This journal specializes in pop culture poetry, publishing anything inspired by modern media, making it a unique place to submit poetry online. From video games to horror to modern film, let today’s media landscape prompt you into writing FreezeRay’s next great poetry feature.

4. Barren Magazine

Barren Magazine publishes monthly issues of literature in all genres. Their preferences lean toward poetry that is introspective, original, and participates in a larger literary conversation. Barren also puts out a fun selection of merchandise and has plans for future online poetry and fiction contests.

5. Ghost City Review

Ghost City Review , an offshoot of Ghost City Press, is regularly accepting poetry submissions from new and established writers. Their tastes are eclectic and embrace both the contemporary and the experimental. Ghost City also sponsors the literary community and remains active in uplifting other publications and keeping money inside the publishing world, so be sure to check out their online poetry submissions process as well as their free e-book series!

6. Rising Phoenix Review

Rising Phoenix Review loves poetry that is “visceral” with “stunning, concrete imagery.” Their tastes lean toward the contemporary, sponsoring poetry that uplifts diverse voices and imagines a better world. They are an offshoot of Rising Phoenix Press, which occasionally publishes poetry chapbooks as well.

7. Eunoia Review

Eunoia Review may be the fastest poetry journal on the internet, as it responds to all submissions within 24 hours! Their poetry tastes range from the eclectic to the storytelling, and they are always open for online poetry submissions.

8. Little Death Lit

Little Death Lit puts out quarterly publications with unique themes. They enjoy poetry that is macabre and gothic, as well as poems that are unconventional and play with the quarterly prompt. This is a great journal for seeing and interacting with new and emerging voices in poetry.

Places to Submit Poetry Online: Reputable Journals

Once you’ve got a few publications under your belt, these online poetry journals could catapult your writing toward a larger audience.

Once you’ve got a few publications under your belt, you might have success with one of the following sites. A publication in any of these online poetry journals could catapult your writing toward a larger, more reputable audience!

9. Palette Poetry  

Palette Poetry is among the best places to submit poetry online because it has options for everyone. For published writers seeking to highlight their already published work, Palette Poetry offers a “Previously Published Poem Prize.” Out of the poetry magazines that pay, Palette Poetry has the biggest pay-out, with first place being a whopping $2,500 cash prize plus publication; second place being a $300 cash prize plus publication; and third place being a $200 cash prize plus publication.

For experienced, unpublished writers, Palette regularly features poems online, and for those who are able to become “partner poets,” there is a ~$50 to $150 payout per poem. Palette also hosts a “Community Feedback Monthly Editorial” which gives new and experienced writers an opportunity to engage with—and get extremely valuable feedback from—other poets.

Rattle: Poetry is another great poetry magazine that pays. The journal puts out several popular contests and publication opportunities, including a monthly ekphrastic challenge, a weekly news-writing challenge, and an annual best poem prize. Payouts range from anywhere between $50-$200; if you’re the lucky winner of the Rattle Poetry Prize, this year’s payout is $15,000!

11. Wildness Journal

Wildness Journal , an offshoot of Platypus Press, publishes a quarterly journal for well-crafted, mystifying poems. Their tastes lean toward the highly literary, preferring works that are inventive and well-constructed. In addition to its journal for online poetry submissions, Platypus Press also publishes poetry manuscripts of at least 35 pages in length.

12. Adroit Journal

The Adroit Journal’s mission is to sponsor the next generation of poets, so their resources are often dedicated to youth poets and college-age writers. They seek works that are bold, eclectic, obscure, and daring. In addition to their poetry publications, The Adroit Journal also offers scholarships and awards for young and emerging writers.

13. Frontier Poetry

As the name suggests, Frontier Poetry publishes poetry on the frontiers of craft and language. The journal admires poetry that’s both contemporary and classical, as long as the poem advances the craft of poetry itself. Frontier is especially friendly toward new and emerging poets, and it hosts several contests every year with awards ranging from $100-$300, making them a great poetry magazine that pays.

14. Split Lip Mag

Split Lip Mag loves honesty, pop culture, and voice. Submissions for their journal open bimonthly, and published poems are often distinct and authentic. Split Lip is another poetry magazine that pays — published poets can expect a $50 payment per poem!

8Poems publishes eight poems a month. No more, no less. Naturally, a poem with such a tight publication schedule is fairly competitive, but the journal has a preference toward poetry that is narrative, emotive, and plays with words.

16. Southeast Review

Rounding out the list of more competitive poetry journals to submit to, Southeast Review is open for publication year-round. This diverse journal loves poetry that tells a story, and they make an effort to pay their contributors, so go check them out!

Places to Submit Poetry Online: The Summit of Poetry

Every poet aspires to have their work featured in these exclusive, competitive journals.

Every poet aspires to have their work featured in one of the following journals. These online poetry journals are rather exclusive, sponsoring the voices of poets who have an extensive collection of previously published work. That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider these journals for your online poetry submissions; but don’t be too disappointed if they send you a rejection letter — these publications are a reach.

17. Poetry Magazine

Published through the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Magazine is the oldest monthly poetry journal in the English-speaking world. Poetry Magazine receives over 150,000 submissions each year, making them a prized jewel of publication credits. The journal has a leaning toward traditional craft and academic styles, though more recent publications have sponsored eclectic styles.

18. The New Yorker

The New Yorker is at the forefront of culture and has been since 1925. They publish two poems every Monday and seek work that is fresh and emotive. The New Yorker also receives a huge number of online poetry submissions annually, which is why poets often wait 6 months before hearing back; nonetheless, a publication here is a high achievement.

AGNI , the official literary journal of Boston University, loves poetry that doesn’t care about “what poems should do.” They publish works that are innovative and evolving, yet still cogent in both craft and language. AGNI’s reading period opens up on September 1st and runs until May 31st.

20. The Kenyon Review

The Kenyon Review , a print and online poetry journal out of Kenyon College, publishes craft-focused, language-advancing poetry. On top of its well-respected journal, The Kenyon Review is an active participant in the literary community, regularly hosting workshops, fellowships, internships, and other programs designed to educate the next generation of literary citizens.

21. Ploughshares

Ploughshares , produced out of Emerson College, puts out quarterly publications of highly literary poetry. Submissions to Ploughshares should engage in the contemporary literary conversation and be submitted between June 1st and January 15th.

22. Harvard Review

Harvard Review looks for poetry that is interested in literary techniques. The journal sponsors both emerging and established voices to, as the journal puts it, publish “writers who will be famous next to writers who already are.” Harvard Review reopens for online poetry submissions on August 1st.

23. Lit Hub

Literary Hub , commonly called Lit Hub, publishes prominent voices in the literary world. What makes Lit Hub unique is that they aren’t “open for submissions” like most journals; rather, they partner with other journals to sponsor important works of poetry, prose, and literary criticism. Lit Hub also publishes new works, though they tend to seek out poets rather than respond to submissions.

24. The American Scholar

Finishing up our list of great poetry journals to submit to, The American Scholar is a publication well-known for its business, science, and current issues commentary, but they also accept poetry submissions, which are usually published in the “Web Only” edition of the magazine. The American Scholar is tough competition, but is also one of the best poetry magazines that pay. Web Only submission pay-outs can be as high as $250.

Tips for Navigating the World of Online Poetry Submissions

Finding a home for your poem can be frustrating — there are so many homes to choose from! What’s more, many journals don’t allow simultaneous submissions or take weeks to review your poem, so some poets spend months finding publication for their work. Finding the right journal that’s accepting poetry submissions is daunting, to say the least.

It’s important to understand the poetry submissions process. Most importantly, no poem is guaranteed publication. Poetry reviewers look over hundreds of submissions for each publication, and they often have to make tough decisions about great poems. Good, publishable poems receive rejections all the time, often because a journal has a finite amount of space to publish each month.

Finally, while we think these 24 poetry journals are the best on the net, there are thousands more. You can find a full directory of poetry journals at the literary magazines page on Poets & Writers !

Despite the competitive nature of online poetry journals, you can take specific steps to improve your chances of publication.

Despite the competitive nature of online poetry journals, there are specific steps you can take to improve your chances of publication. Do all of the following before you submit poetry to a journal.

Review the Journal’s Past Publications

It’s good practice to read what the journal has published in the past. Though many online poetry journals accept a wide range of styles and forms, poetry editors still have preferences for what kind of poetry they like to read and publish. Examine the journal’s past publications with a critical eye, and consider whether or not your poem fits among the journal’s ranks.

Follow Formatting Guidelines

When poetry magazines accept online submissions, they often include formatting guidelines alongside their submission rules. It’s best to follow these guidelines, as well as general MLA formatting rules. Use 1-inch margins, a 12-point serif font, and double space stanzas. Taking the time to properly format demonstrates a seriousness about your poetry, whereas unformatted poems may not receive proper attention.

Perfect The Poem’s Title

The journal’s reader is looking for something that grabs their attention right away. A well-titled poem with a stand-out first line will be far more eye-catching than an untitled poem with a slow start. Remember, the reader goes through hundreds of submissions every month, so poetry submissions should stand out from the beginning!

Shoot for the Moon, not the Stars

Lastly, it’s important to note that not all poetry journals are made equal. The poetry world is competitive, and poets often have to secure publications from lesser-known journals before they attempt publication through a reputable magazine.

Closing Thoughts on Online Poetry Magazine Submissions

The publishing world is tough, fast, and competitive. The internet has expanded poetry’s readership and writership; this is a good thing, but with so many other voices, it can be hard to know where to submit your poetry to add your voice to the conversation. You may encounter one rejection, five rejections, or fifty rejections before you find a home for your poem. Don’t let this deter you.

Often, a rejection of your poetry submission has nothing to do with the quality of your work. Rather, poetry editors have a limited amount of space per publication, and they look to publish poems that, when read together, create a bigger conversation. A rejection can simply mean your poems didn’t work for that month’s issue, for reasons completely out of your control.

Don’t think of a rejection letter as a “rejection,” think of it as: there is a better home for my poetry.

Finally, poetry journals are subjective in their treatment of the poetry submissions they receive. After all, journals are run by humans, and although many humans try to be objective in their tastes and preferences, objectivity is impossible in the arts. Don’t think of a rejection letter as a “rejection.” Think of it as follows: there are other places to submit poetry, and there is a better home for my poetry.

Whatever your level of experience and goals for your poetry, the instructors at Writers.com can help you perfect your poems and find new homes for them. Take a look at our upcoming online poetry writing courses and one-to-one coaching options, and take the next step in your poetry writing journey.

57 Comments

This blog was very helpful in finding online poetry submissions.Thank you so much for putting them out here.

Hi there, I’m happy to hear this post helped you find some good publications to consider! Best of luck on getting some poetry acceptances.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this and putting in so much effort. Your the best:)

Thank u. Very helpful for a novice poet.

Haha:) I’m just a nosy Christian poet looking at the string of messages and had to intervene on this one.;)

No, I checked and King James is not taking any book submissions but apparently they are doing an open call for grievances, concerns, and poetry that is able to express what you’re also grateful for.. No online or book submissions.. just airmail. Fling it in the air while reciting the material u curated in your mind;) Sit tight and be patient with your hands folded on your lap. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a reply but just believe in your work and that’s all it takes. Good work doesn’t get you acknowledged here. Just believe in yourself. Sorry everyone but I had to hahaha

Thanks for this list! It’s always interesting to see such subtle differences in how these publications handle things. Another young publication to check out is called the Skrews Syndication. The focus is on darker themed poetry that is shrouded in pain and ill experiences. Worth a look.

– https://loose.skre.ws

Just to add to your suggestion for young publications The Blood Pudding is also great!

https://thebloodpudding.com/

Thank you for that, Augustine.

Would you recommend we submit our poetry to multiple sources? Does that work with certain sources but not all sources? Or wait for a response each time? Would love to know your thoughts, thanks!

Great question! Many journals will let you do what’s called “simultaneous submissions,” which they will specify on the submission guidelines. If you want to submit to multiple journals at the same time, it will probably speed up how long it takes to get that poem published, though be warned that some journals don’t like knowing you’ve submitted to other journals as well. Read the submission guidelines thoroughly, as well as the journal’s past publications.

Good luck!!

Thank you!! I will do just that.

Thank you for your time. Please include The Weekly Avocet – every weekend, Editor a prompt, courteous and kind Charles Portolano, Very encouraging to emerging Nature poets. Their guidelines: If you don’t send them, we can’t share them! Share one of your Fall-themed poems, 4 photos, haiku (up to 10), Saving Mother Earth Challenge poems Please read the guidelines before submitting Only one poem, per poet, per season. Please send your submission to [email protected] Or [email protected] Please put (early or late) Fall/your last name in the subject line. Please be kind and address your submission to me, Charles. Thank you. (Just so you know: I do not read work from a poet who doesn’t take the time to address their submission to the editor, who they want to read their work.) Please do not just send a poem, please write a few lines of hello. Please do not have all caps in the title of your poem. Please no more than 45+ lines per poem. Please no religious references. Please use single spaced lines. Please remember, we welcome previously published poems. Please put your name, City/State, and email address under your poem. No Zip codes. Please send your poem in both the body of an email and an attachment. We look forward to reading your Fall submission…

Thank you for this review, could you guide me where can i submit poems in spanish ?

Hi there, This is a great question! I don’t know too much about Spanish language journals, but a little bit of digging turned up this article: https://www.latinobookreview.com/database-of-spanish-literary-magazines–journals-in-the-us–latino-book-review.html

Hope this helps, and good luck!!

Thank you very much for this list , exactly what I have been searching for.

Best, Giovanni

Hi, is there a journal you recommend related to grieving?

I am looking for the same thing. Let me know if you find anything.

I think that the Ekphrastic Review is one of the very best online magazines. They publish poems based on works of visual art. The poems can be of any style — traditional or free verse.

I have a narrative poem about a day in the life of a Covid nurse; would like to get it out there asap.This poem is begging to be published where the most readers are likely to see it. Any journals or online publications that might be especially receptive to this poem?

Thank you! Lucinda

They just posted a whole list of publications that might consider your poem. It seems that you already have what you need. Remember, “Good things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” -Abraham Lincoln

Researching poetry lists today, I came across the American Journal of Nursing – which apparently accepts poetry at $150 per poem, at least at the date of the listing I was reading. Worth checking out! Good luck!

Hi Lucinda. Fellow poet here. Years back I published a poem related to cancer treatment in the Canadian Medical Journal (CMJ). They include a poem at the end of each issue. It’s comparable to the New England Journal of Medicine. So, not a literary magazine, but a sizable readership. Just a thought. -Karin

Thank you for this informative and comprehensive article Megan and Sean. I have so far secured three publications this year with small lit mags. When do I move away from phrases such as ‘I am an emerging poet’ when writing a cover letter to publishers? How many publications do you realistically need, to then refer to ones self as ‘a semi- established poet’ (if that’s the correct phrase)? Any tips on how I can professionally convey this will be most helpful. Thanks.

Hi Neekole,

Great question! Phrases like “emerging poet” are helpful categorizations for publishers and journals, because many publications (nowadays) want to support new literary voices. Generally, an “emerging poet” is a poet who hasn’t yet published a full-length collection of poetry (48+ pages).

That said, you don’t need to call yourself an emerging poet, if you don’t want to. Represent yourself however you like! You can just as easily say you’re an “environmental” poet, a “heartbroken” poet, or a “professional” poet. Most adjectives work!

Where would to the best place to submit dark content poetry. Stuff about the evil that man does to the planet and his fellow man greed and money and the judgment that’s coming

I think there’s already a whole book dedicated to poetry and other literature about “the evil that man does to the planet and his fellow man greed and money and the judgment that’s coming.” I don’t think King James is taking anymore submissions though.

Thank you for the information. If I get published, I’ll give you guys a shout out in my “About the Author” section. Thank you, Meghan and Sean! Now if you guys have any articles on “How to Write a Poem”, let me know please.

Is there a good website giving inspiring poems for polio survivors? If not, perhaps there should be. There’s a lot of us around, even though the disease was eliminated a long time ago in most countries. Polio killed or crippled many; even those who recovered well may now be struggling with post-polio syndrome. I had a go at writing such a poem. Here it is:

Overnight hospital stay first for a very a very long time; when a toddler, illness forced a fearsome confinement – hours of therapy daily, no contact with other kids; the compensation has been that restriction reluctance kept me out of jail and hospital!

This poem is in the 15/6/19 post of my non-commercial blog about various subjects. The blog is easy to find, and its pictures are popular.

I would suggest ‘ COMMAFUL and Craigslist as well. I just Published a poem I wrote in a free classified ads section of the DAYTOÑA BEACH BOOKS and MAGAZINES and it will remain their for 6 months and it did not cost me a penny either. I’m also considering starting up my own PODCAST and if I do I will be doing poetry readings on it . Brian Keith Mino

Thank you for this information. It helps me a lot.

Thanks for the list. It will be very helpful for me . Thankyou

Excellent. Grouping in order of importance or professionalism is very useful.

When rejected, I think “bastards”.

‘…and there is a better home for my poetry.’

I have a boss who would like to have a favorite poem he likes, but did not write, printed in a publication for him to enjoy. Can he do this? With which publications can he make a request to run the poem?

Hi Donna, good question! Unfortunately, literary journals don’t work this way–they only seek new, unpublished works of poetry, submitted from the poet themselves. You may be able to find some publication venues in local newspapers or periodicals, but since literary journals have a finite amount of space (and a wealth of submissions), they probably won’t consider other kinds of submissions.

This is a very nice site to learn and read the poetry of international writers. I congratulate all behind this great creative job.

Am grateful

Another young digital literary magazine that has a new issue out each month and loads of opportunity: opendoorpoetrymagazine.com – and it’s free to subscribe and free to submit

We want to read your stories!

I am establishing a micro-publishers called goatshedpress. We are going to be publishing high-quality, cutting edge chapbooks of collected writing. I would love to read your short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Contributors will receive free copies to sell/distribute, and an author bio both in the chapbook and on our website (still in development).

Email your writing to [email protected] and I will try my best to get back to you in under two weeks. Look forward to reading your work!

Would this include poetry for children?

Jack I am.veru interested. My poems stem from earlier experiences growing up in a segregated city..Childhood extended family experiences..self worth and identifying your strengths. I have submitted 7 collections and begin self publishing my works.

Unpublished, new poet. Wondering what kind of info to include/not include in a cover letter with my poem submissions, Thank you.

Good question! Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’m going to point you towards this article from Writer’s Digest, which sums it up perfectly: https://www.writersdigest.com/personal-updates/sample-cover-letters-for-poetry-submissions

Best of luck!

Thank you for this article. I wish I had it to read when I first started submitting. My experience at submitting backs up what you say about the journals here. Folks, realize that 5% acceptance rate of your poetry is common. It’s really about finding the exact audience for your home and voice. Some of my best poetry has been submitted a dozen times and still not found publication while other poems that aren’t as good just fit what editors we’re looking for.

This is a great list! There are so many online journals that are good for poetry! Check out The Westchester Review at this link: https://www.westchesterreview.com/

Nice article.

Would request if you could add http://www.littleauthors.in/ in your article which caters to young adults.

Where is good place to publish tasteful poetry with a sensual flare?

Oh yes, I would love to know this as well because I write soft erotica poetry! It’s very tasteful and sensual.

Please include the following CFS : CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Literature Today- January 2023 Issue

We are inviting submissions for January 2023 issue of ‘Literature Today-An International Literary Journal’. The theme of our January 2023 issue is ‘Love’. You can send us poems, short stories, memoirs and one minute plays on :

1. love at first sight 2. poem/story/one minute play in memory of a loved one 3. love as an aesthetic experience 4. love and teenagers 5. love and romance as predestined event 6. love relationships and role of gods 7. love and marriage 8. love as illusion 9. love in the age of internet 10. lovers as rebels 11. platonic love 12. love and immortality 13. disappointment/deceit in love 14. lovers as saints 15 any other theme related to love

Submission Deadline: December 20, 2022.

Submission Guidelines: 1. Send not more than 4 poems (preferably short poems upto 1 page for each poem). 2. Send not more than 2 short stories (word limit of 500 words for each story)/2 one minute plays (2 pages for each play)/ 2 memoirs (1000 words for each memoire). 3. Work submitted for publication must be original. 4. Simultaneous submissions are also welcome. 5.Send all submissions to [email protected] 6. Please send a cover letter and short Bio-data, (Maximum 100 words) in third person narrative, with your submission. Please attach a high resolution photo of yours too.

To check the free E-book of June 2022 issue please visit: https://literaturetodayjournal.blogspot.com/

To know more about us please visit: Website: https://literaturetodayjournal.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/literaturetodayjournal Linkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/pub/literature-today-journal/96/a4a/47a Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/literaturetoday/

Don’t forget Written Tales.

https://writtentales.substack.com

They help authors get seen and read. Worth checking them out.

“Remove Literary, Grammatical & Syntactical Inhibition.” – Jack Kerouac – Author of “On the Road” and 15 other novels. Allen Ginsberg described his writing style as “poetical fiction.”

This list is fantastic, thanks so much! I’ve been working on my poetry journal for years now and am finally ready for others to read my poems. 🙈

I too, have been working on my poetry portfolio for a few years. I’ve been on the website called FanStory.com and there is a 12.95 fee monthly, however it is well worth it, considering the benefits of being a member on the site. This is not only for poetry but novels, screen plays, short stories and poetry. You join and start writing. You are met with honest reviews and you have a placement on where you’re at in your particular work. It definitely helped me when writing poetry because I took the constructive criticism and allowed that to make me a better poet! You also become better at editing your own work, which is an art of is own! TRY IT❣️ Thank you for this list of poetry submissions, I’m going to certainly be submitting ASAP ❣️

Is there a magazine that responds to submissions and pays within 24 hours of submission??

There’s also Silent Spark Press and they have e-books of diverse types of poetry and I believe they accept submissions all year long, to make sure check them out! They chose my poem titled STRENGTH last year and I was elated, to say the least! They also published my poem to a hard back cover, as well as the e-book. The e-book was called EXEMPLARY POETRY and they had diverse genrés of poetry that they accept. Check them out!

Hi! I really found this very helpful thank you! And I found the comments helpful as well. Do you have advice or an article on copywriting? I don’t know what the best way for poetry is, and I would want to get that finished before submitting my work to lit journals.

Great list. Loved it. Thanks

Thanks for helping

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You said you never met One of those people before Or never heard of a person With no desire to make out I told I…

Good Energy

We’ve all been had in a way but understand is just a game we’re playing different roles but underneath we’re all the same we’re beings…

How To Love Better

In the twilight of tender moments, Take the long way home, where the heart can roam, Through the winding paths of love’s vast plains, Where…

The treetop glimmers outside my window

The treetop glimmers outside my window As light, dancing upon the leaves – Shimmers off each leaf in soft yellow. From afar, my attention is…

Just a Number

Looking into people, seeing who they are. Finding out the person, is not the avatar. Tell who lives a lie, as he’s walking down the…

On The Riverbank

The lantern floated away with the current landing on the riverbank making her outlook on life improve and feeling lighter her spirit rose with hope…

The Strength Within

In the quiet whispers of a weary heart, Where shadows of struggle often take their part, Let this day be what it may, with all…

Light Exposes Darkness

Full moon- gullible naive mind into the woods to hell and back- a nightmare staged in lies an old script, a role played in a…

Growing Thin

Someone is eating my body Chewing on my fat And swallowing the sugar that I consume I couldnot tell you why But I am growing…

In the quiet spaces between the dawn and day, When shadows linger just a breath away, We find our strength in the smallest of things,…

The Journey

There was a thing that happened to me, not so long ago. A single seed of knowledge, took root and began to grow. It boosted…

  She prefers to wear the color blue  in the daylight flowers weaved in threads of silk adorn her gown. Earth expels out deep breaths…

Happiness Within

In halls of wisdom, we strive and yearn, Six years, eight years, the candle burns, For knowledge vast, a gilded scroll, A key, we’re told,…

The Knowing

Focusing on the low points in life, will always bring you down. Attracting negativity into your world, thus giving you your frown. to examine all…

Channeling new feelings, to stay locked in the now. I am able to do this, though I do not know how. In any occurrence, I…

Codes of Light

Sunlight’s code shines bright on me, thoughts of light beaming down. Expanding my connection to source, as it enters me through my crown. New senses…

Source Puppet

All of the fear, has now drained out of me. Echoing love, in any direction I see. People that look at me, often times stare.…

The Give and Take

The creation of three comes from the two. Binding together in ways nobody knew. The two become one thus making it three. Transforming us into…

Wanderers Call

Entering a town without knowing a soul, can always go hit or go miss. So God led me here, right to this group, familiar as…

Stay Frosty

As the world’s greatest poet, that the world has never known. It allows me to stroll seamlessly, in any town I roam. Talk to people,…

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Alone he walks in the dark blue streets. In the coldness and fear of the dark blue nights. The blue man alone always reaches, The old blue river where he will be affright. He stands there and think about all the old nights, When he thought of ending things for the final time. He always knew it would end by the river, But he never thought it will end tonight. The man with the blue soul stands and speak, To the ancient souls of sorrow and grief. He tell them the reasons that lead him to this. He pours his heavy heart before he sinks. That day was the las day the blue man was seen, Before his body was washed by the dark blue stream.

What we love about it

The monochrome images really effectively mimic what is clearly the blue man's consuming grief -- it tints everything he sees and does.

Suggestions to strengthen

"Blue" man is clearly a metaphor for his grief and sadness. Consider adding some lines about the root of his grief -- what would make his heart so heavy and bring him to this point?

The First O

Warmth begins to rise within me,

And now consumes me.

I need release.

But what is release?

Instinct takes over.

My hands reach the warmth,

Protect the warmth,

Increase the warmth.

The progression in this poem of "Protect the warmth, / Increase the warmth. / Oh."

What would happen if you added some more concrete details to this poem?

All the stars in the night sky They glisten there for you Shooting stars fly overhead So make a wish or two

This is short and sweet and to the point. Since it's so short, all of the words carry weight.

Consider telling us a bit more about the "you" in this piece -- is it a child, a parent, a lover, someone else?

Hero to Zero

do you know how it feels to be viewed as a hero like Thor

to be praised and given thanks for giving a love so pure to a person unlike anything they’d experienced before

but as time carries on things start to change for the worst

and before you can realize, the person’s heartstrings begin to close like a purse

no matter how hard you try to correct all your wrongs,

the person you had enchanted with your love decides to move along until the point they can take you no more,

and you are no longer seen as the hero

forevermore

The movement from the first line to the last, and also the phrasing of "the person’s heartstrings begin to close like a purse."

Consider playing with punctuation and seeing how it could affect the message of the piece.

My body sits there, in my bed, on the couch, in my desk chair While my mind worries of being unproductive My body sits there, in my bed, on the couch, in my desk chair While my hands yearn to draw and work, to fiddle and tap My body sits there, in my bed, on the couch, in my desk chair While my heart aches to be with friends and loved ones My body sits there, in my bed, on the couch, in my desk chair because…I have no control over my body It feels so numb and yet My mind worries, my hands yearn and my heart aches and yet I sit there, my body sits there… in my bed, on the couch, in my desk chair

The repetition really crystallizes the speaker's feeling of being "stuck."

There is an interesting twist in the "no control" line. What would happen if you expanded a bit on that idea?

I don’t like being angry, but it’s so easy It’s so easy, to let go of the chains The chains, holding all of it back It back, from outside my head Outside my head, is scary and one word One word, could ruin me Ruin me, thats why Thats why, i hate being angry

The sequential cause-and-effect nature of this piece. The chain of events is striking.

Consider expanding a bit on the idea of the "one word." Why is it scary?

And I saw a world Without your clutch Then, suddenly an eternal flame released In your reappearance A begging longing uncalled for To be reapproached As I thirsted for the bare hands That would wipe away my tears To hold my hands as it intertwined Replaced by my longing stare Lingering it all like I had nothing left Culpable, wishing for that clutch again.

The unusual choice of "clutch" instead of "touch" for what appears to be a toxic relationship.

Consider expanding some of these ideas. Are there other word swaps that could do the heavy lifting to twist the idea of a healthy relationship in parallel to how the described relationship is twisted from the ideal?

Love in Senses

Love tastes like chicken noodle soup Smells like fresh bread from the oven Feels like a ray of sunshine at 7:00 am It varies everyday There are mornings when The soup tastes bland The bread is a little charred Or the clouds gather and pours But then, You consume them anyway And promise to try again the next day. And the day after. And the day after that. Until you tasted every possible taste Until you wafted every possible smell Until you felt every possible weather But still look forward to it the next day.

The honesty of the food metaphor (e.g., "sometimes the food tastes bland") and the detail in the images.

Consider whether the repetition of the last four lines ("Until..." to the end) is doing as much lifting as the repetition in the three lines prior ("And...") does. How might the "forever" feel of the last four lines be made more immediate/concrete?

Why don’t i leave this to the rain? i think it should wash away (my pain)

why don’t i leave it to the breeze? make me stronger (than the trees)

why don’t i give it to the ocean? give me back (my devotion)

but what am i giving back? memories, regrets (or you)

why is nothing working? i don’t know (what to do)

and why did it have to be you? who caused me all this heartbreak gave me all this heartache now i’m familiar with the agony of losing someone who’s still alive now i’ll never love again just live to survive i swear this will come back and leave you haunted how you left my world distorted and you’ll remember me i’ll be your only memory you taught me well and now it’s lesson learned but baby, you’ll get what you earned

The shift halfway through the piece, between questions and answers, is really nice. Kudos!

The parentheticals in the first part seem to convey important pieces of those ideas. Consider what would happen if they weren't parentheticals, but part of the running text of the poem.

the pain of losing your father it never goes away, you know it’s a wound that never heals with time, of course, it scabs over you may go hours without thinking of him then days and maybe weeks but simple mundane things like catching sight of a stranger who looks like him or a whiff of his scent when you visit home or the tunes of an old song that he would listen to as it drifts through the air memories from a lifetime ago and you are back to the pain of losing him but also the beauty and wonder of having known him at all of having been chosen to be his child of having had the best father in the whole wide world for all the romanticized love around it is easy to miss this simple, unassuming, unexpecting love that is true and pure and forever it is better to have known and lost then to have not known him at all i’ll see you on the other side papa .

This is a really poignant memorial with some wonderful detail.

Consider whether adding more punctuation might make the details stand out more clearly for the reader.

Lack of Remorse

There is only one way to make you happy, mother Sacrifice. Every tear that drops because of you, Reminds me it’s because of me. I lack an apology, Because you lack sentiment. We laugh, yes quit often But more often the sword detaches. All the good is not outweighed by the bad, But rather over-shadowed by your lack of remorse. I will only get stronger from here, Because by the last stop I will owe you nothing.

That second line, and its one word on its own line, packs a real punch!

What would happen if the line lengths were a bit less varied, or some of the longer lines were strategically broken into two in a similar fashion to the first two lines?

It burns my feet Feels weird on my skin Gets stuck to my body But it feels like within It’s where we talked freely Where your skin brushed my hand I know I’ll always remember How you looked by the sand

The less desirable properties of sand and how that abruptly turns to a fond, desirable-seeming memory.

Consider expanding on how the sand "feels weird on [the speaker's] skin." Is it grainy? Irritating? Itchy? Soft? Something else entirely?

Ecstatic Journey of Divine Still

Across multiple stratospheric plains Your voice have caught my frozen ear I slept an eternal sleep but never more Awaken heart ready to listen ready to live A word a mighty word the only word Your world like a needle shut unto my anesthetized kingdom Rays of a approaching sun shining through softly and penetrating No more despair no more darken days no more illusionary dreams of torn paper Islands elevated steps of a new lasting journey toward the Other the Above the Below The unheard now I sow now I will see through the present unseen Your embrace I catch I return I search I point The encounter at the end of my journey as the newborn thrown out the unknown Your name I never knew the only wall I break through Struggle is my bread life is your gift I never sought Gently catch my fall pushing me behold my soul Plains oceanic meadows your abode where I will stop to struggle no more

The way this piece picks up steam as the poem continues on.

Consider adding a few more grounded details to counterbalance the lofty and grand, as a way to connect those lofty and grand ideas to the here and now.

A Dancing Soul

To My Lord and My God

A dancing soul Living at the edge of madness Never crossing the line Did you say a lie?

Those clouds have left but cold Left me with many scars I am scared to tell you too much You do not know that I can’t fly?

Fishing my dreams when they are gone Pushing yours back because I die Magnetic balance my state of mind Do not switch off your eyes from mine.

Rainbow of chances through the sky Some too fast to catch Close enough I smile Hold my hand that has no life

Alone confronting that nasty tasty, thought of death While I continue to be alive I let the morning to arise Did you say that you love me?

Becoming aware of the limit Crossing the infinite but never touch it Tomorrow I will catch you Say a word to me, so please

Enough for now that I may hear Return to you the moment here A heart disclosed to touch You, so close so far

The use of language here is lovely -- e.g., "Magnetic balance my state of mind," "Rainbow of chances through the sky," "Alone confronting that nasty tasty, / thought of death."

Consider whether all of the words and stanzas are doing as much heavy lifting as possible here. Could some of the stanzas be condensed or combined into fewer, stronger ones?

Can't You Understand?

You don’t understand When I’m alone When I’m trapped When I’m afraid You don’t understand The frustration The anger The hate That scream their insults in my head When you feed them. That crack every fragment of my soul When you heed them. You don’t understand That I don’t have a hard life But that… I find this life hard to live You don’t understand The chains of burning metal That bind me How they Strangle my throat Coil around my eyes Make it so I cannot breathe But only suffer Not die If you could just listen If you would just see That I am Who I am So just let me be!

The relentless rhythm of the first 15 or so lines of this. The frustration is palpable!

Consider what would happen if some of the shorter lines were lengthened or combined in the latter part of the piece. What ideas could combine in interesting ways and mirror the image of the "chains ... coil[ing] around [the speaker's] eyes?"

There It Goes Again

That familiar feeling I hate it because it reminds me of you But so much has transpired since you left and it reminds me how u tried to be a prominent reminder of pain how I constantly felt insane A nostalgic kind of sadness that I could not withstand I hope the worst for you. I hope the same kind of fate that I could in him. I loved him so. I loved him more than anything. In the end. He chose anything else but me

The conveyance of really raw and visceral feelings of someone who is looking back on an unhealthy relationship.

There is an interesting switch where the speaker goes from speaking to "you" to speaking about "him." Consider expanding on what causes that switch.

Sometimes I wish that people could see That not everything, is how it seems We do our best, just to survive Yet within this selfish world, we’re eaten alive Crime, poverty, suicide, and more Our very own governments, lead us straight into war So I’ll take this chance and lay it all bare How far could we go, if we just learned to care When we see someone in need, we turn a blind eye Knowing deep down, that ignorance is life’s big lie

The end rhymes seem to be used to interesting effect. They are often used in nursery rhymes and similar, so applying that to a poem about the world's ills sets up some dramatic tension.

Consider the rhythm of the words as well as the rhyme. Sometimes it's easy to focus on the end rhyme and the other words in the line have opportunities to be tightened and made to snap as much as the rhymes.

So, I’ve been thinking about you and me, since we are no longer we. And how maybe women can be compared to a trend. Like the choker and Polaroids.

And then, as we know it, the trend changes. Good women are no longer in. And no matter how great and accommodating she was of an item, she’s placed back on the shelf and priced to go.

The concrete detail of the idea of a trend -- "like the choker and Polaroids."

Consider elaborating on what a "good woman" is, and what about her might be considered "trendy" in the world of this piece.

When Is It My Turn?

when is it my turn for somebody to love me? I just want to feel like I’m wanted attractive a good person with a nice personality it’s hard to do that when everyone around me everyone besides me has experienced everything I’ve wanted ….without trying

I’m tired of being the one to chase to fall quickly and become attached to be the only one who makes an effort when will somebody’s eyes light up as I enter a room? or feel butterflies when I’m around? I just wish I could read people’s minds.

The feeling in this is really visceral and well-described. It is easy for the reader to imagine the speaker's world.

A lot of the "I want" statements in this are very abstract. What would happen if the "I want" statements had some more concrete details added to them? What does it mean for someone to view the speaker as "a good person?" What parts of their "nice personality" would the speaker want someone to notice and appreciate?

feedback loop

it’s five am and she just refreshed her phone waiting for the strangers on the internet to praise her like her friends never could. stardom was an expectation, perfection was not a suggestion, so now she craves validation, never learned how to handle rejection. do this, do that, do everything, driving herself crazy for reaction. she used to be so good and so smart now she just spends her nights crying trying to recover what she’s lost but no one is ever there, she can’t stand to lose the last shard of her crown so she’d rather die every night silently and say that she’s okay in therapy sessions. c’mon, give her something, a comment or a like, just give her something to hold onto, just tell her that she’s enough. five am. refresh. rinse and repeat. what a life.

The relentless details that paint the character's quest for external validation through social media. The exclusive use of lowercase letters, which as a style choice reflects the ongoing narrative in the character's head.

Consider adding a few more bits of punctuation to help the reader understand each of these ideas on their own in addition to the role they play in the whole.

The Traveller on the Flooded Road

A traveller walks on the flooded road, his eyes unmarked by the ghastly woes that lay abundant in the water, they shrivel, rot and await his touch and must remain forever so. He stops not to pluck at the fallen flower nor the tempting sunken gold, he walks upon his path so forth, as if his eyes so set in stone. I awake to see him passing by, his eyes never greeting mine, they walk with him, upon his path so forth, leaving his hands behind. I stand to reach out, to shake his sight, reaching for a hand his eyes perceive. I must remain in the water, a sight to see, until the last of the traveler’s meet, mine washed by the sea. “Hello” I shout to the traveller, “have your heart no need and your hands no greed? for the shine of gold and its seed? The water so shallow and in your reach but with your eyes must you reach.”

The fairytale feel of this. This seems like something you'd tell someone over a campfire or before bed.

Is every word here pulling its weight? In some spots, there appear to be opportunities to tighten the language and the word count.

i know there are more important things, purposes i have that need to be fulfilled but how can i keep going without addressing this, my mind just keeps pulling me back to you. i hate feeling like this because you don’t seem to care but the fantasist in my mind has you in such a strong bind, vulnerability it took to let you in, vulnerability it takes to let me miss you, vulnerability it takes to admit, that even though you cut me i’d let you back in perhaps even heal your wounds before mine, kiss you and pray to the divine, pray that you’re happy, even if you’re not mine.

The use of the lowercased "i" to reflect a penitent person talking to the person who left.

The last four lines introduce a rhyme scheme that isn't in the rest of the piece. Consider what would happen if you introduced that rhyme earlier in the poem.

I’ll come back In a few years. To drop a rose on the grave Of what you could have become

This set of four lines tells a lot of story in a few words. Nicely done!

Consider what would happen if you omitted the punctuation in the middle of what appears to be a sentence. How would it be changed if it was read as one continuous idea?

I’d oftent ask her what is so beautiful about sunsets if all that they truly mean is that everything and everyone has an end she’d say it reminded her that no matter the how difficult the path may be the end is always beautiful

I’d ask, what if there is no beautiful end to see? she’d say, then I’d learn to love the path i took for somewhere down the road I’d become the path and the path will become me

I’d ask, what if i never love the path i took, do i become a wanderer with nothing to see? she’d say, those who wander are never lost but are perhaps on a path of their own on a road not taken.

I’d ask, what if you aren’t there to answer me? she said nothing, because now I’d become her and she became me

for all the lives I’d live to see there is one thing that i have learnt to be love is not as cruel as people make it out to be

I love the images and the repetition of "I'd ask" with different directions in different stanzas, and how the different stanzas take ideas from the previous ones and expand on them.

I'm curious about the decision to alternate using "I" (uppercase) and "i" (lowercase) interchangeably. What is the meaning that this is trying to convey?

my therapist says

no, i’ve never cried chopping onions but suddenly, i am revved as a chainsaw as

he defines vindictive with a smile full of starfish venom

be barfs up a pile of bones. Here.

trauma is like a rollercoaster, but i don’t really know how that information could have helped me when

he just sat there licking butterfly crumbs off his lips

she says the obsessive mind is like a dog scratching a face full of fleas, they lay eggs in the brain

i put down the knife.

The really vivid imagery in this piece. Especially the dog with the fleas and the chainsaw and the starfish venom.

The last line about the knife doesn't seem to have context; is it an allusion to self-harm?

An arching, aching, expanse withered and worn by an indefinite stream, my consciousness, yearning to fill the cracks. They still persist.

Time knows not This Place. Or perhaps it is known by time, too well. An ancient void, yet somehow just discovered. Perfectly stable alone, precariously balanced on the edge of lonely for how long? Time knows not This Place.

‘It is filled’ echoes throughout. The stream still flowing when the nothing becomes too much.

Sometimes nothing is better than not enough. Perhaps time knows This Place just perfectly.

The alliteration and assonance in the repeating sounds of the first stanza, and the image in the lines, "precariously balanced on the edge of / lonely / for how long?"

Consider whether "Time knows not This Place" is a strong enough line to repeat at the beginning and end of the stanza where it appears. It seems that one or the other placement might be enough to convey the idea.

I go along when you are planning You assume as we fall- I am unaware When we both slowly recalculate For us, the lines should never overlap

That last line -- "For us, the lines should never overlap" conveys a lot about healthy and unhealthy relationships and the realization that some people are oil and water for whatever reason.

Consider adding a bit more context: who are these people to each other whose lines really should never overlap—lovers, friends, family members?

Time is either moving too fast, or hardly moving at all It is difficult to tell, all that is known is it feels like time doesn’t matter so much here.

A small twig weightless in the breeze, One large green leaf holding onto it tightly Unfurled and stretching towards the sun.

Swaying Floating Drifting Untethered.

Untethered, but with a string bound tightly to its frail body The string glorious shades of red and gold, Flecked Sparkled Ethereal Iridescent

First hit, Harsher than strictly necessary, All sharp spikes and prickly edges, Awaits the twig.

It plummets down through the boughs. Hitting a seemingly unending number of branches on the way down. Only to halt mere centimetres from the earth. Saved from impact by the magical thread Woven throughout the trees branches Holding the twig in place securely.

Trunk an immovable source of strength Love Warmth Growth A place for rest. Home.

Deep beneath the mossy terrain Below the great canopy of the tree Spreading out as though a web crafted from the most skilled spider Grow the roots.

Plunging as deep as they do wide The roots cement the tree to the planets very core The Beginning Everything The source of creation.

Source connected to roots Roots connected to trunk Trunk connected to branches ..And the one splintered twig With the spectacular viridescent leaf Intertwined through them all Held firmly to the trunk by the luminous thread.

Home once more.

The contrast between the idea of being untethered—free, but also not belonging anywhere—to being tethered, and having a home.

Consider whether all of those gorgeous words and phrases are doing as much heavy lifting as they could be and consider culling some of the ones that aren't introducing new ideas or progressing the narrative.

I don’t want our relationship to consume my mind. It fills every void; being torn apart by my deepest apprehensions. Until they urge me to end it. Because no amount of love could make the damage that will come when it ends—because it will end—be worth it.

The interruption in the last line, which comes very suddenly and is unlike the other lines but is executed well.

Every line but one has terminal punctuation, and only one has mid-line punctuation. Consider the effect of either adding punctuation to the second-to-last line, or of breaking line 2 where the semicolon is. How would those changes affect the narrative?

The eternal flow

The cloud inside me gets denser and denser by, Hanging in some corner of my heart With a tight hook. This force brings me down, And Drag through the mosaic floor Injuring my flesh and bones And without even knowing I’m at my grave …

The images are vivid and have some interesting details, like specificity of the mosaic floor.

All of the lines currently start with capitalization, almost as if they are different sentences even when they continue the same thought. Consider capitalizing and punctuating like prose, where there isn't a capital letter until you get to a proper noun or terminal punctuation. What would that do to the rhythm of the piece?

Hope—A Haiku for My Mother

I’m trying so hard It isn’t enough, it seems I made my mom cry

And it broke my heart Mom, there will be better days I love you, dearly

Sorry for the pain And the worry that I’ve caused I know what I am

I love you mother You mean the whole world to me Don’t give up on me

The way that the haiku structures mirror an apology, with the first two lines discussing the hurt caused and the last lines focusing on the effects of those actions and wanting to make amends.

Consider what would happen if you punctuated these words like prose.

I'm No Good

If I could fly I would fly towards the sun My wings would burn and I would return to the ground and I would die

I wish I was like a mole I would dig a hole I could dig down really deep Then I would hide from every soul Down there I would weep and weep and weep

The images here are really striking and strong. The summary of the myth of Icarus flying to great heights and the mole burrowing in the dark depths contrast in interesting ways.

The rhyme scheme seems to be inconsistent. Consider applying it throughout or omitting it entirely.

Ode to Opioids (CW: addiction)

Oxycodone, Hydromorphone, Hydrocodone love Wrap me in your blanket, make me float like a dove I love you and I hate you, you make me feel so nice But you’ve also caused me all this anguish and ruined my life That rush is incomparable to anything I’ve felt before But the feeling is unbearable when there is nothing more I love you and I hate you, you have me in your grip I’ll never be in charge of you, you’re the captain of this ship

The contradictions and rollercoaster feelings of addiction are captured well in this piece, and the long lines leave a reader a bit breathless (like the person with the addiction likely is as well).

Consider whether the rhyme scheme is serving the poem or vice-versa; if the latter, perhaps breaking the rhyme scheme but focusing on the rhythm of the lines might be worth trying.

Football's Coming Home

Brave lions step up, The pressure so steep, So horrid an injustice, The lions labeled black sheep.

The weight of a nation, All down on one knee, An example to all, Oh how proud they should be.

Carried us further, Than we’ve been in so long, The way that they’re treated, Couldn’t be any more wrong.

The simple A-B-C-B rhyme scheme belies the weighty topic of sociopolitical action and creates an interesting tension.

In some places, the "theys" and the "thems" get a bit muddled. To whom are these words referring? Consider clarifying.

I met Hatred and it burned I met Helplessness and it blistered I met Vulnerability and my skin gave way completely

20 missed calls from Control but I told her we can’t talk anymore, there’s someone new in my life

The truth is there’ve been a lot of new faces lately and not all of them are pretty

But I’m not looking for some surface level connection anyway After all of the dead-end blind dates Hurt sent me on I can’t help missing Trust

Because just like that there’s water in my lungs again

The characterizations of the various concepts in the first several lines, especially the line about "20 missed calls from Control."

Consider adding similar personifying details to Trust as to the other feelings.

Why did I do it I ponder every day Too late to go back

This is an excellent question to ask, and the last line makes clear that the "it" in the first line is clearly something momentous and life changing.

This short haiku asks a lot of questions with a lot of possible applications. I wonder if it should stand alone or if adding some context, even if placed with other poems in series, could be useful.

Like observing the bluest waterfall Pouring its full potential down, down, downward Into a magnificent, dream-filled sea, I admire from afar So it may be, what it may be And I may carry on, gleaming.

Like a wish upon the shiniest shooting star Exceeding the other various planets It’s distance, reveals its scars and its story, I admire from afar So it may bask in its shimmer and glory

But wait— A prowling lioness Hungry for life Waters at the corner of her mouth. With beet-red eyes, It comes with no surprise Her antelope waits in despair An attack on sight Which brings the poor antelope fright Sulks in the bloodbath ending.

The flow of the images here, from idyllic waterfall to predatory bloodbath, and the contrast between those two extremes.

Consider whether some of the longer lines could be broken or shortened to be more uniform with the rest of the piece.

Why Can't It Be About Me for Once?

If I were to scream and cry To plead and beg To whine and moan Would they notice me the way they do you? Would they hear me too?

“Why can’t it be about me for once?” It always is It always has been

In ways big and small With nearly no effort You command a room You cast a shadow so glorious it is all I can do to wilt in its umbra

The repetition of phrases with slight changes to emphasize their differences is well played here. I also love the image of "a shadow so glorious it is all I can do to wilt in its umbra," even though it must be a painful spot for the speaker to be in.

This is excerpted from a much longer piece. Consider whether each line is adding something new to the topic or whether some are re-treading the ground covered in prior lines and could be omitted.

As fast as train on its tracks, Or a plane soaring its wings, Crash. Glass shattered like art, With materials colliding to create a sculpture, Crash. Only to see visions of blindness, While feeling trapped like a captive bird, Crash. But comforted with the embrace of one familiar hug, My father.

That last line packs a wallop, as the image is so startlingly different from the other ones.

What purpose is the word "crash" as repeated line in addition to the title? Consider omitting.

Look at my eyes Canʼt you see The pain that may subside but will not cease The crooked smile The yellow teeth It hides the emptiness I feel beneath My chosen home My lonely street Envelop me in darkness I choose to sleep

The off-rhymes are neat. Those can be hard to do consistently and well. Kudos!

Consider whether the leading capitalization on every line and the chosen lack of punctuation are serving the poem. Might punctuating this like prose make this easier for the reader to understand?

Why am I the person you go to? Why am I the keeper of your secrets? Why am I the one you talk to when you say you want to talk to someone different? Why am I the one you vent to? Why should I help you figure out your feelings? Why should I stay when all you do is use me? Why shouldn’t I leave, you act like you wouldn’t care. Why do you use me and say you don’t? Why do you mock me then say it’s all just a joke? Why should I believe you? Why?…you don’t even know do you?

The repetition of the word and the weighty accusations behind them make the word "why" hit like a hammer.

Consider the rhythm of these lines. These are written currently as one might speak them, but might some revision make the wording a bit tighter and more evocative? Also consider having "you don't even know do you?" become its own stanza, as the entire piece seems to build to that.

It really is a shame it has to be so lame

With cancel culture and perms, that’s only the start of the game

There are e-boys and anime, oh yeah and Addison Rae

Putting her body on display just for faceless likes and praise

Don’t forget the dances, oh so cliche

And no its not just the dumb humor that has me feeling this way

It’s the desensitization at the end of the day

Invention of being super straight and disapproval of transgenders and gays

And all of the racism could put you in a hays

The effect on the youth is like a psychological maze

Just because your favorite influencer said the n word doesn’t mean you should too

This poem's excoriation of Tiktok and social media in general is clear and logical and brings important issues to the fore.

Rhyme can be tricky--too much of it at the end of line can turn the reader's mind off to the poem's content because their ear will work to anticipate the next word instead. You might write a draft in which you let go of some of the perfect rhymes and see what happens!

Faith and My Father (trigger warning: child abuse/rape)

Now I ask has time run out? Nay, not for one who lacks all doubt But years went by and my shame grew Until shame was all I knew

Now I fear the blessed night And look away from garish light Now every night I pray for relief But deep down I have lost belief

Choosing rhyme for this poem is incredibly interesting because it allows us to almost hear this as a nursery rhyme or lullaby which makes it so haunting. It's clear you've taken a lot of care in exploring an impossible topic with grace.

Is the rhyme controlling this poem too much? Especially when a singsong quality is jarring with the subject matter, it might be interesting to see where breaking the rhyme could support this child's trust being broken. Can you establish an expectation for rhyme and then allow that to slip away as the poem goes on?

No Direction

Living day to day No idea how to make headway How to break this endless cycle Make the effort, take some time and think about it Michael

How I wish to be brave, honest and care free Not afraid, or guarded and “oh god help me” Learn to be grateful for what you have got Take stock and remember you have quite a lot

If this is really "the first “poem” [you've] ever sat down and written," then we are impressed that you jumped in to tackle a sonnet! You've got some wonderfully surprising rhyming pairs here like "cycle" and "Michael," and "carefree" and “oh god help me” giving us great juxtaposition! Your ideas are clearly humming along, and the poetic voice here is true and compelling!

Sometimes trying to maintain a rhyme scheme can make your lines uneven lengths as you write towards the end of the line or hunt that rhyme. Moving forward, you might take one step back from the form and decide what the most important idea at the heart of this poem is. Is this a heartfelt exploration of anxiety and creative worry? Who is this speaker and what is the occasion for the poem, what has made them feel insecure? For those shorter lines, see if you can explore the five senses and paint a vivid picture of where we are!

Keep Your Chin Up

I try to put my mask on every morning But it slips often and without any warning Paranoia seeps in daily Everyone around me hates me No self confidence or self esteem Every emotion felt to its extreme Eating too much, drinking even more The weight piles on and I feel even lower Closer to hitting rock bottom each day

The emotions of this raw poem are so forceful and true! The lines really sing when we can hear that repetition of s sounds with slips and seeps.

Read the poem aloud paying special attention to its sounds and see where you might infuse more music! Giving a singsong quality to a sad or introspective poem can make it more memorable as the form will clash with the meaning in a good way, making the reader sit up and pay attention. Could you open the poem with that slipping mask?

I was lead to the ocean. The skies were clear, the colours bright, I wanted to go to the ocean. I dipped into the water, but it didn’t affect me much. I wanted to go to the ocean. Excited, I jumped right in. Burdens carried, patience thin, I dived into the ocean.

The repetition of the desire for the ocean is really lovely, even though it leads to the speaker's demise.

Titles can do a lot of heavy lifting for a poem. Consider whether this title is pulling its full weight and conveying all that it could about the situation presented.

My heart belongs to

The pink on your lips

The brown in your irises

The flush on your cheeks

And warmth I feel when you are beside me

I lust for you my friend

At night a heat creeps up within me

I seek you out but you are no where to be seen

I take care of myself and feel hollow

Wondering when I can feel you slide up in me

The smile you give me

The way you know to touch me

The sighs leaving your mouth

The sweat glistening on your skin

And the high we achieve

The night ends and we are all we need

I really like the intimacy of the concrete details that show that the speaker has been paying attention to this other person.

It seems like the "friend" is more than that here -- or perhaps the speaker wants them to be! Calling the person "my friend" in this lends a possibly unintentionally sinister tone to the piece. Consider other appellations for the addressed person that more closely match the adoration that is being showered upon them.

I spend a lot of time imagining what it will be like when I finally meet my person I like to imagine the look on his face as he studies the shape of my own, attentively tracing the curve of my jaw and the slope of my nose with his eyes as if he plans to sketch me He stares at each curl in my hair, the ringlets behind my ears and the small, flame-like coils that lick my forehead He reaches out to touch me, almost as if to confirm my existence Twisting a curl around his finger and brushing his hand across my cheek, he smiles Although my skin is warm, he wouldn’t be surprised to feel the cool shock of marble beneath his fingertips In his eyes, I am likened to an ancient Greek sculpture, each detail on my body exact and intentional But he knows that my semblance can never be etched into stone or depicted in a painting No one could possibly recreate how my face lights up when I talk about what I love or the way my eyes drift out of focus as I disappear into my own mind He is smart enough to know a camera can never truly capture a sunset And so instead he looks at me, really sees me His eyes dart back and forth as if to drink in all that I am before it’s too late I wish he knew that he has all the time in the world

The similes here are really vivid and the feelings create a dreamlike, fantasy quality.

Consider adding some more concrete details about this person who sees the world (and his person) as art. Are there gestures or actions or events that lend him these insights?

don’t like what i see

stop. don’t breathe

twist, side to side

mind runs away

combing over the counts

it was the pasta

or maybe too much water

There is an intimate, almost voyeuristic feeling to this as the speaker stands in front of the mirror and examines their physical flaws.

Perhaps add some more concrete details to strengthen the images.

They say follow the rules of a normal life

And build a house to find peace in life

So I Found a job and built a house

Still couldn’t find a life to live

Still couldn’t feel a thirst to quench

They say love heels a lifeless soul

So, I loved and kissed to revive the soul

Still couldn’t see a life beneath

Still couldn’t find an air to breathe

They say travel enlightens a dull soul

So I packed my bags and opened the doors

Still couldn’t see the bright light ahead

Still couldn’t trace the shadows left behind

This piece does a good job of capturing the journey of a soul looking for purpose. The structure of action, result, action, result works here.

Consider breaking this into stanzas to make each phase really stand out, maybe before each instance of "They say."

Me and my hollow heart

Because of my hollow heart when every time I tried to walk on the new path I end up fulling aside Because of my hollow heart Why do I feel sad all the time? Why do I want to run away from all? because I wanted to enjoy my life! Because of my hollow heart? but now that I realize It is me, not my hollow heart who puss the feeling away It is me, who works against my heart I do not have the guts to face the real life

I like the progression in this piece from bemoaning the present situation to moving forward.

Consider adding stanza breaks to emphasize the phases between the refrains.

Retribution

A puddle here, a puddle there Death will get you, no matter where Are you here? You are not Are you there? Thankfully not The end arrived, you stare in fear But the people rejoice; the people cheer Misusing your free mind You decided to be blind After turning innocent souls into a memory You can only weep in your misery Deserved, as it should be Another justice, another victory To you, it is unfair To the people, an entertainment a fair.

The opening juxtaposition of the happy and very unhappy images remind me of Emily Dickinson's work.

Most of the poem concentrates on "you" except for one line about "the people." Consider elaborating on who these people are and their relationship to "you." Why are they so invested?

Meant for Great Things

Ever since we were babes, Piercing silence with directionless cries, We are told we are special, so dry those damp eyes. Ah, as we grow, we’re told the world will be ours. All we must do is wait through the short hours. We come into our own, with eyes and minds wide, We are destined for greatness, And for it, we strive. We work long hard days, Nine to five. And spend sleepless nights, with worrying minds. Yet most of us don’t inherit, the greatness we’re told we would fill; We live not the lives we were promised, But, the ones that we build. …

And all of the while Steadfast our planet remains, Ignorant of our struggles, petty trifles and pains. That which we were promised as children, the one and the same. With all of its beauty, And all of its awe, With all of its wonder For each of us all. …

So much like ourselves, Earth wont end with a bang, But more of a whimper, of unfulfilled pain. From the beginning, it seems, We were two of a kind, Since the dawn of the earth crossed the birth of mankind, Both were meant to take flight upon wonderful wings, I guess we were destined for much greater things.

I like how this poem has a stream-of-consciousness feel to it and the complete poem stretches out long like a life, adeptly reflecting the weighty topics of generational struggle and climate change.

There are a lot of words and details competing for a reader's attention before the pivot to climate change. Consider focusing on the strongest 3-5 images or breaking this into smaller numbered parts.

Reading Norwegian Wood

I sit on my bed listening to Itoh and Watanabe, Ichiko whispering on her guitar. I feel as though they just make sense.

But not us.

The Summer haze drifts through my window. I’m not a lover of heat you see, But my fan clogs along with songs of pops, snaps and cracks, Shattering the air into a million breathes. I hold onto it and lay back.

I wonder if imaginary smog will soffocate me. Today or tomorrow. I will wake up with August in my rear window, Smiling to myself as the setting Sun sets my trails on fire. And I reach the other side.

I love the dreamy imagery of this poem and the idea of a "setting Sun [setting] my trails on fire."

Consider adding more about who "us" is in line 4. What is the relationship here?

a clock struck the 8th a clock struck the 4th a clock struck the 9th a clock struck the 12th

both clock struck 7th neither clock 9th a clock struck 2nd earlier a clock struck 5th late

different models different names nothing the same similarities made differences

a clock with a longer battery a clock with a shorter two clocks shut down at the 9th others continued

clocks kept ticking until there were no more the last struck at the unknown a clock all alone

I like the repetition and the parallelism in the images that tick on like an analog clock's second hand.

The clocks seem like they could be a really great metaphor. Consider relating the clock phenomena to more concrete details.

Tomorrow will be different, You’ll get up, open your curtains, And smile at the sun for the first time in weeks You’ll get out of bed, get dressed, And not look in the mirror for flaws you’re so good at seeing You’ll go downstairs and see the sun pouring in through the kitchen windows, And you’ll feel it warm your ever cold toes You’ll put the homemade waffles in the toaster, And you’ll giggle to yourself when they come out a little burnt, just like always. You’ll take one last look out the window at the garden, And you’ll smile knowing that there’s so much life just a few steps away. You’ll take the stairs two at a time, And try your hardest not to spill the glass of milk all over the carpet. You’ll try your best to take care of yourself, And all your hard work will pay off, Because, whether it feels like it right now or not, Tomorrow will be different. I promise.

I love the little details in this: the burnt waffles, the giggle.

Consider breaking some of the longer lines into shorter ones, e.g., "You’ll go downstairs and see the sun pouring / in through the kitchen windows"

There’s a reason rails exist, In high attempts lie high risks. Red floods my vision sometimes. Eating at my maggot infested soul, but Daffodils around this stone seem so familiar.

The vivid imagery: the maggots, the daffodils, and the stone evoke a gravesite.

These images are intriguing; consider expanding on them a bit more.

My Mum, Nonpareil

Your diligence, your steadfastness, Your skillfulness, your assertiveness, Your creativity, your wise inquisitiveness… Oh, mum, I could go on and on. Oh, mum, you make the true meaning of a mother. As virtuous, loving, and caring as you are, I rejoice as I watch you being you, You are my dazzling mum!

How you have captured joy and love in this poem. Your mum sounds wonderful!

Consider adding some details that show her greatness as well as telling about it.

A Cold Summer

Maybe there’s something to change A bittersweet relationship bridges the gaps between each memory Tangled in something that seemed so out of range. In the blink of an eye, it left us in jeopardy. And the tears flow to leave me in derange I don’t have the energy To keep myself from the sudden exchange.

Where did the time go? It floated down a river with a heavy sigh. But it doesn’t seem so long ago, Dreaming what it would be like to fly. But it’s early July And everything’s gone awry Waving goodbye, I’d rather die.

The tight rhyme scheme, especially in the second stanza; these can be really hard to maintain!

Consider varying the rhyming words a bit more in the first stanza; "range" and "derange" sound very similar but convey very different meanings, and some of that difference may be lost with those two similar words so close together.

Speak up we don’t want to hear you

Express yourself, be creative Your art is too messy We don’t see why you’re so disruptive This school isn’t for your kind We can’t solve your problems with a band aid or surgery So we can’t help you here

Mother my brain is so full of voices But darling those voices aren’t real Father my head is full of scary thoughts But sweetheart we have done nothing but love you

Crafting a poem that can be read from the bottom up or from the top down is wildly impressive! It feels especially fitting to explore themes of mental health through a form that is more flexible and lends a circular quality to the piece so that we could mirror the way a mind might go back and forth with this kind of anxiety.

Take a look at some examples of concrete poetry and think about how the shape of the poem could contribute to its content. Could you wrap these lines around in a circle or explode the lines across the page? Instead of describing the art as messy and the speaker's behavior as disruptive, could you dig deeper and give us some specific examples that we could see and feel?

when i look in the mirror

this year i’ve spent approximately 2160 hours alone but 3600 lonely there’s a big difference between alone and lonely alone is the action of being by yourself lonely is the feeling you have when you think nobody cares i feel lonely even when i am not physically alone

This is such a deeply relatable and personal poem! Your vulnerability is sure to connect with readers who feel similarly and help them not to feel alone, and the distinction between being alone and loneliness at the core of the poem is wonderfully nuanced.

Could the stanza about loneliness and being alone open the whole poem? This feels like a really important idea, but we don't necessarily need to build up to it. As we are repeating this idea of looking in a mirror, see if you can get even more visual and think about what five senses you might invoke so that the reader feels like they can see you.

Oh ocean, boundless and breathtaking you are

Do I not fear? Do I not learn? I keep coming back In you, I found my harmony, my freedom, and my balance but little did I know they wouldn’t last long

Questions are an excellent way to bring a reader in and help them to engage with your ideas! This poem does a great job of using the second person direct address to bring us in line with the ocean and help us to feel those waves!

Why does this relationship not last long as the final line of the poem says? Are we missing some information here? Would the present tense also work for the closing or could we ask this as a question?

I keep coming back to you. In you, I find my harmony, my freedom, and my balance, but will they last?

How many more do you want

How many hearts will you haunt? Get one more lover, Two, three, even four

You've got some gorgeous music humming in that second line and throughout this little poem! The use of questions is really effective and is helpful in drawing the reader into your work and making them want to answer.

Does that first line need a question mark, and could there be a space between the first and second line, and the forth and fifth line so that we have a three line core with a free standing line on either side? Instead of "give you what you've lost," might that ending connect more directly to the idea of haunting? What does this "you" want?

Lost on My Way

I want to explore the world, the tall buildings, the meadows and the silence of seas,

the warmth of the sun calls my name but I’m too afraid to step in the unknown,

for I had found the safe company of screens in the sight of none.

I hide behind the shadows of crowd hoping someday to have my own identity.

You've got some beautiful music with "meadows and the silence of seas" mixed with some great sensory details with that warm sun! We are able to enter your world through your use of description here, and it is great to be in conversation with Frost!

See if you can make your language a bit bolder and more direct:

I search my worth in those hidden gems, hoping to find the reason of my existence. I stumble cluelessly through wrong lanes and am lost on those diverging paths from Frost.

We might not even need to mention Frost explicitly if we have those diverging paths to clue the reader in to your reference.

There’s nothing better in the world, I’d say, Than to run and jump and flip and play. To be outside and feel the sun, To see the world, and have fun. And hear the birds, high in the trees, And enjoy the cool, crisp summer breeze. Just go on out, there’s nothing to fear, So much to do, see, and hear.

You establish a really playful rhythm and rhyme scheme which feels almost like a playground chant. The images are very vivid and inviting.

I’m curious about the line “Just go on out, there’s nothing to fear.” It seems to suggest a slightly different tone than the sunny images in the rest of the piece. Is the person the speaker is addressing worried about venturing outside? What is their relationship? It might be interesting to probe that aspect a bit more.

Open Your Eyes

A rule that I always forget despite being constantly reminded of it;

Things only come to you when you don’t want it anymore

The more you desire to have it, the further it runs away from you

A rule that I hate so much, because sometimes, you can’t help but wait for things to come to you

You keep on dreaming, imagining yourself enjoying the scent of it, feeling it running through your veins, breathing it so deeply that it fills every part and part of you

You start believing that it’s real, dragged so effortlessly to an endless series of lies, lies that become solid roots to your reality

You’ll slowly begin to reap its fruits, realizing that you’ve been constantly feeding on a fairytale that you weaved by yourself

And one day, your whole world of lies will collapse, revealing the ugly truth that you’ve been fleeing

You’ll never understand the reason why you can’t get to it, although it’s been inside you all the time…

You can’t reach it; you’ll eventually give up everything, hating yourself for not being able to perceive what you want

The cynical voice in this poem is really strong, and there is a very distinct character that emerges from it.

What would happen with this poem if you varied the line lengths a bit more, and perhaps made some of the longer lines into stanzas made of shorter lines? You may want to experiment with line breaks and see what happens when the variation in line lengths and after unexpected words increase the tension of the poem.

His Poetic Kisses

The very moment his lips met hers His tongue traced her lips She quivered He was generous He was passionate and intentional with Each poetic kiss

Tactfully made to form beautiful complex emotions

She found somebody who Awakened her soul She was besotted with one kiss To his Poetic Kisses

This poem has a lovely dreamlike quality about it, and you do a really good job of establishing this mood and recreating the feeling of being swept off one’s feet.

There are a lot of concrete details of the physical love in this, but I wonder how the poem might be affected if the poem probed a bit deeper into the less-tangible details, such as “each poetic kiss / tactfully made to form beautiful complex emotions” – what might some of those complex elements be, e.g., lust, love, safety, danger?

the world is beautiful

flowers and strays were my favourites

walking around aimlessly too

i loved to read and to write

i also loved to talk and talk till no end

i loved listening to people talk

and hear their stories and watch their gestures

i loved loving the world

because the world is beautiful

The sense of loss at the core of this poem is so compelling! We've got a lot of magic with "the colours and lights and shadows / even if it sometimes seems upside down" and this will make a reader want to keep going and reread your lines.

Can you get more specific with your images and ideas? While you know the background of this poem, your readers can only "see" and "feel" what you tell them, so what colours are you seeing? What types of flowers and strays are you talking about, and can you describe these gestures? Let us further into your world!

Is it a coincidence that your oak trees are perfect for stringing me up?

Your climate harasses my skin Your pests harass me also Your many ports brought me here Your air sickens me like no other Your food fattens and slows me

This is a haunting and powerful poem which feels deeply resonant and timely! Your images and verbs are well chosen, and each line feels alive as we understand more and more what is at stake for this speaker.

How is form working in this poem? Could you experiment with exploding these lines across the page or adding in more white space? Do you want to leave off the periods to make things feel open ended or would full stops feel like a hammer coming down?

Void of Love

How many more do you want how many hearts will you haunt?

You establish a wonder rhythm in the opening lines of this poem, and beginning with these questions does an excellent job of drawing the reader in. There is such surprising music between haunt and heart!

Could your title be doing more work to draw a reader in? Just now, it feels like it is explaining the poem too closely, and a more abstract image might add a bit of mystery!

i know my secrets

im staying positive, seeing the little beauties in life, but its never enough. theres always the mistletoe of dread and fear and hurt over my head, waiting for me to swap spit with the grim reaper.

This is a raw and vulnerable poem that will connect deeply with other people who feel similar and weighty emotions. You do a great job of allowing a stream of consciousness style to give the piece a very natural and conversational feel, as if the reader is sitting on your bed and listening to you share as a friend. The poem really lights up in the middle with those images!

How would it feel to open on that mistletoe image? It's so vibrant and original, and those lines do a great job of showing us where this speaker is, trying desperately to stay positive when it feels impossible. You've got some great moments where we are able to experience her world through the five senses, and these moments can be deepened with more description! You've got a lot of ideas here, but invite us in with all our senses!

Feelings (trigger warning: self harm)

I realized what I’ve done I realize Breaking to the ground The screams hiding inside me The pain controlling my thoughts

This is an incredibly brave poem to share, and the short, choppy lines do an excellent job of mirroring the movements of a frantic mind!

Take a slow read through the poem aloud and see if there are any places which need more clarity. For example "Breaking to the ground" could sound like you are making a metaphor between the body and the earth, like this speaker hurting their own body is like breaking new ground in construction or gardening. Another meaning is that they are breaking down and falling to the ground or falling to their knees.

What if this one faint idea had become a reality? What if I had done this instead of that? The Night is a scary time. It’s when all control seems to be lost; all inhibitions are thrown aside. During the Night, that’s when bad things happen, bad people come out, and darkness manifests.

You establish such a great driving rhythm by opening your poem with these questions! Questions can make a reader lean in and search for answers, and this poem leaves us wanting more.

Read through this poem aloud and see where you might make your statements bolder! You can be more literal in a poem which calls up some ideas of darkness and danger, so try taking "like" out of "the inescapable wave of emotion and guilt comes flooding in a violent river" or talk about "when all control is lost." See where you might be softening your ideas, and trust your readers!

Trying to grasp, every crevice, every corner. I deconstruct- Each step to finer and finer shapes I cut- In each section I am thorough My morphology- is reduced to finer nodes

What a beautiful blend of mathematics and poetry! Using the language of geometry to explore the human psyche is such an enchanting move, and your vocabulary feels fresh and really draws a reader in.

While your ideas a wonderful, you might explore your rhythm and flow a bit more. Try reading your lines aloud to yourself and see where you need dashes or where the poem should have less interruption. For example, what you think of these shifts?

Trying to grasp every crevice, every corner, I deconstruct each step to finer and smoother shapes. I cut thorough each section Until my morphology is reduced to finer nodes.

Mixed Feelings

Tell me you don’t know

Tell me you don’t like me

Tell me you do

There is little time to tell

All of this is inconspicuous

Unreadable,  unclear

This feeling…

It is what gets me going I fear

Gets me thinking about life, about what I want, about who I am

About what is left for me to seek after

The questions on this speaker's mind feel so real and deeply relatable! Their relationship (or lack of a clear relationship) is truly believable and will connect with readers on a deep level.

While we do believe this voice, can you go deeper into what this person is feeling? For example, we read "And that drives me crazy. / Gives me all these feelings," but what are these feelings, and what does this feel like? Does it feel like a tree is growing inside this person or like a lizard is running around their chest? Can you really get into the five senses and let us know what this person is feeling in their body, heart, and mind?

All she ever did was love and lose

They fell in love with the way the pale moonlight hit her bare body at night,

Only ever pretty when she was getting undressed, only ever “i love you” when her shirt was off.

All she ever wanted was for someone to compliment her the way the colour green complimented her eyes,

All she ever wanted was him.

This is a wonderfully sensual and heartbreaking poem! The images of moonlight and green eyes do a good job of allowing us to "see" who this person is, giving us complicated feelings if we admire her beauty without seeking to know her on a deeper level.

Can you turn up the tension between what we see on the outside vs. what she has going on inside her head? What does she think about "losing" and how does she want to be seen? Can you get more specific with a moment like "the colour green"? Should be imagine a pale green like the pale moonlight or a strong and vibrant green, or perhaps the dark green of a forest at night?

there'll be one day

there’ll be one day i’ll get in bed and rest my head i’ll think back and say today’s been a pretty great day

but until that night it’s nothing but woe working every hour fruitless, nothing to show

This poem makes lovely use of a strong turn from that first to second stanza. We already know something is amiss in that first stanza as we are imagining a better future which implies something is wrong in the speaker's present, but we have that confirmed with "woe" and "fruitless" in the next lines!

This poem just needs a little nudge, because it feels like there is much more poem humming underneath these lines waiting to be written! We have this great turn and a really relatable feeling of hopelessness and struggle, but what has been the spark? Can you add in details so we can see where this speaker is and understand what is getting them down? Can you explore the five senses to give us a deeper understanding of their world?

The Storm Yesternight

I believe I can quell the ache, So, I devoured all the gust tonight. Sensing the sultry sun on my skin and smelling the wet mud, its needless to safe keep time. Did I really make it past the dark storm yesternight?

Wowza, what beautiful use of concrete details and vivid language! You do an amazing job of engaging our senses with the smell of wet mud and sensual heat of the sun, and the idea of devouring a gust is so original and wildly memorable! Yes!

How is form contributing to the pacing and meaning of this poem? At thirteen lines, we could play with the idea of pressing this into a sonnet (even without making it a traditional rhyming sonnet) and thinking about what you might want to emphasize with different line breaks.

once i left

once i left you came to realise that what we had you might not ever share with anyone else

no one will whisper on your ear laugh at your bad jokes love you the way i did

This is a deeply relatable poem that will have people saying "amen" and thinking of a specific person from their past! Your conversational tone and "i’ll be long gone, baby," strike just the right note so that a reader feels like they really are this speaker.

Can you dial in some specificity so we feel more of this speaker's personality, maybe channeling a little of that "i’ll be long gone, baby" energy? Could you state a specific bad joke or share one special little phrase whispered in the ear?

Just me and you and our love In the pouring rain Roof sheltering us from the elements Just me and you and our love

Plucking on my heart strings like a new guitar. Play as much you can Just don’t pull too hard

Let go? Never Change? Never Immature? Sure

This is a wonderfully heartfelt and relatable poem, and the little punch of that last stanza is lovely! The last line does a great job of creating a circular structure with the title, and you've even got that final rhyme to really bring it all home.

There is a little bit of mixing metaphors in the middle of the poem, and it might be good to smooth this out or focus on one and get specific. Are we in the pouring rain getting wet or sheltered under the roof? Can we tweak the idea of the guitar to something more surprising that continues the idea of the storm?

the sound echoes as you try to form a single thought the rush of fear takes over like a demon casting a spell That last moment, last breath of the reality you once knew

What an epic poem in so few lines! It almost feels like Yeats' "The Second Coming," and your use of the second person address is really effective for drawing the reader into the drama.

Can you cut the strings and take leap with some of your phrasing? How would it sound to say, "In a moment, all time stands still," or to put "am I going to see tomorrow" in italics and then say it "speeds through your head:" *am i going to see tomorrow* speeds through your head. Instead of "In slow motion" could we see "your worst fear" crawling or slithering or limping through "the world's reality"? Take a read through your poem and turn up the dial on your imaginative and magical thinking! Make us "see" that demon!

It wasn’t polyamory, it was cruelty

It was cruelty when you told me I needed to change When you had checked out of our shared future It was cruelty when you said you didn’t have an emotional life When I needed to be let into it It was cruelty when you said I couldn’t communicate When my pain was unacceptable to you It was cruelty when you blamed me for not loving myself When you made that impossible to change.

This is a brave and honest poem that will connect with many people because it's not afraid to go sad and deep! The direct address and repetition of "It was cruelty" does a great job of driving home your message.

Getting the name "Jen" and the stanza where you go deep into those insulting comments about calves, jowls, and eyes is so compelling (and stings!) because of its specificity. It feels real! Can you bring more of that to lines like "Was ill-suited to work that would give me purpose / Wasn’t good enough for work I was overqualified for"? What dreams are being squashed here? While repetition is great, you could create a bit more surprise for the reader by varying the phrase at the end, even something like, "You were cruel to say," can spice things up and help us not to tune out the repeated line.

A whisper erupts A roar that deafens A handful hear the plea Many aim to quiet it And they will win

Killer verbs in this little poem! You do a great job of mixing up our senses in a memorable way, especially with that erupting whisper. Very memorable!

Is there more poem lurking behind these lines? Might a more specific title give us a clue about the context? We could use slightly more direct language by saying "a roar deafens" to match the construction of the previous line, and how do these nameless people try to quiet the plea? We might need just a little more here to make this poem really memorable and evocative!

Then I waited, seconds became minutes, minutes turn to hours, and today 2 years have passed, yet still no sign of you.

I learn to live with the void you left, Pain, pain, pain, pain, pain,… Pain filled the hole in my heart

What I have left is stalking But It’s like stabbing myself over and over again.

Wow the repetition of "pain, pain, pain" is so surprising and effective! It's also wonderfully self-aware for this speaker to call themselves out for "stalking" as this is what this love obsession has risen to! The voice here is really compelling and makes us want to read more!

The ending feels a bit too jokey for the rest of the poem, and while "To sum up, I MISS YOU" could make us imagine a much younger speaker, it feels a bit jarring to close this poem. What was it about this desired person that was so compelling? Might a bit of description draw us deeper into this speaker's world?

An Age Forgotten

The vast population eats it all As if a beautiful herb Unresponsive and ragefully ignorant Towards its poisonous roots.

The chorus has ended; it’s soft melodies Heard as whispers and echoes to the chosen ones To them, blasphemy.

Unhinged, empty and meaningless

This poem describes a relatable grievance in wonderfully metaphoric language, especially that "beautiful herb" with "poisonous roots." The idea of being "unhinged" is so interesting and could really do a great job of gifting a reader new language to describe an old wound!

You are flitting around a lot of great ideas without really settling on one or doing a deep dive into what you are talking about specifically. Can you give us a hint of something more concrete that this speaker is hoping to change? We get a little sliver with "The Ophelia," but then we leap away! Do you have a specific herb in mind? Take a read through your lines with an eye for more specific language and bring us into this world!

Of Ink and Ocean

As paddle dip’s swiftly in river bright, so does my pen in ink of velvet black.

Spray crashes off the bow to leap o’er head sting my eye and strike my tongue. Just as scrawling words may spring from page’ to embrace me in ethereal wings.

You've crafted an amazing flow and urgency with these long lines and bright, expressive images! Your comparison feels fresh and original and is really driven home with your expert choice in active verbs. We also love your shift in form from long lines to the short, staccato finish.

Might you experiment with how those short, final six lines are organized on the page? Should they drop down in a straight line or could they be spread across the page and dance more wildly?

Should the third and forth line flow together without a period to divide them? The thought seems to continue:

Just as scrawling words may spring from page to embrace me in ethereal wings, My pen flits ‘cross the page, thoughts in a fevered trance,

The Human Condition

Weather’s been looking rather fair. Take the train, pay my fare. Arrived at work by city square. Eight hours on a chair.

Got another meeting with the team. Just another corporate scheme. The boss caught me lacking in a dream. Lucky he didn’t scream.

You've packed a lot of life into only six stanzas! The rhyme coupled with the circular structure of the opening and closing stanzas does an excellent job of making us feel and hear the idea of being trapped in that cyclical pattern.

Rhyme can be a wonderful tool, but it can also make the reader's mind switch off to the poem's content because their ear will work to anticipate the next word instead of fully tuning in. In some ways, this poem asks us to do that, to get lulled in, but you might see if we could also have the speaker attempting to break out of this trap by breaking the perfect rhymes and see what happens! Even if you only break the pattern for a couple lines, it will heighten the feeling of being stuck when we land on that repetition in the final stanza.

a year-long struggle

i see it now, it’s obvious my desperate need to be a member of the audience, a failing copyist with projected cockiness only to myself

a deep twisting unease followed me doggedly a cruel twisting shadow pulling hard and holding tight

You've really turned up the dial with rhyme, and pairs like obvious/audience have a wonderfully surprising sound as they are just slightly slant! Our ears are really perking up in these lines which gives a great singsong contrast to the dark subject matter.

Read your poem aloud with an eye for strengthening the authority of this speaker's voice. Can you cut words like "sometimes"? Can you use simpler and more direct language or increase the urgency with the present tense? Take a look at these lines for an example:

can you unwind or will you decide to leave it unlined, unsigned, undefined?

i see myself in your blush the turn of your eyes

Unnamed poem

I try to flush you out Hoping that if it’s a poison to me It’s also a poison to you

But you just keep crawling deeper Hiding in the back of my skull Like an obstinate spider Waiting to bite every now and then With all the venom you made From all the poison I keep feeding us

What a wonderfully haunting and original idea! The spider is the perfect image to pair with your idea, and the ending gives the speaker's predicament a real sense of urgency!

How is that first line serving the poem and would it feel more dynamic to open with the second line? Instead of "like an obstinate spider," can you continue the intimacy of the direct address and say something like, "my obstinate spider"?

Am I a terrible person?

Yet still loneliness is what I feel How can I be lonely when you are so kind Loving me gently Treating me nicely Why do I not love you the way that I should Why can I not hold you the way you hold me You have given me everything But why do I want more

This is a deeply relatable and timeless problem so deserving of a poem! You do a great job of allowing for a really vulnerable and honest voice to come through, and it is excellent that we don't "land" on an easy answer, allowing the reader's mind to spark off in many different directions!

Where are we and what can we see, taste, feel, smell, or hear? Can you give us a hint at where this speaker is and bring us into the occasion of the poem by igniting the five senses? What specific actions mean loving me gently and treating me nicely to this speaker, get specific!

Agony, I think, might be the word For neither being seen, nor being heard. Not by just anyone, but by you

This feels so spot on as a little unrequited love poem! The direct address works well to pull the reader into this role.

Could the opening idea be better expressed in a question? There may be more poem waiting to be written here, but take a read of this alternate phrasing to see how you like it!

Is Agony the word For being neither seen Nor heard?

My Perfect Love

Don’t Underestimate the power of love Where it blooms and glooms all the above

I do not underestimate the power love, Because what love was, is, or coulda been Could all rebirth again, in the power of love.

It could be rain it could be snow It could be winter all in a row,

Bloom and gloom is such a great rhyming pair because they are joined in sound and so contrasting in meaning, lovely choice! The lament and grief of lost love is so powerful in this poem, and it will be deeply relatable to many people as they imagine their own personal heartbreaks.

Take a read of your poem aloud to see where you might tighten ideas and smooth out the rhythm. Ask yourself if any lines feel unclear. Could you highlight the second line by condensing the opening idea?

Don’t underestimate love's power to bloom And glooms over all of the above/and all of the above

Starring the tree

Her eyes like a butterfly (flying around but never landing)

See how well I play my role: My moves are as smooth as those of a dead leaf. Still I hold perfectly still as the trunk I can’t possibly fall over her

What a beautifully original and surprising persona poem! You do a great job of drawing the reader in with mystery and intrigue, and the details you've added allow us to believe the voice as it uses butterflies and dead leaves as its frame of reference for how to describe its world.

How would it feel to open the poem here: "My moves are as smooth as those of a dead leaf."

Instead of opening on the actress, can this tree lead with its own role and give us these little hints (butterfly and leaf, can you think of more?) of who it is? Dig deep into the five senses from the tree's point of view and experiment with painting a really vivid picture for your reader before the big reveal! Can you give enough hints and description that we don't need to be told explicitly that "I’m a petrified tree." Is this a person in a tree costume who might be later dressed as a star, or should we understand this on a more literal level?

Teenage Love

It was as if a light switch was clicked in his head . Went from perfect to somethings up then heartbreak.

Now I have to learn how to live without him again, how to find happiness again. I’ve tried other boys, but it just hasn’t worked.

how can you move on when all you can think about is the past , but that’s all you want to think about , but you know you shouldn’t because you need to “move on” “find another guy” , It’s hard to see him happy when I’m broken inside.

This poem is packed with such wonderfully raw emotions and beautifully honest sentiments that we believe this voice right away. Lost teenaged love is a universal theme that will touch many readers, and questions are a great way to pull the audience in close with the speaker.

Experiment with different ways into this poem with the idea of showing and not telling in mind! Can you ask the reader more directly and bring them into this speaker's brain? Can you get more descriptive and allow us to "see" these people? How would something like this make us feel their urgency and grief?

How could it have ended like this? How could it have ended like it did? Infinite loops of this question as my nights go from falling asleep safely tucked in his arms to sleepless night wondering how, how? When can I press the pause button , how can I?

Time Circle

DESTINY IS HARD TO EXPLAIN WHEN YOU’VE FROZEN YOUR HEART, SO YOU CAN’T FEEL THE PAIN, BREAK THROUGH, AND LET YOURSELF HEAL, THEN YOU’LL DISCOVER THE DREAMS WERE ALL REAL.

HOW MANY HOURS OF PRAYER UNTIL YOU SHOW YOU CARE? HOW MANY MILES TO GO, UNTIL YOU LET ME KNOW? MORNING HOPES FADE AWAY, AS NIGHT ENFOLDS THE DAY; DAWN BRINGS A BRAND NEW SKY, I’LL GIVE IT ONE MORE TRY.

Repetition is used so well in this poem and really makes us understand the obsessive depths of this person's love. Questions are also a great way to pull us readers into the narrative and make us want to find an answer!

What are these old dreams and memories? Can you give us a peek into these lives with a few concrete images or examples? Repetition is a great way to create emphasis, but giving us some specific ideas to picture at the beginning will help us feel more invested in this relationship and what is at stake.

Analog Girl

TIME TOOK ITS TOLL ON YOU. IMAGES TOO FAST FOR YOUR MIND TO SEE, BLINDED BY AN ONSLAUGHT OF PIXELS, FORCING COLORS RELENTLESSLY.

You've got some wonderful phrases here, "onslaught of pixels / forcing colors relentlessly" has such great energy! This is a timely poem which is much needed in our fast, modern world, and it will connect with many people.

Is there more poem waiting to be written here? You set up some really important questions, but do they need to be answered, or do you want to leave that to your readers? We have images and pixels, but should this person hazard a guess as to what they are seeing, even if there are several contrasting guesses to show their confusion?

Eons Beyond Time

Feelings yes they fade But come back every time I see your face Outer space and the stars They all gather for you

Yes Your pain is mine All the time That is when you cross my mind In my heart & in my eyes

What a wonderfully cosmic love poem! You've set the stakes really big here, and this makes for a bold poem that people will want to share at special occasions and in important moments.

Would it feel more interesting to open on an image and/or that wonderful stanza with the stars? How would it feel to open the poem with:

Outer space and the stars all gather for you-- Feelings, yes, they fade but come rushing back every time I see your face

Pornography

Light, towards his eyes,

darkness all around.

Running through straight line trenches,

Germany on the other side,

Searching for his lost lover.

This is a totally unique poem which forces our minds to leap and make this complex connection. Love as a battle is one great idea, but putting love and lust in competition with each other is really smart and compelling here!

Thank you for submitting this version with an explanation, as your poem is both complex and subtle! Could this "much needed explanation" actually mean that there is more poem needing to be written here? We get the wedding photo and feelings of guilt, but we think you could be more explicit through more stanzas to help the reader understand what is going on without an explanatory note.

Vision is not perception  

Nothing is ever still

Space is not empty

The glass is not half anything

We love the way the poet uses via negativa, or the focus on what something is not, to describe the poem’s subject.

We notice you use “it” many times in this poem, and we’re not sure what “it” refers to. How could you make this clearer and less vague?

text me back

u don’t have to love me

but be near me

and don’t love someone else

when i check my phone and there’s nothing from u

my heart sinks

but i think about u alone eating fruits at a picnic table under the sun

and smile because your legs never folded right under the table

We love the way this poem returns to the image of “you” eating fruit in the sun, like a visual refrain.

Try reading this poem out loud and pay close attention to your line breaks. Some of your lines are very short and some are very long; do you have a clear intention for these choices, or did they just happen? Try to listen to where you might naturally break your lines as you read your poem out loud. How might you revise your line breaks with your own authentic voice in mind?

The Doll House

The handwritten note on the empty Doll House  

up on the shelf, said “Comes with lots of extras”.

When I asked, the woman behind the counter took down the blue bin  

full to the top with furniture, and families, and so much more.

It was a real bargain.

I remember telling you  

what a great deal I got on it.

You were not impressed.

We love the emotional openness in this poem: the writer lets us in to a difficult, raw moment that feels intimate and authentic.

We love the way the dollhouse operates as a frame for this poem. What would happen if you emphasized the physicality of the dollhouse more and allowed it to do more work in the poem? What would happen if you included description or sensory imagery related to how the dollhouse looks, feels, and occupies space?

The next love shall receive all. That is what I have learned and accepted. He has not, but I have

but I am stronger than he.

I wanted you, thought I wanted you but now I do not

I am at a different locus now even though I loved where I was

still existing.

We love the strength of the voice in this poem. It seems clear that the writer knows what they want, and they have grown in self-knowledge through the events described in the poem.

It seems there are three or four people in this poem (I, you, he, and she), but sometimes we’re a little confused about who is who. Is “you” a different person than “he” or “she?” How might you add a little more information to make this clearer?

Realisation

now I no longer have you in my dreams

dancing to happiness that does not come from me

sarabesque, piroutte and a plie.

Dancing I will never see for I never saw it when you were in my dreams

it breaks me to know that you are dancing to your own tune of your own happiness but it consoles me that you are happy

I have not taken anything away from you

Please make sure the tune you dance to never goes silent for the silence would hurt us both once again.

We love the depth of emotion in this poem. The poem embraces the complexities of love and longing, and doesn’t shy away from what is difficult to express.

We notice your line breaks are sometimes really long and sometimes very short, yet the rhythm of this poem seems to be fairly regular and musical. What would happen if you made the line breaks in this poem more regular? Could the line breaks help match or support the musicality in the poem

I no longer need to have the best friend  

Nor the best companion from a true friend  

All I seek is one thing:

Feel what is genuine.

We love the self-awareness expressed in this poem. This poem makes us feel grounded in hard-earned wisdom.

We’d love to read more! What allowed this narrator to learn the self-awareness and wisdom so beautifully expressed? Are there images, descriptions, narratives, or metaphors that might help explain how the narrator learned what they learned?

Fearful Triangularities

Your phone asks you “have you spoken with Allah today?”

Your brother asks you “have you seen a therapist lately?”

Your partner asks you “do you want to talk?”  

Your answer, uniformly, is no.  

No, I wish I could. But i told myself I’m not allowed out of mind prison;

Better I stay here where i am safe from people out there,

And where they are safe

You’ll want to read this poem out loud.

You’ll want to share it with someone, especially someone you love.

Because some part of you knows

This isn’t Sustainable, Something has to Change.

We love how vividly this poem describes the horrors of a prison of the mind: the descriptions and imagery are so real and compelling. The vivid, authentic description elicits such compassion for the narrator of this poem.

This poem describes suffering so well, we can’t help but think the writer has first-hand experience with this kind of pain. We sincerely hope you take gentle care of you, dear writer. You are talented and unique, and the world needs your words. Keep writing and find ways to share your writing with your loved ones and with the wider world. You matter, and your poetry matters.

But every step so taken is to secure a life never lived

Age has taught me how to institutionalize  

But every institution so built is to colonize a system meant to be liberated

Age has taught me how to educate a soul

But every lesson so taught is to distance the it from its own.

After all these years there is only one truth to be told

That time passes by and the so does the age

But one remains the same, though the texture may change.

There is beautiful rhyme in this poem, and we love the way you use both internal and end-line rhyme.

Some of the moments that speak to us the most vividly are the parts of the poem where you use description or metaphor to illustrate your ideas. What would happen if you included more imagery, description, or figurative language? How might imagery and metaphor help support the poem’s overall meaning?

[You would light up my world]

We became strangers to each other

And it broke apart my heart

You have nothing left to say

Oh why did you go away.

Was it because I wasn’t good enough Or maybe I don’t deserve your love

I still think of you everyday

And I’ll love you come what may.

We love the poignancy in the last few lines; the emotion in this poem seems deep and sincere, and we find that very moving.

We’d love to read more! Are there any details about the people in this poem you could include, or descriptions of their interactions? Could you include more imagery or figurative language? What is it like to experience this depth of emotion? Show us!

Precious moments don't last forever

The echoes of laughter                                                      

Secret silent jokes                                                    

Smile laugh and tease,                                                    

Each other as we please.                                                  

But the days were gone.

We love the dichotomy of joy and intimacy vs. separation and despair in this poem. The juxtaposition of these opposing emotions is really evocative!

Consider ways you might show your reader how the people in this poem are feeling through imagery, metaphor, or descriptive language. What does torment look like? What does misery feel like?

What Do They See?

Every night now

And all I could have done to save you

More things gone this Winter

Perhaps we will have the truer Spring in the end

The opening of this poem, which imagines what other people see in their mind’s eye at night, is so unique and interesting!

We really enjoyed the metaphor about Spring and Winter in this poem. What would happen if you extended it? What could you tell us about Spring and Winter, as characters or as ideas personified, that might make their roles in this poem more vivid?

You said you’d never leave,

A promise you made to me.

Yet here i am, left to bleed

out all of the emotion I have left to give

The love I have for you,

Is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt.

This poem faces loss and broken promises with such unflinching bravery, and we love the poet’s willingness to explore the difficult emotions that come with such loss.

The emotion described in the poem is so vivid—how might you make your metaphors and figurative language similarly vivid and surprising? What descriptions might truly capture the emotion in the poem, without using cliches or predictable language?

god is dead

or only ever existed

in the fragile minds of gullible men

but the goodness he inspired must not die with him

This poem tackles big, philosophical ideas in just a few terse, clear lines.

We wonder about the title of this poem. “Gullible” really singes the reader in the poem, and using it as a title might take away from its impact in the poem itself. What title might work here instead? Could a different title do more work for this poem?

Now I just love you from a distance

You still probably don’t know how much I fell for you

Or how I can’t stop thinking about you

I know you’re wrong for me, but I can’t accept it

I am hopelessly in love with you

And I always will be

This poem confronts the intensity of unrequited love with such honesty and bravery.

What would happen if you included more figurative language in this poem? Could metaphor, simile, imagery, and descriptive language help support the emotional resonance of this poem? What sensory description could help make the emotions more vivid?

Sleeping With The Lights On

Another night of exhaustion

As a result of my procrastination

I slam onto my bed and sink into my pillow  

With the grace of a car crashing into a willow

The description of the pull of sleep is so surprising: we love the juxtaposition of grace, car crash, and willow.

You mention procrastination and work, but it’s not quite clear to us what these things are pointing to. This poem seems to circle around two problems: one of work preventing sleep, and one related to worthiness. How are these two problems related? Why is work preventing sleep? Why does work make the narrator contemplate their worthiness as a human?

[Chaos Madness]

Goodbye expectations from external sources

Goodbye people pleasing

Breathe in change and growth

Peace begins with acceptance

Life is ever changing

We were born to evolve

The mindset of going back is lazy

Progress is necessary for the world

Cancel culture leaves no room for grace, repentance, and growth

Present. Help me be present.

Welcome to life.

We love the bold, direct style of this poem and the clear, declarative voice.

Our favorite parts of this poem are when you use repetition to create energy and tension in the poem. What would happen if you included more repetition, patterning, and musical language to increase that energy?

The Show Must Go On

You worked late at night to get here

You pushed through adversity

You pushed through the tears

You showed up when you didn’t feel like.

Your kept going when you couldn’t sleep

You kept trying when you kept failing

You kept going even though you felt helpless

Your kept going because you told yourself, the show must go on.

The narrator’s effort, courage, and perserverance come across so clearly in this poem.

You offer a metaphorical description of “the show,” but what does the show look like for this unique narrator? What does pushing through adversity or pushing through tears look like? What does it feel like? How could you describe it so it comes alive for your readers?

I lost love

I am finding myself  

I lost myself

I lost the love for myself

I gained knowing my Creator

I gained making my salaah

I gained a slow carm heart

I gained a bond with my brother

We love how this poem confronts the end of a marriage with depth and honesty, even though it is painful.

We love the way this poem begins almost like a list, with the repetition of “I lost” and “I gained.” What would happen if you leaned into that repetitive pattern even more, and let it shape the entire poem? What would happen if you used other repetitions or patterns to create rhythm and movement in this poem?

The Great Decline: Our American Culture

Neurology is popular

So is psychotherapy

Maybe I will talk

Or maybe silent

Something is spreading  

It brings us together

So we die as one

We love how this poem simultaneously describes the breaking apart of society and the coming together of humanity. That dichotomy is really interesting!

This poem seems to occupy such a complex ideological space; we wonder if including more figurative writing in this poem might help the reader experience the world of the poem more vividly. How might you use metaphor, simile, description, or imagery to help your reader understand the concepts in the poem?

Certainty becomes uncertain,  

The definite, unsure.

Like slowly noticing,

The intricacies of a stone.

It’s grooves, shades, textures – a bland object, grown.

We love the way this poem subverts the idea of knowledge and wisdom and brings the reader to a new understanding of what true wisdom really is.

One of the most powerful parts of this poem is when you describe noticing the intricacies of a stone. What would happen if you included a few more detailed, descriptive moments like this one?

The black lake swallowed me whole

While the moon in the quiet night sky bear witness

The wind caresses a fool

While she was picking up her heart in pieces

Wow, this poem is so evocative. We love the imagery of the lake, moon, wind, and night sky.

We’d love to know more! It’s clear that something has happened to the “she” in this poem, but we have no idea what. What would happen if you gave us a few more hints?

[How can i stop this sad feeling]

to start a life without them devastated everyday until the pain may finally subside

or to be the man that gives up on everything

life love hope

and just go through it all with no feelings

but that is the price of falling in love

you lay your heart out bare

sometimes youre lucky and its taken care of

sometimes its ignored and left behind uncared for

and sometimes its just slightly used when convenient

This poem confronts such depth of difficult and painful emotion, and the ending is so surprising but also so true.

We have a clear sense of the object of the speaker’s love, but we don’t feel like we know the speaker very well. How could you make the speaker — his own unique personality — come through this poem more?

I was lead to the ocean. The skies were clear, the colours bright, I wanted to go to the ocean.

I dipped into the water, but it didn’t affect me much. I wanted to go to the ocean.

The clipped lines create a pleasingly brisk rhythm that matches the sense that the speaker is "unraveling."

I'd love to see more concrete details; what colors does the speaker see? How big are the waves? What do these burdens feels like in the body?

You better stop looking for me

in the end,

I don’t even wanna know the route back home

so lemme go, find my high . . .

You've chosen an amazingly conversational tone that draws us into wanting to read this poem again and again. The rhythms and rhymes are really driving this poem!

Can you let us into this speaker's life a bit more? Are they speaking to a friend or a lover? "I don't even wanna know the route back home" is such a powerful idea! Who is trying to get them to come down?

We Aren't Together

Dad is happy. But does he know I am Nostalgic? “Holidays are hard”

“I love your mom very much” Has she forgotten? Her son and daughters Longing for her to pick up Where she left Off.

A mother first.

Wow! This poem punches so hard and does a lovely job of giving us the fragmented feelings and thoughts of a child in the middle of a parent's divorce and new relationships! This will be an important and deeply relatable poem for people who have gone through this.

Using a fragmented style for a speaker whose world is fragmented is a great move, but it can also get confusing. Could you play with how your stanzas are arranged on the page and align different streams of thought? Can you make it a bit clearer who is speaking?

IMAGES TOO FAST FOR YOUR MIND TO SEE, BLINDED BY AN ONSLAUGHT OF PIXELS, FORCING COLORS RELENTLESSLY.

IS THERE ANY ESCAPE, WILL YOU EVER BE FREE? OR WILL YOU SOON FALL VICTIM,

A PREY OF TECHNOLOGY?

We love the musicality of this poem: strong rhyme and strong meter make this poem sound like a song.

We would love to read more! This poem sets up a vivid and interesting problem, but it leaves us hanging. Does Analog Girl grapple with her choices? Does she fall victim to technology? What happens if she does?

DESTINY IS HARD TO EXPLAIN

WHEN YOU’VE FROZEN YOUR HEART, SO YOU CAN’T FEEL THE PAIN, BREAK THROUGH, AND LET YOURSELF HEAL,

THEN YOU’LL DISCOVER THE DREAMS WERE ALL REAL.

We love the way the strong rhythm and meter in this poem help give the poem momentum and movement.

What would happen if you let the rhyme break free in some places in this poem? You have such a strong sense of meter and rhythm; we suggest altering the rhythm intentionally in certain places to add to the drama or tension in the poem. What would happen if certain lines ran wild and used a completely different rhythm pattern?

Nights went from falling asleep feeling safe in his arms to sleepless nights with the thought of how it could’ve ended like it did,

almost as if that thought plays on an infinite loop in my head.

When can I press the pause button, how can I?

I can never imagine another guy making me feel the same way he did.

The way his voice lowered right when the clock struck nine, to how he would always wait till I got into my car.

Walking me home because he knew I was scared to be alone,

now I’m walking alone wondering if there’s ever gonna be a guy like him again.

It feels as if no one understands

Your description of how safe and warm you felt in this relationship is so detailed and specific, and it really makes the reader understand how special that feeling was.

You do a great job describing memories of this relationship, but there isn’t as much about the speaker herself and her internal experience. What do you want your reader to understand about the narrator of this poem? What transformation does she experience, or what insights does she gain?

You feel alone, isolated, so you keep a distance from the thing that once brought Joy “You’re Just Bored” Your Friends say as they only see the mask you wear and believing it’s HAPPINESS The long shirts and sweaters you wear in the summer, You silent cry for help but it DOESN’T Work, Sleepless nights, Sleeping days

Your straightforward title and clear thought process does an incredible job of walking us through such an important topic. Your lines really showcase the power of poetry to communicate difficult feelings in a way which can connect with and help others!

You've got a wonderful way of showing these two sides of the coin of depression, that the person is feeling and what others see and how they perceive what's going on from the outside. Can you let us see who this speaker is a bit more? What is it that once brought them joy? Do they feel too hot and sweaty or those hot prickles in those long shirts and sweaters? Can you get into the five senses to help us feel what they feel?

I wish I could forget Just how long it’s going to take For them to look at us Like they look at each other

I wish I could forget Just how easily they do And how hard it is for us To get the images out of our minds

I wish I could forget Just how many are gone And how long we’ve fought Only to lose once again

Repetition creates a driving rhythm in this poem, and the pretty title does a great job of contrasting with the melancholy content!

Could we explore what's going on on a more literal level and give the reader a few more hints as to what kind of loss is being explored here? You set up a really wonderfully mysterious sadness, but by the end of the poem we are still left wondering what has happened. Instead of "To get the images out of our minds," can you give us some of the images?

My Map Home

My fingers trace the surface of your skin Exploring every contour Mapping every inch

What a lovely and sensual little snapshot of a poem! For just five lines, you've packed a lot of longing and some big ideas into these verses.

The poem does not need to explode with description, but it would be great if we were invited into a more specific landscape. What is being mapped? Should we picture a valley or a desert?

How can you bring me such Sunshine and peace? You are just a man… But see That is the thing You are not just a man You are My man

This poem is just bursting with love! Your lines will be relatable to readers in love, and also give single readers a kind of love to aspire to, really glowing!

"How can you bring me such sunshine and peace" has such a wonderful ring to it that it might be more dynamic to open the poem on these lines! Could you experiment with the order of the lines in this poem and feel out which will draw the reader in with unique phrases? What else makes this person special? Get specific!

Where Caesar marched through the Alps He could do nothing but watch Rome collapse

Where the West once stood as gold, Now tell stories of the days old.

Where the temple of Athena stood, Now is but a forest of burnt wood

You've packed so much history and a huge, amazing idea into a relatively short poem, great work! While the poem is held together by rhyme, we are taking a big leaps in this journey.

Rhyme is a great tool, but sometimes it can overpower a poem or manipulate your lines too much. Repeating a word like gold at the end of a line in a rhyming poem, for example, really stands out, and it might be good to mix things up! What happens when you break the pattern and could this be a good way of jarring the reader to attention?

Congress-An Ideology

“This ideology gave us freedom From the best of our freedom fighters’ wisdom The democracy can prosper and rejoice If people choose congress as their choice.’’

It is refreshing to see a poem on such a classic and important theme! An exploration of congress is a great occasion for a poem and proves writing and poetry is a revolutionary act.

How are quotation marks working in this poem? Sometimes they are used to denote a "found" poem or a poem which takes lines from outside sources in a kind of collage, but we're not sure that's what you are trying to convey here. Can you think more specifically about how revolutionary thinking is at work here and might it be compelling to mention a specific revolution? Can you ground the reader in a time and place and bring them into this speaker's world?

the days move on with regularity

a short burst of life, of meaning and then it disappears as if it were never there again, i am locked in my passage. i merely move with the wind and just like it, i will disappear from view without a trace without a thought without a memory. the wind playfully pulls me back and forth sometimes i am thrown sometimes i am tossed sometimes i glide gracefully in the air

This poem is bursting with energy and movement! We can really flow with this persona and feel emotionally invested by the final lines.

The first line in quotation marks is really long compared to the rest of the poem. How are those quotation marks adding meaning, and should we interpret this as something overheard? Could we leap into the poem with greater urgency with something like:

the days tumble on indistinguishable from one to the next, on and on a long continuous chain . . . then

change! Short burst of life of meaning . . .

Autumn Breeze

Lithe and light swaying like feathers. Cascading down undaunted and determined, a warm waterfall.

No one knows the life that they lived, stepped on and brushed aside, They paint your walk home with colour. Covering the ground like a thin blanket, consoling your tired walk.

Excellent use of colors and textures and evocative language here! We get a wonderful picture of the season and sense that this speaker has really learned to take a breath and take things in for themselves. Perfectly meditative!

The idea that no one cares is really compelling, but we wonder if it might need to be asked as a question in the opening so as not to make readers want to argue straight away (many readers will want to think of themselves as people who do appreciate the subtle changes of the seasons!) What if we posed a question in those opening lines?

Withering is their beauty, breaths of red and orange, Who looks at autumn leaves as objects of worth?

What a beautiful day!

That every sunshine would be as beautiful as a moon, And every bad time shall pass by soon. Is there a day that is not regretting at all? I think no, because nothing is perfect after all . . .

We often curse the time for it often delays, But we do know that it is the destiny in which everything lays. ‘This too shall pass’ with which any situation can be mend

You've blended some beautifully evocative images like flowers and moons with thoughtful ideas rolling into a beautiful message and reminder for gratitude. This poem works well paired with that meditative image and will be a great inspiration for readers!

Could you also lead with this great idea?

As a flower is incomplete *without* nectar, We are incomplete without that second opportunity,

How would opening with these two lines give us a different perspective on your opening questions? Would it feel nice to move into rhyme instead of opening the poem on rhyming lines? Experiment with cutting and shifting some lines to see what different effects you can stir up!

My soul could be carefully extracted from the scene in shattered matter, Only observable under a microscope showing the decay of your cells from mine. Despite the crushing oxygen we breathed in, I remember the morning crispness of fall air, And the smell the remnants of the empty coffee cup on your desk, The bitterness I gulped down still soaked in my taste buds. In one hour, I didn’t even hear the clock tick or the sun rise, and I didn’t dare stir to end our silence. We laid there in our last hours, moved slow and dark, till the next hour screamed goodbye. And this second, hour, and day, was forever envious of the last.

The emotions, layers, and complexities of this poem are so intoxicating and make us want to read and reread these lines! You've got some huge ideas moving around in here, and it is especially wonderful to land on "this second, hour, and day, was forever envious of the last." You've really got these concepts springing to life in a poem called "Decay," magic!

Should we be thinking about a metaphorical kind of modern day Pompeii here? The idea of lovers frozen together and love decaying becoming a kind of physical decay is really interesting, but you might need to lead the reader more firmly to these conclusions.

Think about the five senses and how you can make these people come alive for the reader. What do they look like? What does it mean to make "love for normalcy, and laugh of reminiscent memories"? Could you describe one specific memory? This poem wades in really patiently, but what if it were to open "In the darkness, two bodies stayed from habit so close they molded into one." like we are starting a strange fairy tale?

You’re lying on the ground

Guilt is embedded in your very misery A tsunami trying to knock down your damn of perfection Now what? You ask yourself A glowing, golden dust sprinkles over you

Amazing use of evocative language and drastic contrasts! We've got burning and freezing, feelings of repression and guilt! The stakes are high and you do a great job of drawing the reader into the speaker's dilemma through the use of the second person.

Trust your reader to make some leaps with you! Take a read through your poem aloud to try and draw out the most active voice. How would it feel to strip away some of the explanation so that your descriptions of the feeling take center stage?

Cold marble bites your back The same back That has been stabbed countless times

Now what? Is it really over?

Can you escape this flaming ember? Guilt is embedded in your very misery A tsunami trying to knock down your damn of perfection Now what? A glowing, golden dust sprinkles over you

Sunday’s Son

For she is soft, still and slight, And he is warm, kind and bright. As he awakes the sky is blue, The day is wise and always true. He smiles sweetly and bares a chuckle, His scent a gentle honeysuckle.

But I am like the Friday night, Solemn and sleek yet full of sprite. I’m bold in entrance but soon fade away Tender into Saturday day.

Your mix of rhythms, images, and rhymes are so mesmerizing! This poem hums along with the help of your rhyming couplets, and we feel like we are in a fairytale or magical world.

Rhyme can also be tricky! Sticking too strictly to rhyming couplets can sometimes control your lines too much and distract a reader's mind from your poem's content because their ear begins to hunt for next rhyme instead of hearing your ideas. You might try a draft where the rhyme gets lost and comes back in! You can also play with how you compose your stanzas so that the rhyming pairs are broken up a bit more:

If the days of the week were mothers of one, I know for definite he’d be Sunday’s son. For she is soft, still and slight,

And he is warm, kind and bright. As he awakes the sky is blue, The day is wise and always true.

He smiles sweetly and bares a chuckle, His scent a gentle honeysuckle. As the ferns dance when he is near,

The Playground

She watches him from a distance; remembers the way he caressed her His daughter walks over to her, asks her to come and play. And off she goes, as he watches on

We love this intimate, yet distance moment of remembered affection. Stunning premise for a poem!

Consider including more specific, concrete, sensory details--what colors does the speaker see, for example? What is the quality of the light? To what could you compare the distance between these former lovers in order to reveal something new about intimacy?

I Still Loved You

Love wins the battle by ten goals to nothing

My heart has fallen deep inside

My inspiration fades away

I’ve really died a lot inside

The last I’ll ever see you again

Wish I has spent it all with you

You left without saying a word

Goodbye was hard for me too.

This lost love poem has great ambiance and a real twist at the end! A reader is cleverly set up to feel like these people are already a couple, so the rejection and lost hope hit us hard by the poem's final lines. Grounding us in a party scene is a great way to draw us into a memorable poem!

A few phrases might be smoothed out for a more natural rhythm and clarity like with "Filled with gist and many more" we might need to check if "gist" is the word we want and say "and much more." At the end, something like "Love wins the battle ten to nil" would still make sense but be more in line with how someone might express this idea in conversation. We'd also love to see you dig into more detail here! A party scene is the perfect place for poetry to unfold, but what music is being listened to? What does this woman look like? Her beauty makes the speaker feel "holy inside" (excellent idea!), but we don't get a clear picture of her. Could you add some snapshots of descriptions with all those selfies? Allow your readers to see and hear and feel what the speaker experiences and dig into those five senses!

Walking on the Sidewalk

When a child comes across A man walking a dog The child doesn’t ask if the man Needs help walking Because this man is following the dog.

This poem sets up a wonderfully philosophical conversation and does a great job of creating mystery with direct language!

Could you experiment with breaking this poem into stanzas or couplets to see how this might control a reader's pacing? You are setting up an interesting idea, and there might even be more poem waiting to be written here! Can you add any description to these three characters? Instead of saying "I don't know," could you ask that final thought as a question?

Take It in All at Once

The weight of my chest is so heavy Till all I’m is the air I breathe.

What a beautiful puzzle of contrasts for a reader to visualize and feel! This poem feels so meditative, and the focus on lightness and weight is really powerful.

The contraction in the second line feels a bit confusing, how does it sound to break apart those words so we have "Till all I am is the air I breathe."?

Can you go bolder with those final two lines and have something like:

I’m floating [describe where we are floating/visualize nothing] Floating, across nothing.

How can you make a reader "see" and "feel" that nothing?

Heart Attack

You look at me with that glowing smile I respond with my knowing smile And with every second, my heart is beating Tick tick boom

Shrapnel and metal everywhere around And all I can hear is a loud ringing sound I look and see There is nothing left of me But I’d catch it all the same

You've crafted a lot of action in a relatively small space so readers will have a great time bouncing around these stanzas! We are thrown into the action, and your ideas are really dynamic.

Can you add more layers of description to this idea of the ticking bomb of love? We've got this other person in the poem with a glowing smile, but are we meant to understand that the ticking bomb is the love they share? Take a read of the poem out loud and see if there are lines that can be smoothed over for a more natural sound like this:

Just let it go, I tell myself You know what's coming, I yell

Disconnected

I find a broken tree stump to share some of this weight The wind that took its branches blew right through me while I had to wait. Waiting for my momma to call me with news Is he still here or did we actually lose? I tap tap scratch my fingers against the bark . . . And then the man next to me, he lets out real laughter while my happiness is near welded shut.

This poem is absolutely overflowing with great images which help us understand the speaker's disconnect with the world. It will be deeply relatable to anyone who has experienced deep loss while the world goes on around them, and the idea of being welded shut to happiness is SO GOOD!

Take a read through your poem with an idea to really mixing up the order of information. Can you print out the poem, cut up the lines, and move them around? What if the poem opened:

The man next to me lets out real laughter while my happiness is welded shut.

This feels like a much more dynamic beginning, and with the title being "Disconnected," we don't even need to start "I'm disconnected," because your images and description of how this person is moving through their day do a fantastic job of conveying this without saying it explicitly. Trust your images!

Known to the one who loves

Is the Song Merry or Call for Help

Either way Deserves the Best

Cuz She’s Beyond A Miracle

The dark scars at the center of this poem are so mysterious and compelling! This poem sets up a lovely mystery and those short lines allow us to step through slowly.

Is there more poem waiting to be written here? It feels like the ending of the poem leaves things unresolved and we might want to spend more time learning who this person is! Can you try using more descriptive language to let us in?

My Fragile Heart

We weren’t meant to be strong, our hearts were of silk, not the rough

I said to you,

“look at us, we’ve reached the bend”

A turn so new

Yet not the end

Your eyes shut for a second time

And a deep breath you drew

As we entered our prime

The image of hearts made of silk is fantastic, and your use of the second person direct address is so effective for drawing the reader into your world and making your pleas feel really urgent!

Take a read of this poem aloud and see if you can smooth out places where the rhyme might be controlling your lines too much. Don't be afraid to let some of the rhyme go!

Take a look at these original lines and one possibly smoother option:

So I explained to you my solution You understood soon enough After I cleared your head, once fogged with pollution

I cleared your head, once fogged with pollution, blowing through your mind with my clear solution.

So happiness is not a choice

Because when bad things happen

We do not choose to rejoice

Instead, our hearts start cracking

Landing on the image of the cracking heart is great! There is a wonderful clarity to the way your ideas progress in each line, and your ideas feel important and original.

Can you expand on that cracking heart? This poem feels like it's just warming up when it ends! You could read "Crenellation" by Su Smallen (in her collection Weight of Light) or "Heart/Mind" by Laura Kasischke (in her collection Space, In Chains) if you'd like to explore other poems which take the idea of the breaking heart into wildly new territory!

Untitled ("In the innocence of time")

So let me ask you, when did the classrooms and field trips turn into computer screens and backyard visits, when did playing at the park and seeing people you love become a crime. Taking away rights decreasing are social skills and life skills the fear filled virus is ruining my generation, its ruining my chances of surviving if life somehow turns back into normal. But for now the masks, the fear, the loneliness and lacking of social interaction is are new normal, are grocery store visits have now turned into vacations and real vacations are only seen as impossible dreams.

This is such an important poem for NOW that will really connect with people across generations who have experienced the recent global pandemic. Your voice is full of passion and urgency, and you are providing a crucial window into how a young psyche is hit with this "new normal." Pointing out how the idea of a grocery store visit has shifted is especially compelling!

Can you explore the five senses here and really bring us into these moments of loss? Could you think about the way you were able to fully perceive and experience travel and visitors before the pandemic and show how these senses like touch are now cut off? You are tackling some huge and important ideas, but grounding your reader in a sense of place will help them experience the work on a deeper level!

Untitled ("For them it’s a breeze")

For them it’s a breeze, While I lie by their roots, Waiting for the storm to die, Waiting for someone else to try.

Maybe one day I’ll reach their heights,

This persona poem opens with a beautifully evocative breeze and roots, and the rhyme and short lines help to drive us through the poem and create a compelling rhythm! You set up some lovely mystery here and make us want to read more!

Is there more poem asking to be unearthed here? We are left with a slightly mysterious ending, and we're not sure if this is a seed or a seedling hoping to grow into a huge tree. Could you play with the concept of time and show how a tree and a human might experience time differently if one could live to be one thousand years old and the other maxes out around eighty? How does your speaker perceive the world? What is their ability to taste, feel, smell, see etc.?

Sleeping with You

You scoop under my rib cage and pull me into your silhouette

I can feel your lips on my ear

And for the longest five seconds I’ve ever known

We are both entirely still

How can I love sleeping alone, but hate sleeping without you?

Landing on a question is a wonderful move to draw the reader into this speaker's world! This poem is so sweet and romantic that it should have a broad appeal and be sought out by readers looking for help in how to express deep and true love.

Exploring feeling and touch is a really important part of this intimate poem, and it might be great to explore the other five senses as well! Where are we, and what is the occasion for this poem? Has the love just returned or are they about to go away? Why are we thinking about an empty bed versus a bed with them there? Take a read of the poem aloud to see where some lines might need smoothing or sharpening, and think about how a reader can "see" the scene more clearly.

Look. Listen.

Or need to stay silent to get no backbite and rumor. They’d call me a feminist if I told them this. They’d spit the word like it was vile. Like they couldn’t stand the very taste of the diction rolling off their tongue. It tastes like salt when I pick it up. It tastes like sea salt chocolate. Despite my desire to have an equal footing, despite how I’ve only asked to be given what I give, they’d spit in my face with it.

This is a HUGELY impressive poem with some deeply compelling ideas and a strong voice. You are hitting on so many important ideas, and it would be inspiring for many people to read, both people who are in your shoes, and the older generation who needs to be shaken out of their old ideas!

One of the most evocative moments of sea salt on the tongue in response to the idea of being "feminist" hold the key to what would kick this poem into a higher gear! In a longer poem, it can be easy to get caught up in ideas without giving your readers any concrete images (or engaging their five senses!) and allowing them to really step into the poem with the speaker. Take a few reads through your poem aloud and see what images spring to mind. How can you incorporate more description of where we are and who this is?

Everything More

I watched. As my life fell to dust around me and it settled. I laid in it for months. I deserved this. I earned every piece of it.

But then he came along. He who protects and helps I know what I want now. Because I want him.

He makes the sun shine a little brighter. He makes the quite nights the silence I am searching for. Everyday he shows me he loves and cares for me and yet I’m still so unsure. How do I know I’m not too much?

The perspective of addressing an ex about a new (better) partner is so interesting and complex! We love how you are exploring how the thrill of being with a person who is more loving gets mixed in with the guilt of moving on "too fast." Love is complicated, and this poem does an excellent job of allowing us into the head and heart of someone going through how complex these emotions are! Timeless!

While the speaker is letting us into their thought process here, we can't really "see" or "feel" or "hear" what their life was like on a more intimate and evocative level. How does this new partner help and protect? What were those manipulations and lies about? We've got a partial picture here, but think about how you can bring the reader in with the five senses and more surprising language!

Close the Curtain

I stare at them, They stare at me A dry cough echoes through the chamber, No other noise to drown it out

I feel like my lion Trapped in his cage Nowhere to go Vulnerable where I thought safe

As I would pull the rabbit from my hat, I pull myself from the stage Into the darkness behind The saddest disappearing act

Wow, that ending is so fantastic! This is a heartbreaking poem where we really feel the weight of a bad reaction that would make us want to disappear, and the comparison and image at the end do a perfect job of locking that feeling into place in a memorable way!

While we begin on a high note to contrast with where the speaker lands, the most compelling action begins with that sad cough and cold reception! Could we begin there?

A dry cough echoes through the chamber, No other noise to drown it out

I become my lion Trapped in his cage Nowhere to go Vulnerable where I thought safe . . .

You could ground us in the present moment and allow a reader to understand the stakes of performance and create a kind of circular structure where we are opening with the cough and feeling like the lion--remembering how things used to be in success--then circling back to the final disappearing act where the speaker has become a rabbit. This would also allow those two moments of transformation to have more space.

Heartbeats buzzing from inside

My acid stomach declines to riot but I hear her call for more – she seeks the other halves which overfill with liquid hope, hot and white, spilling seed

In the autumn soil that soak my feet, bounced cheques growing my hunger

. . . Sinking.

Such original and bouncing word choice here! The flow grabs us from that first evocative line, and we know we are listening to a truly original voice, great job!

Could you experiment with changing up the order of the lines and making the language more active? How would this work?

Heartbeats buzz from inside Sights fade from the brain

My acid stomach declines to riot, and I hear her call for more . . .

Why not my lousy neighbor with that stupid mower on his lawn Why not the annoying girl in class with her clicking heels and dear Chanel Why not that mumbling old man at that dusty stone-cold pharmacy

The opening of this poem is so original and really makes us want to keep reading! These details allow us to "see" these people and inhabit the world of the speaker, yes!

Do we need the "Why me?" repetition and do we need to know that bad things are actually happening? It might be more compelling to actually list more people that the speaker wishes bad things to happen to, and leave the actual bad things a bit more mysterious. Landing on "Why today? Why even bother?" is really nice, and it might even be more impactful if the reader was left wondering what this speaker wants to avoid or what pain he's trying to pass on.

Please Be Patient

In the last few months I have slept through first hour On multiple occasions. My list of completed assignments Is nothing compared to the list of missing ones.

I understand that I need to do better I understand that I am walking a thin line I understand that I need to get my act together.

But do you understand that I need you to be patient with me. Do you understand That my laziness is not my choice. Do you understand That I need help, not criticism.

This poem is so deeply relevant and important! It is full of passion and will be relatable to a wide audience. We've all been there and yes, we just need patience!

Could you experiment with how we are getting into the poem? Could we try something like:

My grades are shitty, My room is a mess, And my mind is a battlefield.

I understand that I look lazy. I understand that to you I don’t meet your expectations.

If we can "see" the messy battlefield of the speaker, we will be more invested in their struggle! Think about how do add in layers of description so we can see that room and feel what they are feeling.

A Good Day?

The truth that I believe

Is the truth was there to see

in every minute, every second, every moment

We saw those moments spark a wave,

for a future we must pave

A cry to echo through time forever

I don’t believe god brought this endeavour

It was the people, who chose to speak

This is a powerful, sound-driven poem in honor of a hugely important event! Your choice of sparks and echos as ways to understand our place in these events is a good one and adds images and sound to these complex ideas.

While we get the sense that this narrator cares deeply about these events, it's also not immediately clear what is at stake for the speaker in this poem. You might consider incorporating some concrete imagery to help "anchor" the reader in the speaker's realization. What kind of day was this on a more literal level, and where are we when we are getting and thinking about this news?

Must such a thing be our destiny? They say “life is what you make it” but who is “you”? I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them

Maybe we’re far from crossing paths If this were a dream would you wake, Are we all but Alice in Wonderland Gone a little mad at the thought of reality’s complexity Deeper and Deeper it goes Spiraling out of control, but it’s ok

Reality isn’t meant to be constant It’s not long term and it’s not without turbulence

This poem fearlessly tackles BIG ideas and allows the reader to think about these questions from multiple angles, even pulling in Alice in Wonderland which opens a wonderful box of associations and images. It's a deeply philosophical poem which rewards rereading and makes us want more.

Could this poem be longer? It's possible that the ideas you've opened up here need more room to stretch! Referencing Alice in Wonderland is great, but setting a specific scene and placing the speaker at the heart so that we can see what they taste, smell, feel, hear, see etc. would be great for grounding us in an occasion for this meditation!

Oh Mary. How and when, why and where. Seldom thoughts cross my mind. How I should elate this news to you, how I wrap my head around this time.

I find you beautiful, and sweet, how precious and delicate, this is not just a blessing however; for you stay far away from my feet.

How quiet you are, undisturbed, how rude it would be to interrupt your silence.

The voice of this poem is so beautifully strange and strong! Original phrases like "elate this news to you" are striking and allow for this speaker to really stand out.

At thirteen lines, fourteen if we count the title, we are playing with the sonnet form and it would be great to really lean into this and experiment with pushing it further in this direction. Where would you want the poem to "turn" and do we need to know more about what Mary thinks about this attention?

Red Sky at Night (Trigger Warning: rape)

Red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in the morning, sailors warning

I wish I could hate him, she said

Or I wish he could say he is sorry, she said, and like a fish could come swimming as soon as that bait hit the water.

I wish I could hate him, she said;

Or I wish I would have told somebody sooner, and instead like a sailor; I would be watching the lunar landscape in the night with the red sky and feeling delight.

Strong images and circling around repeated phrases really get to the heart of how a mind mulls over trauma and points blame both inward and outward. This brave poem does an incredible job of analyzing the effects of abuse and acts as a beacon for those who need to read it.

We might begin on those more original images and phrases, before going into the "Red Sky at Night" saying, especially because it's used in the title. A great strength of the poem is the fact that it weaves in and out of these wonderful sea metaphors, and you might add in even more of these and allow the speaker to really have a foot in both worlds.

One of THOSE days

It’s easy, laying there

Thinking you have time when every passing minute I seem to be losing you all over again.  

It wasn’t your fault before and it wouldn’t be your fault now, if you left.  

It was always me, I knew that, which is why I was so confused when you came back

You came back, and the fog lifted  

You came back, but eventually  so does the fog.

There is such a great narrative drive to this poem and a real arc where we can see the bones of how this relationship has evolved! The voice feels clear and real, and the interior monologue is one we want to follow.

There is a lot of repetition to let us know it's one of "those days," but we might also want to know more concretely what kind of day this reflection is taking place on and more of a 360 view of where we are. Can we get into the five senses and "see" what this bed feels like and what the room looks like? How could the form of the poem contribute to feeling claustrophobic or spacious and how would stanzas affect the pacing of the poem?

He Was A Friend (Trigger Warning: rape)

He’s a friend As his hands gripped my arms tighter, holding my shoulders down like the handlebars of a bicycle He’s a friend As I yelled internally to block the sounds of his demands He’s a friend

The poem expertly uses a shift in tense, going from "he is" to "he was" to show the transformation of a friendship after betrayal. The speaker comparing themselves to a bicycle is especially effective as it shows how abuse can reduce a person to feeling like a thing, adding layers to this narrative. Brave work!

The title gives away that shift tense, rather than allowing it to be revealed in the last line, so a new title might be experimented with a bit more. The bicycle moment is also really powerful, and you could try making each line so evocative, almost like this speaker is transforming into other things trying to escape this horrible experience.

"Ugly" and "Sunset"

Can you see that bright light?

You can see it at night

But it’s not the same light

Only in the day, it shines so bright

And you will see the daylight

These beautifully designed posters highlight two poems which are wonderfully sound-driven and share important messages to help us appreciate key moments and ideas.

Rhyme is a great way to pull in readers' attention as they work to anticipate that next sound pairing, but too much can take over the poem and make it difficult to make sense of the work's true meaning. Poems for specific events and posters can be tricky as you want them to grab people's attention, but you might strip these pieces back to one image and see if adding in more visual cues can balance more selective rhymes.

An old friend.

Dim lights shine in the dark i hear and feel the quiet sting and dull ache of it its always there, since you left its all that remains. piercing my heart like a knife to butter

Long lines increase the pacing of a poem, and this work makes excellent use of longer lines so that we are almost breathless with this inner dialogue. Moments of metaphorical and magical thinking do a great job of zooming us in and out of the complicated feelings of lost love.

More familiar phrases like "pure bliss" and "drop the ball" could be pressed on to give the reader a more surprising turn. The rhythm of the opening with "the quiet sting and dull ache of it" is so great, and this unique energy could be spread throughout the poem! Don't be afraid to go big and bold here; experiment with how literal you can make these metaphors and try dropping "like" from your comparisons!

Just a color

red and blue, yellow and pink, blue and green and more waiting to be seen hiding in the most obvious places the sky, the grass, the flowers, the vases all different but all part of the pack all colors, and someone’s favorite at that

This poem makes excellent use of an extended metaphor to open up about such a crucial movement in our modern world and brings a beautiful sense of urgency to the conversation.

While the ideas of the poem are really clear, they overshadow the poetic devices that will make the work more memorable and allow it to really get into reader's hearts and minds. Could you press on moments of description so we can see what colors are in "the sky, the grass, the flowers, the vases?" Can you name a specific flower or tell us what these vases are made of? Can you drop us more concretely in this moment?

Don’t Worry. Nothing’s Urgent.

Once the box is full of water, And I’m adapting to the change, My wife, with a smile, Pulls a chair up to my prison And begins to idle chat About the daily details of our lives.

I can tell that she expects me to engage As though the conversation she is having Is of regular importance As though I am not locked in And entirely submerged.

This poem does a beautiful job of allowing us to inhabit its own surreal world which is eerily familiar to us without explaining away too much, feeling like an exciting hybrid of narrative and poem!

Revision might come in the form of really attending to the music and images of the lines so that the reader can more fully inhabit this scene. We get great bursts of rhyme, but reading the poem aloud with an ear for music and what we can experience with all the senses will deepen our understanding.

Love of the realization

Grain draws that place the mind in a trance

The pooling eyes of a misty meadow

When can we rest again

And take away from the rougher world

Why is there so much on the line

It’s such a simple moment

Others draw but they fall away

Realizing the weave of interactions

Looking for nothing

in what already is everything

There may be a pull on a rope

And there may be no anchor

But better to pull at the possibilities

Than to falter and regress

This poem makes lovely use of detail and metaphoric language, especially in "the pull of the rope" and "the anchor."

It's not becoming immediately clear what is at stake for the speaker in this poem. You might consider incorporating some concrete imagery to help "anchor" the reader in the speaker's realization.

Let's Dream Again

play with my bra strap when we’re in the dark

lay me down and touch me so sweetly

I wonder if everything else is a dream

when your green eyes catch on my face

I wonder if you’re the dream

when your dad gets home you push me into the closet

slam the door in my face

tug your tiny tank top down again

covering up miles of your skin and my sweet, sweet kisses

and don’t let me out for hours and hours

when your dad falls asleep you sneak me out

say tomorrow is when everything will change

What a stunning poem! Beautiful use of concrete details and vivid language! "Miles of your skin"--holy smokes!!

This poem just needs a little nudge. You might consider making familiar phrases like "sweet kisses" and "I wonder if you're a dream" new with fresh language, perhaps alluding to the fugitive nature of the relationship.

The problem solver

On a sunny spring day

as we sat to decorate

our little patch of green

my baby crawled away

to select a pinwheel.

She carefully crawled

all the way to me.

I painfully adjusted

the glittering pink wheel

to the current of air

filling the space

with joy and color.

This poem describes a beautifully sweet moment of parenthood and will have broad appeal.

Although the situation the poem describes is sweet, what is at stake in this poem? You might further explore the relationship between a child's blooming agency and her parent's authority.

One in Eight

Then there was the quiet  

The silence after you left

The emptiness of you gone  

Wishing that I’d looked closer  

Wishing I’d noticed  

Wishing forever

It’s so different now

Forever foggy  

Forever missing you

This poem walks heart forward, and the speaker's pain is beautifully evident.

I'd love to have something concrete to hold onto--an image, a description, a metaphor. What, for example, does the speaker wish they had looked closer at, noticed, or wished for?

Long time ago I was born onto this world

Long time ago I was born onto this world,

Spitted out of my mother’s womb unquestionably, without a mercy putted on earth,

Cursed to walk on the broken glass, smile to monsters and dance with the dragons,

Weep inside, die and die all over again

Than there was something else I don’t quite remember name of the word, but I remember the feeling, it was euphoric, sad but lifegiving, thing that kept me going through the fire, what made me enjoy all the flames and burns.

No it was not love, I never tasted love nor did I understood the foolish victims of it,

But I feared them, those people would destroy there whole life, set the sky on fire only if it meant keeping the one there loved one safe and happy.

This poem employs several beautiful turns of phrase, like "spit out of my mother's womb unquestionably" and "cursed to walk on the broken glass." These are specific and tellingly concrete.

Much of the poem centers on generalities and abstract ideas. You might consider using more concrete details to bring the poem "down to earth" and to allow the reader to hold the poem's ideas in the imagination.

wind and grace

nature feeling like an escape to the moon

while i hold onto your hands til noon

as tears run down my face

and i’m wondering, will you ever be replaced?

the wind and dirt bring the chase

as if they separate us from this place

while i hope that you’ll be blessed with grace

once you’re somewhere in the space

This poem's sonics are stunning. The rhythm and rhyme pull the reader pleasingly along.

That said, the "wind" and abstract airiness in this poem make it difficult to hold in the imagination. You might try adding some concrete details and images--where are these people sitting? where is the other person going? what does grace look like?--to bring the poem down to earth and to the reader's eye level.

I long for your company to fill the void,

Brutish actions and silent debate.

Our memories are pictures from a polaroid,

But your ink was becoming desolate.

This poem's use of similes in the second half of the poem is stunning and vivid!

It feels like you might have more to explore in this poem! You've introduced a complex relationship on earth, but then you jump to the stars. I'm curious what happens in between!

The Feelings of Orange

Orange is the feeling you get

When looking out into the distance

Feeling the warmth of the sun,

The comfort of others.

Orange is the feeling of

Biting into a fresh piece of fruit

Under the comforting shade

Of a tree in summer.

This poem pays thoughtful homage to a single color, and the meditative attention on the hue is beautiful.

The poem might benefit from the inclusion of more visual elements and concrete details. Where is orange felt in the body? What is its temperature? How does the fruit feel on the tongue? Including more details like these will help the poem pop.

I keep your secret

I keep it locked away

I let it out with friends and family and strangers, wrapped in a blanket of humor

A laugh about a man and a lie

They laugh, I laugh, I hide

I let it out to my therapist

I may never trust men again

That wasn’t all you

You’re just the most recent one.

I keep your secret from the only person who really matters

I scroll through her page and see the photos

You’re happy with her

I never really existed to you.

I can handle that.

Can she handle that I did exist?

This poem's honesty is electrifying and brave!

Part of poetry's power comes from its ability to compare unlike things, and, in this comparison, to discover something new about each "half" of the metaphor. You might consider adding more metaphoric language to reveal something unique about secrets--keeping them, being one, etc. What does it feel like in the body? To what other thing/situation in the world could you compare it to?

The Affair(s)

i silently search your eyes

Climb into your brain

Try to gauge your thoughts

Try to see if you know im in pain

Pain you discovered and fostered as your own

Pain that rains down

Cascading through my hair

Splashing against sagging shoulders

Rolling down a withered, weathered spine

Half the force it used to be.

Broken backs need more than just a Brace

The poem's pacing and phrasing mimic the spiraling feelings of heartbreak in a gorgeous way. And the second half of the poem does excellent work of showing rather than telling.

While the second half of the poem includes very specific, visual details, the first half doesn't exhibit the same concreteness. What, for example, is this pain the other figure discovered in the speaker? What is it made of? Does it have a color or scent? How can you make the first half of the poem as clear and vivid and the second?

I try again

Forgetting the pain

I try to stand

Dusting off imaginary sand

Try to move forward

Knowing I’m a coward

I try to run

Instead I burn

Fall back down like an asteroid

I crash, I’m paranoid

The near-rhymes at the end of each line mimic the rising and falling motion I imagine the speaker undertakes in this poem, but without the cloying sound of perfect rhyme. Excellent work!

The inclusion of some concrete details (where are these figures? what is the quality of the light on them? what time of day is it?) would help ground the reader in a poem that, at the moment, feels a bit abstract.

The best part about sleeping with you

Not sleeping like having sex

Sleeping like two kids laying innocently in a bed together

When we are both in our claimed corners

Our bodies completely separate

Somehow you reach your arm over

It finds the shape of my waist perfectly

This poem pays beautiful homage to an intimate moment in time and does an excellent job of employing concrete details to show how these two bodies exist in relationship.

How might you push this poem a little further to dig a little deeper into the idea you present here? Give the reader some more details about this situation and the dynamic. When you push past your area of comfort in a poem, you open yourself up to ideas that truly resonate.

Orchestrated Silence

It’s that point.

That numbing silence…

When all else fades,

And there is nothing.

It is that.. Orchestrated silence.

That low ambient hum.

The phrase "orchestrated silence" is dazzling, and I love how the poem enlarges silence's seemingly small presence.

I would actually love to "hear" more in this poem. You might bring in some imagery from orchestras or bands, or you might even let the words themselves make some noise--you could play with "sh" and "s" sounds or "m" and "o" sounds . . . I think bringing more texture and sound into the poem will allow the reader to "hear" this profound silence even more clearly!

It’s one of those days  

Those days where you’re thinking I’m ignoring you

Those days where I can’t find it in me to put on a smile for you  

For you it’s one of “those days” but what do you think it means for me

I lay there still

I lay there with meaningless tears in my eyes  

I lay there and I think about you

How you’re thriving and being good to you FOR you

I lay there and think about how to you I’m nothing but lazy  

how unattractive it might seem for someone to have no motivation, no drive.

I’m proud of you for doing so much, but I’m also proud of me for doing so little.

You’re right, it is “one of those days”

This poem approaches difficult feelings with beautiful focus and will have broad appeal.

You might experiment with adding some color, texture, sound, and image to help anchor the reader in this scene. Where are the figures in this poem? What do the speaker's tears feel like in their eyes? The inclusion of specific, sensory details will help the poem jump off the page.

Red Sky at Night

Instead I chose warnings that turned into endless nights of mourning

I wish I could see the forewarnings my twelve year old self would encounter,

This poem courageously tackles trauma, employs stunning metaphors, and makes brilliant use of a nautical aphorism.

In some stanzas, the speaker takes on more of a "telling/explaining" tone rather than the "showing" tone that would lend more power to a poem. For example, when the speaker says, "Knowing, I will get better and that although I did not speak up sooner I helped a lot of people along the way. I healed the wrong way, but I learned to forgive and feel pride of who I am," what if instead, you replaced this explanation of healing with symbols or images of healing? How could you show pride? What does speaking up look like? You might think about which sensory details and concrete images might show the reader what these thoughts and feelings look like.

Our Epilogue

One day there will be a house,

That will become and home

Of joy and warmth and musical laughter

And there will be no shaking walls

And empty bottles

But there will be champagne on hand for when there’s a call for celebrating.

There will be a garden, and a tree that begs for someone to climb it,

And a dog who lounges in the shade.

There will also be a you and me

And the story that lies between our smiles and glances.

This poem unfolds with concrete images and details that offer the reader a sense of evolution and change, which is a rewarding experience.

These brilliant images might shine brighter with a bit of editing and rephrasing toward a more active voice.

One day there will be a house, That will become and home Of joy and warmth and musical laughter And there will be no shaking walls And empty bottles But there will be champagne on hand for when there’s call for celebrating. There will be a garden, and a tree that begs for someone to climb it, And a dog who lounges in its shade.

There will also be a you and me And the story that lies between our smiles and glances. …

The house you love. Imagine that. The one you love filled with people who terrify. If you create the tether, you must want it. All things we want we gamble for. Heat snarls around my back while I read about The Temple of lightness. Pain is a flower, I know because I read it. When did I become so desperate? The man I turned to in the kitchen, the one who kissed like he was giving me things back.

I was shocked by some of the language in here, particularly the use of the word "snarls"! Great work.

I wonder about the form here. Is the prose form the best possible option for a poem like this? What would happen if you attempted to work with couplets? I also wonder about where the poem stops. Is it possible there's more to this poem than we can see?

Me and my friend are not friendly

because she does not talk to me

and I have not seen her in 5 years.

What if she hates me?

The opening surprised us!

The poems seems a bit undone. What if you worked on expanding the poem by writing 5 or 6 more stanzas?

Alone he walks in the dark blue streets. In the coldness and fear of the dark blue nights. The blue man alone always reaches, The old blue river where he will be affright.

He stands there and think about all the old nights, When he thought of ending things for the final time. He always knew it would end by the river, But he never thought it will end tonight.

This poem does a great job of creating a moody atmosphere, and the language pairs well with the dark vision that's created.

What were those lonely nights? Could the title do a bit more of the heavy lifting by providing more context to what this blue man's life was like?

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24 Places You Can Submit Poems for Money

Poets—well, writers in general—have a reputation for having a hard time making a living. So if you’re a poet, you might not believe that you can get paid to write poems.

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But believe me, people and businesses do pay for poems.

Here are 24 places and websites for you to submit your poems, make some money, and maybe become the next Lang Leav.

24 Sites That Pay You To Write Poems

Just as a heads up, a lot of places charge a small “reading fee” just to be considered. Not all, but most do.

Paying this fee also doesn’t guarantee that your submitted poem will be published either.

I just want to make sure you’re aware that you may have to spend a few bucks to get some eyes on your poems.

This magazine accepts online and print magazine poetry submissions only from September 1st through May 31st.

Published pieces earn $20 per page, up to a $150 maximum, as well as a year’s subscription to the magazine.

2. Arc Poetry Magazine

This Canadian magazine accepts submissions from April 1st to July 31st for the Winter issue and September 1st to December 31st for the Summer issue. They will not entertain or read submissions any other time.

Up to three poems or 360 lines may be sent in a submission, and only one submission per year is allowed.

Arc Poetry pays $50 per published poem.

The Sun accepts submissions all year round. You can either mail in your poems or submit them online.

If you do mail them in, make sure you include a return envelope and postage if you want to get the original copy back.

You can get paid $100 to $250 for your poems.

Samples are provided to show you exactly what they are looking for.

4. Iron Horse Review

IHR accepts poetry at specified times of the year and based on select themes. Purchase a sample issue to know what they’re looking for, and send 3 to 5 poems for consideration.

Published submissions are paid $50.

5. Chicken Soup for the Soul

This well-known publication awards $200 for published poems that meet its (easily readable) guidelines.

They prefer poems that read more like a story and less like a greeting card.

Poets also receive 10 free copies of the book that their poems are published in.

6. Poetry Magazine

Not to be confused with Poetry.com which mysteriously disappeared off the web one day.

This publication has existed for over 100 years and accepts submissions of poems and prose all year, and their response time is around 8 months.

Published pieces are paid at a rate of $10 per line or $300 minimum.

Published prose is paid out at $150 per page.

7. The Threepenny Review

This quarterly journal only accepts poetry submissions during the first half of the year.

Submissions must be either mailed in or provided via the publication’s online submission form. Published entries are paid $200.

This online and print journal accepts submissions all year. You can submit up to four poems at a time.

Print contributors get paid $200 per poem and a complimentary one-year subscription to the magazine, while online contributors get paid $100 per poem.

Your submissions will also be considered for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor, a $2,000 prize judged by the editors.

9. Boulevard Magazine

This literary publication, which has been around since 1985, accepts submissions of poetry from November 1st to May 1st.

You can submit your work either through its online Submittable site or by postal mail; online submissions cost $3 but postal ones are free (minus the cost of a stamp, of course).

Payment for published poems ranges from $50 to $250.

10. Ploughshares

This publication is operated by Emerson College and accepts submissions from June 1st through January 15th.

Online submissions cost $3 unless you are a publication subscriber. Mailed submissions are free.

Up to five pages of poetry may be submitted at one time.

If the poetry is published, you earn $45 per printed page, two copies of the issue you are published in, and a year’s subscription to the publication.

11. Grain Magazine

This quarterly literary journal accepts poetry submissions from September 15th to May 15th. You can submit individual poems, sequences, or suites, up to a maximum of six pages.

You can get paid for your poems from $50 per page, up to a $250 maximum, plus two copies of the issue in which your work appears.

12. The Iowa Review

This publication is operated by the University of Iowa and only accepts submissions from September to November via Submittable ($4 per submission) and paper submissions through the post.

You can submit up to 8 pages of poetry, and published poetry is paid at $1.50 per line ($40 minimum).

13. Slice Magazine

This literary journal accepts submissions from April 1st – June 1st and October 1st – December 1st.

You can submit up to 5 poems per submission and only one submission per reading period.

Submissions must align with the chosen themes of the journal, which change for each issue. Accepted poems are paid $100.

14. Black Warrior Review

The University of Alabama operates this publication, which accepts poetry submissions from December 1st to March 1st and from June 1st to September 1st.

The submission site doesn’t specify the exact sum of the “nominal fee” you receive for accepted submissions; however, because it is noted as ‘nominal,’ it’s probably under $50.

15. The Capilano Review

TCR is a Canadian literary journal that accepts some unsolicited poetry; submissions can be as long as eight pages.

Check back on their page to check if they currently have an open submission.

If accepted and published, your poems could get you $50 per page, with a maximum of $200.

16. The Colorado Review

This journal is operated by Colorado State University and accepts poetry submissions from August 1st to April 30th. You can submit up to five poems, with a maximum of 15 pages.

Online submissions cost $3, but there is no fee to submit poems via mail.

Published poems are compensated with a minimum of $30 or at $10 per page.

17. Orion Magazine

Orion Magazine is an environmentally-focused publication that periodically accepts poems that focus on the “intersection of nature, culture, and place.”

Check back on their site to see if they’re currently accepting submissions.

Up to three poems can be submitted at a time and published poetry is paid $100.

18. VQR Online

The Virginia Quarterly Review accepts poetry only from July 1st to 31st and only via Submittable (no email or post submissions allowed).

Published poems earn $200 (up to 4 poems maximum); for a set of 5+ poems, poets receive $1,000.

19. The Pedestal Magazine

This online magazine has periodic calls for poetry along an established theme. Check back on their submissions page to find out when there’s an open submission period.

Up to five poems per submission are allowed for review, and they only accept submissions via Submittable.

Payment is $50 per accepted poem.

20. Crazyhorse

Crazyhorse is a publication from the College of Charleston, which accepts poetry submissions that reflect multiple poetries of the 21st century, especially those written by poets from underrepresented communities.

They welcome submissions from September 1st to May 31st. You can also submit your entry for their Crazyhorse Prizes from January 1st to January 31st.

Payment is at $20 per page, with a maximum of $200 payment.

21. EPOCH Magazine

EPOCH Magazine is edited by the Department of English of Cornell University and comes out on September, January, and May.

They only accept unsolicited submissions between September 15th and April 15th of each academic year.

Payments vary from year to year depending on their funding. Currently, you can get paid $50 per poem.

22. U.S. Kids

Why not get paid to write poems for children?

U.S. Kids Magazines publishes Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill magazines.

They accept submissions of 4 to 12 lines of poems for Humpty Dumpty , which is targeted to children aged 2 to 6 years old, and pay $40 and up per poem.

23. Willow Springs

Willow Springs is produced within the Master of Fine Arts program of Eastern Washington University.

They publish every spring and fall, and accept poetry submissions between September 1st to and May 31st.

You can submit up to 5 poems through their Submittable site, with a $3 fee. Each published poem gets you $20.

24. 50 Haikus

Short-form poetry doesn’t pay much but if you’re constantly jotting them down, know that you can get paid for them.

50 Haikus is a literary journal featuring only Haiku poetry in open form, with each issue containing exactly 50 Haiku poems.

They are open for submissions all year round, but you can only submit up to 5 times each month, 1 poem per submission. They accept submissions through their Submissions Manager or through the post.

Token payments are $1.50 normally, with Editor’s Choice submissions paid $10. After publication, a one-year online subscription to 50 Haikus is awarded as well.

How Much Can You Get Paid to Write Poems?

You can get paid anywhere from $2 to $250 to write poems, depending on whether they are published. Every site above has a different payout schedule and various requirements you need to meet before you get paid.

A lot of these sites only accept submissions a few times per year.

How to Get Your Poems Accepted

You can’t get paid to write poems if your poems don’t get published. Here are some tips to increase the chances of your poetry getting published.

1. Read and follow the submission guidelines carefully.

For every poet who doesn’t know how to follow instructions, there are hundreds out there who do.

Why risk getting ignored when you can simply follow their submission guidelines?

2. Familiarize yourself with previously published works on the websites you’re submitting to.

Knowing the styles of poets who have already been published on those websites will help you know what the publisher expects.

Publishers would much rather pay those who can provide what they’re looking for.

Some publications require you to buy back issues for a discount, while others have their digital issues available online for free.

Weigh the investment of buying back issues or even subscribing against the potential earnings to know if it’s worth it.

3. Submit as often as you can, to as many websites as you can.

The more poems you have out there, the greater the chances that someone will be interested in your work.

As you have probably read above, not all of them accept submissions year-round. It’s useful to have a calendar marked with submission schedules of the websites you’re interested in.

Ready to Get Paid for Your Writing?

Getting paid to write poems all day long may seem like a dream to some, but the reality is it’s often challenging and submission fees can quickly add up.

You might have a better chance with writing for greeting card companies .

Or feel free to explore this list of 153 ways to get paid to write to further your chances of making it as a published author.

Have you ever been successfully published and been paid for your poetry somewhere? Tell us your story in the comments below!

READ THIS NEXT: The EASIEST ways to make money online. See how.

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10 thoughts on “24 Places You Can Submit Poems for Money”

Interesting niche and a well read well written post. My only suggestion would be to place the “How to improve your chances of poetry acceptance”…in the beginning of the post as opposed to the end of it. In addition, if you have any personal experience with getting an article/poes published I would elaborate upon that.

Bravo on a well done job!

Wow, I never knew there were so many sites that would accept poetry and pay you for it. I actually have a friend from high school who writes poetry and I think he would love this article. ets just say I am adding this to my favorites and sharing this with a few people.I hope you don’t mind…lol Thanks for the information I am sure my friend will love it.

This is something my Wife would be interested in. She is capable of rattling off fantastic poems as if she is just having a chat with you, that’s a talent in itself. I’ve looked through your listings of publications but I’m unsure if these are for a global audience or just Stateside. We are UK based so would be interested to know if submissions can be made from here.

Great article man

I never knew you could just submit some of your poems to a website and get paid for It

I’m definitely considering trying this out now

Might not be a good way to pay all the bills but definitely a really good way to earn an extra buck on the side

This is exciting! I truly thought that nobody really cared about poetry anymore. There are certainly a lot of opportunities out there! Have you been published by any of them? Once you get published once, does it get easier to get published again? I am very excited about your site and will be following you! Thanks!

Hi Lisa! Unfortunately, no I haven’t pursued any of these opportunities. This post was intended to help those with their research on finding the right poetry publishing site. 

I’ve learned something new, I had no clue that people can get paid by posting poems. I’ve always thought poetry is something type of underground art. Which is something I love, but have not been into since having children. If there was a video I would be more interested in learning about it. Especially, since I am an busy mom and rarely have time to read anything any more. But over all very interesting post.

Glad you were able to learn something Tasharea! While it’s an interesting opportunity, I wouldn’t expect enough money from poem writing to pay all the bills. It could be a fun little way to make some extra money on the side though.

Wow, I never thought about making money on poems! A great information and delight news to the poem writers. This will be a great preparation for publishing own books.

I am wondering why many publishers have a time frame for writers to submit their work? I would like to submit whenever I complete my work.

I would guess they set a deadline so they can go through all of the work they received and then take the time to read through them all to decide what is worthy of being published. 

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8 Best Poetry Websites to Share Your Poems and Stories

Blogging is creating and publishing various forms of content. The content includes articles, photos, infographics, poetry, and stories. The main characteristics of blogging are an informal language and a laid-back atmosphere. It needs regular updates, lifehack tips, and good customer engagement. Above all, blogging is a lucrative career choice if you create content and share it online.

Well! People are fond of poetry and love to read famous poets’ masterpieces. You may be one of them and may already be on some apps or websites for poetry.

But there are many best poetry websites and apps on the internet. Likewise, these platforms offer different features and have different cultures and styles. 

We are one of the communities of writers at thewriterscomos. Above all, we teach content writing and help anyone with doubts about the same!

Table of Contents

Do you have a wonderful dream of inspiring the world with your writing and creating ebooks? That’s an amazing goal to have, and I’m sure you have the potential to achieve it. Of course, building a successful ebook business takes dedication and hard work. But if you’re passionate about writing and believe in your ability to make a difference, then I encourage you to go for it! Remember, your writing skills are a valuable gift. Don’t be afraid to share them with the world and make a positive impact. I believe in you! Many people dream of being their own boss and having the freedom to express themselves through writing. It’s an exciting journey, and I’m here to support you along the way. So embrace your passion, unleash your creativity, and let your writing inspire the world. With Our Online Workshop . You have the power to make a difference.

The best poetry websites to share your poems and stories are:

1.the talent bank:.

The Talent Bank is a space to showcase all the creative things you have done in one place.

It is an online community for artists, musicians, and poets. Likewise, photographers, filmmakers, and comedians. Above all, writers, animators, and actors. As this is one of the best poetry websites, they share all the creative work to get it seen and to receive feedback.

The Talent Bank is a non-profit platform run by volunteers and is free to use the site. They like to help creative people through their best poetry website.

Visitors to the website can vote for your work. Above all, the best ones make their way to the top of the Talent Bank chart. Their voting system will not display any negative rating. However, you can mark all negative scores as 0.

2.Family Friend Poems

Family Friend Poems is the pioneer of Online Poetry Publishers. Since they got establishment in 2006, they have published thousands of poems. The collection of poems focuses on conveying love. Thus, encourages healing, and touches the heart.

Moreover, these are considerably the best poetry websites with 15 years of experience. Above all, to develop a unique methodology for identifying what makes a poem popular. Carefully they have crafted this list, considering the quality of poetic techniques. 

Likewise, popularity is measured by user engagement. These poems are special in their way, and each resonates with readers deeply. 

• Posts that visitors like get the publication.
• The editors review each poem that is submitted. Above all, you get a notification after publishing.
• Poems that exist on forums or the internet will not be published.

You can also check the review from Harold B.

3.AllPoetry

AllPoetry is a poetry website and has the largest poetry community in it. Above all, the feeling and the style of this website are a little bit old. But for most people, how they feel when they post, is an important thing. 

The feel of the site is a bit clunky and old.  AllPoetry has many contests and writing groups as well as some great profiles. This platform has the added advantage.

• A dedicated community for poets
• You can find features like bells and whistles. This also includes profiles and tools.
• Feedback is much on the point, in the website.
• Outdated website design and weak user interface
• Reach and feedback is low compared to other sites.

Check the review by Faryal U

4.PostPoems.org

PostPoems.org is a website where you can post poems! You can organize poems in folders for easy browsing. You need to follow the terms and privacy. 

If you are creative, artistic, and inspired to write poems, then this is the right place.

On the website, you can make friends, track them, and even collaborate with others.

Above all, you can consider it as one of the best poetry websites as writers. They receive feedback, ratings, and comments on their posts.

Check for the testimonials.

Photory is a new and fast-growing platform in poetry. It provides picture-oriented content. It has an amazing community of writers and poets. Above all, the poets are creative in mixing photos with writing. Also, they do storytelling by using writing and photos.

Above all, it is one of the most creative and best poetry websites with an app. Its main feature, a captioned picture story, can make poetry more emotional. Even profound, or sarcastic. Hence, you can make fun by personalizing any famous poem by adding your photo. 

• The content is eye-catching and compelling to read.
• It offers access through both a web platform and a mobile application.
• You can play with photos by twisting the meaning of the poems. Above all, personalizing the famous poems with your photo is fun.
• It is a new platform with a smaller audience than other sites.
• You need a lot of effort to make good content as you pay attention to photos.

Look at the artistic blend of poetry and image

Medium is a good platform for writing, including poems. Here you can share stories and ideas with insightful perspectives. You can find the right audience who listen to you.

Maybe around 100 million people connect. Likewise. they share their knowledge on Medium every month. Many are professional writers, but there are CEOs and computer scientists. 

Likewise, U.S. presidents, amateur novelists, and people with a story to tell the world. These people write about what they’re working on and what’s keeping them awake at night. They tell us what they’ve lived through, and what they’ve learned. We may need to know too! 

• The writing tool is straightforward, but the design is prime.
• Publications are good and the publications offer additional exposure.
• There is not much encouragement for poets in Medium. Above all, you don’t find much poetry here. You don’t have a considerable reach here.

Check this review from Velma V:

Commaful is a team based in California, USA. Likewise, they try to spread their love for reading, writing, and even storytelling. Above all, you have access to thousands of free stories around!

Here at Commaful, you come across all types of creative people.  From aspiring authors to best-selling authors! People share their deepest secrets, stories, and poetic feelings on this platform.

Commaful, categorizes your poetry not just by the types such as “love” “humour” and “romance”. But by modern themes such as “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars”.

You can support people and other writers here. You can comment, chat, and interact with other people. Above all, Commaful is the best poetry website for everyone!

• It is a great community
• You can add images to your poems to make them impressive.
• A good format for stories as they are short.
• You cannot upload bigger stories like novels

Check the review from Marko Roy Wagner:

8. Hello Poetry

HelloPoetry is the best poetry website for poets.  Above all, it gives a modern feeling that the site is decent and finds a place for poetry. But it is not difficult to secure an invite if you are not promoting spam. Likewise, they keep the community invited if you are writing actual poetry.

HelloPoetry has good traffic. However, its internal community is relatively small. 

• You get limited feedback due to the community, poetry in particular.
• This is a short community as it is invite-only to post.
• Looking into design, this is quite modern as other poetry sites are relatively old.
• The community is small
• HelloPoetry is less predictable for reviews than other sites.

  check the review from Quinn A:

You may be a veteran poet looking to share your poetry on a platform. Or maybe you are a reader looking for the best poetry websites. The 8 platforms mentioned above may not be the best but are good poetry sites. Likewise, for all poetry lovers to spend some time and read.

1.  How do I add a poem to the Hello Poetry platform?

On the very top-right of the page, click your profile photo/icon. That will reveal your user menu, where you’ll find the “Write a poem” button.

2.  How to share poetry in The writer’s cosmos?

C lick here  to join the community group of the writer’s cosmos and share your poetries and emotions with daily challenges and contests under the community for FREE.

3.  How to participate in the Open mic contest of The writer’s cosmos for free?

Join  The Cosmic Stage  group to participate in the open mic events for free – click here 

4. Where do I find new stuff to read on the Hello Poetry platform?

The best place is the front page. You can get there by clicking on “Hello Poetry” at the top center of the page. You might also like to check out the Classic poets.

5. How do you go about getting poetry published?

The easiest way to publish your first poem is to submit it to poetry websites and literary magazines that publish poetry. You may also participate in online poetry competitions to get your name there.

6. How much does it will cost to publish a poem in The writer’s cosmos(TWC)?

It will cost you FREE to publish your poem.

Publishing a poem with an e-book can cost $0-$100, depending on your poetry writing. But, if you are familiar with Adobe InDesign or Canva, you can do all the formatting.

7. Is TWC a good place for poetry?

Yes! TWC is the right place for poets to publish their best poems. Above all, it is helpful for readers to appreciate the poets.

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Get Paid to Write Poetry: 35 Sites that Pay for Poems in 2024

by Saeed - Verified & Updated January 4, 2024 (This post may contain affiliate links.)

So it’s obvious that making money from poetry is not easy.

However, that doesn’t mean you are doomed–there are actually a few different ways to avoid becoming the starving poet.

Here are a few options for making money as a poet…

Table of Contents

1. Submit to L iterary Magazines & Publishers

For most poets, the best way to earn money is by writing poems for literary journals, magazines and websites that focus on literature.

Some of these places also accept short stories. So not only you can get paid for your poems, but you can also get paid to write short stories

Here are a few poetry markets to get you started:

• The Sun Magazine : Pays $100 to $200
• Poetry Foundation : Pays $150
• Goblin Fruit : Pays $10
• Leading Edge : Pays $10
• Clubhouse Jr Magazine : Pays $50 to $100
• Crazy Horse : Pays $20 to $200
• Agni : They pay between $20 to $150
• Ruminate Magazine : Pays $15
• US Kids Mag : Pays $25 (minimum)
• VQR Online : Pays $200
• Alaska Quarterly Review : Pays $10 to $50
• Three Penny Review : $100
• Boulevard Magazine : Pays $25 to $250
• EPOCH : Pays $50 (minimum)
• Dreams and Nightmares : Pays $10
• Grain Literary Magazine : Pays $40 to $70
• Antigonish Review : Pays $30
• The Pedestal Magazine : Pays $40
• Fun For Kidz Magazines : Pays $10 (minimum)
• Arc Poetry Magazine : Pays $15
• The Capilano Review : Pays $50 to $150
• Chicken Soup for the Soul : Pays $200
• New Myths : Pays ¢ 1.5 with a minimum $30
• Orion Magazine : Pays $100
• Clean Sheets : Pays .03 (per word)
• Ploughshares : Pays $25 to $250
• Rattle : Pays $50 for online submissions – $100 for print submissions

2. Submit to Poem Contests to Win Cash

Another option is entering poem contests in hopes of winning some cash.

Here are a few current contests:

• Boston Review Fourteenth Annual Poetry Contest : Prize = $1,500
• Bellevue Literary Review’s Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize in Poetry : Prize = $1,000
• Poetry.com Contest : Prize = annual $5,000; monthly $250; daily $25
• Fanstory : Prize = varies based on contest (they have a few contests for different genres.)

3. Write Poem for Greeting Cards Companies

Let’s not forget the poems on greeting cards. Most greeting card companies pay you for your submissions. It could be a poem, a quote, a very short story, basically anything that is a good fit to put on a greeting card. Of course it has to be your own work.

Here are a few:

• Blue Mountain Arts : Pays $300
• American Greetings : Pay varries

4. Sell Your Poems on Fiverr

You can even use gig sites like Fiverr to offer custom poems for clients. Fiverr is a small tasks sites where you can sell any kind of service for $5. But you can add extras and make up to $160 on each gig.

Register with Fiverr for free and create a gig offering custom poems to clients.

5. Put Your Poems on T shirts

I have talked about making money by designing T-shirts and other customizable items before.

You can actually use your poems to create unique and customized products on sites like CafePress and Zazzle.

6. Use Etsy to Sell Poems

Yes Etsy, the big marketplace for handmade products!

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Not only you can sell prints of your poems, but you can also put your poems on handmade stuff like a wooden sign.

If you are not handy and don’t want to deal with creating stuff to put your poems on, contact a few Etsy sellers (especially woodworkers) and offer to work with them. You supply the poems, he or she supplies the product on which your poems get printed. It could be the perfect home business for both of you.

Are you a poet? Have you ever submitted your poems for money? Have you ever used any of the sites mentioned here?

I would love to hear from you and about your experience in trying to make money from your poems.

I have gotten one publication of a poem I sent for a poetry contest. I was picked as the best 3% in the USA. I have not been able to publish anything since then do too lack of funds as I am a single parent. I still continue to write and feel I would be a great asset to many companies out there. I have a way with words and can write great things right on the spot. Any ideas as to how I can make an income from my home would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Lori, have you tried self publishing on Amazon Kindle? Put a collection of your poets into a small eBook and upload to Kindle. It’s free.

How does it work with amazon? I have my poems on this site called allpoetry.com I have no income at the moment. I was wanton to put my work into my own ebook struggling with this. I heard it’s way cheaper than a novel being published!

Melissa, publishing to Amazon Kindle is actually free. You can publish as many eBooks as you like. And yes, you could put your poems in an eBook and sell it there. There are also a lot of free guides online on how to format Kindle eBooks properly. It’s very easy. I actually have a few eBooks on kindle as well.

Definitely give it a try. Also, if you do have a website, be sure to give away a few copy in exchange for honest reviews. Getting those first few reviews are crucial in helping you sell more. If you don’t have a site, just give copies to friends and family and ask for their honest reviews.

Hope this helps. Please let me know once you published it. I’ll be more than happy to read it and leave a review.

Thankyou for this information, I will also try for this

Hi I published my poetry book 13 yrs ago and was suspicious when they told me I haven’t do one book. Now I found out that I was right. Trafford pub is being investigated now what do I do

Hi Steve, I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I haven’t heard of Trafford Publishing before, but a quick search just showed me that they don’t seem like a reputable company (probably why they weren’t on our list). Have you thought about contacting an attorney to help you? Best of luck to you!

Hi, I have my collection of poems in Amazon Kindle and for 4 months now nothing is coming forth.I would be glad to get a review of This it poetry 1 Mind and soul.Even happier if you can buy a copy.

Irene, have you tried using Amazon’s ‘Free Book Promotions’ campaigns? This is how I got my initial reviews. Essentially, you offer your Kindle book for free for a week or so, which boosts visibility since it’s promoted in the ‘free books’ category. You can run these campaigns a few times a year. Setting it up takes less than a minute. You can learn more about it on Amazon’s official Free Book Promotions page.

Hi, I have few poems writing by me. if we both can work together. I will do much appreciate it.

Osondu, as much as I would like to do that, I just don’t have the time to dedicate to it. But you can do it. All you have to do is submit your poems to the appropriate sites mentioned in the post. Good luck!

What would be a good number of pages for a ebook of poetry? (mostly single page poems, some page and a half)

Steve, great question. There is no set number of pages. Obviously, people are less inclined to pay for an eBook that is only a few pages (even though it shouldn’t matter how long a book is; the quality should matter, but that’s the way it is, sadly).

I’d say to get an idea, check out Kindle poetry books from poets that have a similar style of poetry as you. That should give you a good idea of how many pages would do better with consumers.

I hope that helps!

Salam, I am poetry write compose in Urdu,Sindhi, Balochi and little English any person sell my poems have any idea to receive me instant Cash I am to test for any topic

Hey. You need to include in your article that the sites charge non refundable submission fee.

i m lokanath from india.i write short story poems.i want to be a professional writer.what should i do sir??

Well, I would get in touch with local organization. Search for any free or paid opportunities so you can get your work out there. Of course, you can also give any of the sites we mentioned in this post a try. Good luck, Lokanath.

Do your poems need to be copyright before you submit them to any of these places to either earn cash for them or to enter hem into a contest? If so, what is the easiest way to get the copyright?

To be honest, I don’t know how that would work. Just give one of them a call or send an email and ask them directly.

I did a lot of research on this with my music and poetry and it turns out, once you’ve distributed your created product, meaning you’ve made a duplicate of it and given it to someone, it is your intellectual property. You only need something proving the date you wrote it. The cheapest method I’ve seen is to mail yourself a copy. This puts a government stamp with a date on a sealed item. Then you just leave it in the package as evidence of your creation with a date to certify.

soon as you put your writing on a public media platform or at a place where others can read it automatically protects it against copyright from others

I am a published poet, based in Nigeria. am i eligible to do this online poetry business in the US? My lines speak volumes of creative masterpiece.

Not sure, Sunnie. I would contact the ones you are interested in working with and ask.

Let me know if they will be a compilation of poems so that I can submit mine

Why wouldn’t you be able to use it, Sunnie?

Hiii My name is sanjeev chhetri I’m from India I have 2 best poem with me in Hindi(1st poem is conversation between human and mirror and 2nd one is about 3rd gender in India) I want to publish both the poem world wide. Please suggest me some good way to show my thinking to all.

Have you tried contacting any of the sites/companies mentioned in this post?

Hello, I have 60 poems for sale. they are unpublished & i am ready to sell at a price that we shall agree on together. If you are interested, email me for a soft copy at: (email removed)

hi please my name is thomas from Nigeria. I will like to know if i am also elligible to submitt my poems and get paid for them on any of the sites you have listed above thanks

Thomas, each site has its own rules. You will have to check with each site you are interested in working with.

I am writing a novel based on suicide in higher studies and terrorism. I am searching a publisher who can pay me advance, is it possible or not…???

It’s definitely possible. You just have to find the right channel. You may also try self publishing on Kindle.

I would like to be part ur crew but my question is that hw do u pay ur writers and is this true that writers are getting paid or what?

Bontle, we (moneypantry.com) do not pay poets. You have to use sites mentioned in this post.

I am Chris Wathome and goes by the stage name chrommesays. I’ve been doing poetry for a while now and I see that I can manage being a trusted asset by companies out there. Am also a wattpad writer but I need to venture more in the poetry sector of art.

Happy to go through the conversations↑ Can you please kindly assure me, if I stay untold and my components gets stole?

Sorry Marco, not sure I understand your question?

I am from South Africa. Will I be able to submit poems as foreigner?

You have to see on each site what their policies are.

Hii,i am aayat.i have hobby of writing poems on my situations every now and then…..i want to earn money..plz suggest some sites which can help me out without risk of stealing my content.

Thanks for your info about selling poems. I am a new author and published my book in October 2016.

I also write Poetry, Thank you letters, Get well messages, Anniversary and wedding congratulations etc. I have over 100 written and would like to sell them to a company who would be interested in my work! I love writing and will continue for as long as possible!

I will search through your list and find the ideal company!

I am fond and love writing poems,song lyrics and other forms of arts.i am willing to negotiate all my crafts and mind skills and original handwriting creations .

best regards,

iam from tanzania i need to join but the form does not match with my country

I need to be earning money

I am a poetry writer, I have a poetry book on Amazon.com it’s and ebook. I still have a dream to write poetry for a living. I can write for greeting cards. Are I could work with Etsy and put my poems on T shirts. Can you send me some information of how to go about getting started in making my own money from home. For I am just a housewife and have plenty of time on my hands.

Hi I’m nakshatra from India I write short poetry but don’t know how to get it published exactly and get paid

Try some of the sites mentioned in this post!

I am looking for an honest but yet effective Company to write Poetry for. I’ve been writing all my life and have a deep Passion for it. Can any give me information on were to start?

Eric, the hardest part is getting started. Have you tried any of the sites mentioned in this post?

My name is terrica I’m a writer I love doing it. But i struggle to earn a living from it. I published a book but I have only made $2 from it. I however have not let that discourage me. I still write now I have some many poems, I to make a living help me please. C

Hello I’m Gabriela from Lesotho,I love writing and I have few poems I will be happy to sell to anyone who is interested

Hey I’m Carolyn..I’m still a teen and I have a passion of writing poems I have been writing for two years now I’m looking for any publisher who’s interested so I can have my own book composed of my poems as I have many poems by now

A journey to a new creation of self worth and integrity. Thank you for your guidance.

I listed all the websites mentioned here. I actually already searched the first one the Sun Magazine, I sent one poetry hoping they would read it and would like it. I also sent Blue Mountain Arts 2 poetry hoping they would like it . I’m patiently waiting for their response 2 weeks to 3 months. And of course while waiting I’m gonna write poems, more and more. I’m working on a new poetry right now, its entitled “If ‘I love you’ was a promise. (The line actually come from Billie Eilish’s song entitled Idontwannabeyouanymore.) And by the way, I’m gonna try that Amazon Kindle. Wish me luck.

thanks for the info about publishing or selling poems online pls send me any guide of how to package an e-book that can be sold on amazon, lulu or any e-book publishing ecommers store. steps on how to make an e-book for e-kindle and other versions. thanks

I have been writing poems for years and I am interested in working with songwriters. Can you provide any suggestions or recommendations? Thanks!

Ive been writing my own poems since i was a child and still write today im 46 yrs old now! I want to be able to publish or sale my poems for my children! Especially my 2nd oldest he told me one day how much he believed in me and that i needed to be make n money with them because i was wasting my talent! I just need a lil help plz and thank u

I’ve been writing poems on my own.its somehow based on my inner thoughts .I wish to publish it.please help me.

Adowaa, have you given any of the options in this post a try?

After selling a poem.How long will it take to receive the payment?

It depends on the site/company. Some pay faster than others.

I just heard about writing poetry for money. I am just starting to sell my poetry and was wondering what a good first step would be? I’ve been writing for a long time now and have been going through a lot to use in my poetry. please reply with any help or comments, it would be very useful!

I’d start with sending some of your poems to the places mentioned in this post, Melissa. Once you get going, things will get easier. Good luck!

I don’t know if I’m a poet or not but it’s difficult for me to get started online because I’m not computer oriented person. I have alot of poems, poetry, and even songs but don’t know how to get started.

I have a knack for writing poems and making them personal for people. I have written many over the years and i would love to try to crwate a personal poem for others and get paid for it. how do i go about doing that?

Just contact the companies we mentioned in the post. They each have their own process and will let you know how to send them your work. Good luck Ashley.

Am a 18 year old Kenyan daughter aspiring to reach Hollywood with my talent in writing poetry and movies but I need a start. Could you help my dream by being my start? All I need is a chance

What do you specifically need help with Yasmin?

Hi ! I wrote lots of poems just don’t know where to start from , someone should give me a guide on how to go about

Hi, I have use several methods to make money from my poems and none of it has work ……am hopeful that someday the world at large will read my poems and I will make money from my poems…..who wants to buy my poems pls email me right away at [email protected]

Hi. My name is Jasper. I’m zambian and I occasionally write poetry for different occasions. I’d like to know if I can earn something out of my work too from this part of the world

Hi my name is tshego I’m southafrican I sell poems if interested reply then I’ll give u my details thanks you

Hey I realized how good I am with poetry (Particularly on grief) But every website i end up into I’m aways ask to pay At least 3dollar or 10 It’s sad I can’t afford that in my current situation Do you have any recommendation or website where i xan submit my poems and if they are picked i get paid please??

I have some poems I would love to sell, if anyone is interested you can send an email

[email protected]

Am just an upcoming poet but i have been writing for the longest, i was now hoping to make an income out of my work. I need help on how to do it safely.

What do you specifically need help with, Gladys?

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Poetry.com is a collaborative platform for poets worldwide, offering a vast collection of works by both renowned and emerging poets. It's a community-driven project that serves as a hub for poets to share their works, receive feedback, and connect with like-minded fellow poets .

Explore our poetry collection by navigating through subjects , using alphabetical order , or search by keywords . You can contribute a new poem, share your thoughts and rating on existing works, listen to poems with voice pronunciation, and even translate pieces into a variety of languages, both common and uncommon.

David Reilly 1948 (Glasgow)

The Unknown Soldier I am the Unknown Soldier and you’re standing on my grave but please don't confuse me with one considered brave. I was eighteen years old when I answered the call, went over the top and one of the first to fall. I didn't die a hero, indeed an inglorious death. Calling out for my mother took my dying breath. The bravest thing that I have ever done is to tell my story in the shadow of the gun. They took me from that foreign field where I met my doom Scraped me into a box and brought me to this tomb I have been on parade for a hundred years Politicians and puppets and crocodile tears The self-same people who determined my fate blending ceremoniously with the good and the great Their faces overcome by unmeasurable grief I grin and bare it as I listen underneath They say we are heroes for our lives we gave but there is no hero laying within this grave and I must confess it's through gritted teeth I watch them come forward to lay their wreath. The humble poppy from those fields of green, a symbolic emblem turned money machine. To our fallen soldiers for whom we cried for contradicting the values they thought they died for. I watched proudly as the parades went by, my old comrades with their heads held high. Alas, they are no longer that brave band of brothers. Continually replaced by a brave band of others I am sorry my comrades I have no wish to offend but is it time for this charade to end. Caught up in the euphoria of eternal grief. I shake my head in disbelief. And what about our one time foe, our despised enemy from long ago. With a tormented past she would rather forget. Salting her wounds every opportunity we get. With dignity and compassion she has led the way In this troubled world we have today The time has come to bury the past And seek a peace designed to last Please don’t imagine that I lack respect if I am not the hero you have grown to expect. We will never forget those who gave their lives and never forget those grieving wives. Those fatherless children and broken hearted mothers. Devastated comrades, a broken band of brothers If the drums of war would only cease Then this Unknown Soldier and many others would finally rest in peace.

About this poem

This is an anti war poem and conveys my feelings regarding all the remembrance ceremonies that takes place all over the world. I believe they glorify war and nothing more than a recruitment tool.

Written on November 11, 2020

Submitted by Davyreilly on March 25, 2024

Modified by Davyreilly on August 22, 2024

David Reilly

Also writes children’s books  more…

All David Reilly poems | David Reilly Books

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Poetry Out Loud Guidelines, announcements, and poems for the national high school recitation contest.

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The Poetry Archive UK Recordings of poets reading their work. Includes historic archive, children’s archive, poet in residence blog, lesson plans, and activities.

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The Academy of American Poets Poems, poet biographies, interviews, recordings, and essays. Includes a newsletter and events calendar, academy resources, discussion forum, a poet’s workshop of exercises, and teaching ideas.

American Verse Project Full texts of volumes of American poetry pre-1920.

BBC Poetry The British Broadcasting Company’s poetry site. Poems, poets’ biographies, videos, and writing and performance tips from contemporary poets.

Contemporary American Poetry Archive Full texts of out-of-print volumes of contemporary poetry.

Electronic Poetry Center (SUNY Buffalo) Gateway for sites and resources related to innovative poetry. Extensive links to poets, digital projects, and publications.

Kennedy Center's Digital Resources Library Free digital, remote learning resources for incorporating poetry into K-12 classrooms.

Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature Medieval, Renaissance, 17th-century, and Restoration poets. Poems, biographies, and critical essays.

Modern American Poetry Extensive material on poets included in Anthology of Modern American Poetry (Oxford). Manuscripts, brief critical essays, historical backgrounds, biographies, interviews, and sample syllabi.

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide Pages on American authors include bibliographies, biographies, and outside links. Information on literary movements and definitions, writing assignments, and historical perspectives.

Paris Review Interview Archive Index of the Paris Review ’s author interviews from the 1950s to 2000s. A selection are available as full-text PDFs.

Poemage A visualization system for exploring the sonic topology of a poem. Developed at the University of Utah as part of an ongoing, highly exploratory collaboration between data visualization experts, poets, and poetry scholars.

Poetry Daily Anthology features one new contemporary poem each day, selected from current journals and books. Includes an archive of past selections.

Poetry International International poets searchable by country or name. Poems in original language and translation, biographies, articles, and recordings.

Poets’ Corner Includes work by roughly 800 poets. Individual poems and a selection of book-length collections, including anthologies.

Representative Poetry Online Collection of poetry from Old English to the present day. Includes a glossary, timeline, and selection of criticism.

Voca The University of Arizona Poetry Center's Audio Video Library.

The Academy of American Poets: For Educators Extensive range of free poetry resources for teachers.

EdSITEment Literature and Language Arts Lesson plans and links for literature classes, grades K–12.

Favorite Poem Project: Poetry Lesson Plans Lesson plans based on the Favorite Poem Project, emphasizing reading and appreciation.

Poetry Class British website devoted to integrating poetry into the classroom; offers lesson plans, assessment advice, and training courses in the UK.

Readwritethink Lesson plans and web resources for students and teachers, organized around IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts.

Teacher Vision Activity ideas and lesson plans for elementary students; first three articles free, thereafter membership required.

Teachers and Writers Collaborative Insights, practices, and techniques from professional writers and educators; includes information on TW Collaborative in-school and professional development programs.

ThinkCERCA A Common Core State Standards literacy resource for teachers who want to incorporate poetry and other genres to help students learn to read closely, think critically, and develop powerful arguments.

Writers in the Schools Home page of popular program; includes resources for teachers, WITS blog, and links to publication opportunities for students.

Online Courses in Poetry (MOOCs)

Modern & Contemporary American Poetry (Coursera) Taught by Al Filreis, Kelly Family Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania ModPo is a fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary US poetry, with an emphasis on experimental verse. Participants (who need no prior experience with poetry) will learn how to read poems that are supposedly “difficult.”

Modern Poetry (Open Yale Courses) Taught by Langdon Hammer, professor of English at Yale University This course covers the body of modern poetry, its characteristic techniques and concerns. The authors discussed include Yeats, Eliot, Pound, Moore, Bishop, and Frost. Additional lectures on the poetry of WWI and the Harlem Renaissance.

Dickinson Electronic Archives Collection of digital facsimiles of Dickinson’s poetry and correspondence, emphasizing her process of composition; includes links to secondary sources.  

Walt Whitman Archive Includes e-text and facsimile versions of all editions of Leaves of Grass ; contemporary reviews and correspondence; and extended biography and bibliography with links.

From the Fishhouse: An Audio Archive of Emerging Poets Audio archive of emerging poets reading and in conversation.

Key West Literary Seminar: Audio Archives Digitized recordings of past readings, panels, and discussions from the Key West Literary Seminar.

Library of Congress poetry site Comprehensive site for Poet Laureate and related Library of Congress programs; includes webcasts of laureates and Witter Bynner fellows.

National Council of Teachers’ Teaching Resource Collections Resources for English teachers including lesson plans, discussion forums, and professional development opportunities.

Seattle Arts & Lectures Calendar and archives of long-running Seattle lecture series; contains information on Writers-in-the-Schools and Wednesday University programs.

PENNSound Largest collection of poetry audio files on the Internet; includes readings, conversations, and lectures in downloadable mp3 format.

Poem Present: Readings and Lectures Streamed audio/video of University of Chicago’s distinguished reading and lecture series. Poetry Center at San Francisco State University The reading series, is one of the longest-running such programs in the US. Includes the American Poetry Archives, approaching 5,000 hours of original audio and video recordings, available online at The Poetry Center Digital Archive.  

UbuWeb Comprehensive site for avant-garde and conceptual poetry and poetics; includes hundreds of audio files, short videos, and e-text resources.

92nd Street Y Reading Series Webcasts of prestigious New York reading series.

Cave Canem Foundation A home for the many voices of African American poetry, committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African American poets.  

Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program Official site of annual Dodge Poetry Festival; contains overview of Poetry-in-the-Schools program and information for teachers, poets, and students. Kundiman Dedicated to the creation and cultivation of Asian American literature, Kundiman offers a comprehensive spectrum of arts programming that gives writers opportunities to inscribe their own stories. Letras Latinas The literary initiative at Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies, which seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation, and study of Latino literature both on and off the campus. Mass Poetry Supports poets and poetry in Massachusetts to transform people’s lives through inspiring verse, with programs, readings, and an annual poetry festival. National Student Poets Program/Alliance for Young Artists and Writers The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers partner to present the nation’s highest honor for young poets (grades 10–11) creating original work. Annually, five students are selected for one year of service, each representing a different geographic region of the country.

O, Miami Festival E xpands and advances literary culture in Greater Miami, Florida area with a visiting writer series, a poetry festival, a publishing imprint, and other programs.

Poets House   A comfortable, accessible place for poetry in downtown Manhattan, offering a library and meeting place, and events and readings. Poets House seeks to document the wealth and diversity of modern poetry, to stimulate dialogue on issues of poetry in culture, and to cultivate a wider audience for poetry. Split This Rock Poetry Festival Cultivates, teaches, and celebrates poetry that bears witness to injustice and provokes social change. Hosts festivals, readings, workshops, and offers programming for youth. Wick Poetry Festival Engages individuals and communities in the transformative power of poetry. Members of the Wick Outreach Program provide writing workshops, discussion groups, and professional development to a variety of communities throughout northeast Ohio.  University of Arizona Poetry Center A large poetry library, reading space, and living archive, founded to maintain and cherish the spirit of poetry. Promotes poetic literacy and sustains, enriches, and advances a diverse literary culture.

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Best Poetry Writing Apps in 2024

Showing 39 writing apps that match your search.

We’re more than a doc. Or a table. Customize Notion to work the way you do.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Outlining, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, Blog, and Free

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Base price:

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★★★★ Performance

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Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

Rhymer's Block

A real-time rhyme suggestion engine offering color-coded rhyme highlighting, the ability to save your work to the cloud, the power to embed SoundCloud jams into your notes, customizable visual layouts, and more.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Drafting, Poetry, and Free

Website: https://www.rhymersblock.com/welcome

★★★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.8 ★ on the App Store

Apple Notes

Notes is the best place to jot down quick thoughts or to save longer notes filled with checklists, images, web links, scanned documents, handwritten notes, or sketches. And with iCloud, it's easy to keep all your devices in sync, so you’ll always have your notes with you.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes/id1110145109

★★★ Performance

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Also rated 3.3 ★ on the App Store

Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

Danger Notes

Don’t stop typing. If you do all your work will disappear and be gone forever. Danger Notes is the ultimate writing tool to help fight writer’s block. Whether you are writing a term paper, an essay, a book, your best-man speech, promising rap lyrics or just free writing, Danger Notes will help you fight writer’s block by forcing you to keep writing in order to save your progress from being deleted.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Book, Story, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: http://swivelapps.com/apps-by-david/dangernotes.html

★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.8 ★ on Capterra

Google Docs

Build your best ideas together, in Google Docs. Create, edit, and collaborate with others on documents from your Android phone or tablet with the Google Docs app.

Platforms: Online, Chrome, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.google.com/docs/about/

From boardroom to lecture hall, project plan to daily diary, Nebo makes note-taking smarter, more efficient and more enjoyable.

Platforms: Android, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://www.nebo.app/

★★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.3 ★ on the App Store

Writer Plus

Writer Plus is a writing application without the fuss and distraction of a traditional word processor, perfect for writing notes, novel, lyrics, poems, essay, draft on your phone or tablet.

Platforms: Android

Best for: Note-taking, Poetry, Story, Essay, and Free

Website: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.easy4u.w...

★★ Features

Also rated 4.6 ★ on Google Play

You have a story to tell, article to publish, or class notes to take. Scrivo Pro can help you organize your writing, research, generate ideas, and remove distractions so you can focus on the most important thing: writing.

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, and Blog

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scrivo-pro-for-scriveners-a...

Also rated 4.4 ★ on the App Store

Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Windows, Android, Mac, Online, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Outlining, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://evernote.com/

Apple Pages

Pages is a powerful word processor that lets you create stunning documents, and comes included with most Apple devices. And with real-time collaboration, your team can work together from anywhere, whether they’re on Mac, iPad, iPhone, or a PC.

Platforms: iPad, Mac, iPhone

Website: https://www.apple.com/pages/

Also rated 3.6 ★ on the App Store

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free and powerful office suite, and a successor to OpenOffice.org (commonly known as OpenOffice). Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, PC

Website: https://www.libreoffice.org/

Also rated 4.5 ★ on TechRadar

Black Note is the black theme's notepad. It's the simple notes app.

Best for: Note-taking, Story, Book, Blog, Journal, Poetry, and Free

Website: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=notepad.not...

Also rated 4.8 ★ on Google Play

What makes a good writing app?

Put simply, what makes a writing app good for you will depend on the kind of writer that you are. 

• If you’re an author , you might be interested in a writing app with outlining, planning, and formatting functionalities.
• If you’re a student , you’re probably in the market for a writing app that blocks out distractions while you’re writing.
• If you’re a screenwriter , you’ll want a writing app that’s specifically dedicated to writing screenplays.

Or, if you’re none of the above, worry not: that’s why we built this directory of writing apps. Whatever you need, we’ve gathered the outstanding writing apps of 2024 across multiple categories (drafting, editing, note-taking, etc) and platforms (Android, iOS, online browsers, etc) in one place. Feel free to use the filters to make your quest for the perfect writing app even easier!

So what are the best writing apps of 2024?

We can now put an end to the age-old debate of which writing app is best: Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs ? 

The answer, of course, is neither! Hopefully, this directory will point you towards a much better match that actually fulfills your writing needs. We objectively evaluated each writing app based on four metrics.

• Performance: How seamlessly does the writing app do what it’s purported to do? How good is the user experience, from top to bottom?
• Features: How many bells and whistles are built into the app to augment its use?
• Accessibility: Is it widely available on many different operating platforms (e.g. iOS, Windows, mobile, desktop, etc)?
• Value: Is it worth the cost that it would take to download it?

Here are some general recommendations to give you a headstart.

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The best writing app for note-takers

Evernote is the king of written organization. In addition to its free organizational templates, Evernote also gives you impressive tagging capabilities, an omnipresent Web Clipper, and the ability to share notes with collaborators, so that you’ll never forget anything again.

💰 Price:   Free basic plan, $4.99/month for premium

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android

The best writing app for screenwriters

Along with standard scriptwriting features, Final Draft enables you to measure character traits using its inclusivity analysis feature, and tweak your “beat board” until you find your perfect arrangement. And when you’re ready to bring in editors, you can all work simultaneously in real time.

💰 Price: Free trial for 30 days, $249.99 license fee

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Windows

I’ve found the perfect writing app. What next?

Congratulations! Now the fun part begins: actually writing the project that you’ve got in mind.

For authors, this means that you have a long and exciting road ahead. In addition to a writing app, we recommend that you arm yourself with some writing knowledge before you embark on it: whether it’s an understanding of story structure or careful thought put into your character creation, all of it can help you realize your goal of a novel.

If you don’t know where to start, check out the list of free resources below. Good luck, and happy writing!

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• Get Paid to Write Poetry: 14 Markets for Freelance Writers

How Much Can You Get Paid to Write Poetry?

Where to find poetry jobs, 1 and 2. 50 haikus and three line poetry, 4. the antigonish review, 5. arts & letters, 6. new letters, 7. poetry magazine, 8. strange horizons, 9-14. cricket media’s various journals, rules for writing poetry, looking for more help.

Want to get paid to write poetry?

If that sounds like a far-fetched idea, you aren’t completely off base. After all, you’re not going to get paid to write poetry for most magazines, trade pubs, businesses, or blogs.

However, it’s not impossible to land poetry jobs, get paid for your prose, and even get a byline for publishing poetry.

Should you quit your day job solely to pursue poetry jobs? Probably not. But you can consider writing poetry as one way to earn an income as a freelance writer.

But can you actually get paid to write poetry? Yes. I’ve written poetry for a long list of publications, and ultimately published a book of poetry. It’s not the only way I make a living writing, but submitting poems for money is certainly one of my income streams.

Are you going to make a ton of money on poetry jobs? No. Only a few people have actually done that. But most poets write poems for other reasons than just hoping for boatloads of money.

If you want to get paid to write poetry, you can reasonably expect between $1.50 to $300 per poem.

While that might not sound like a lot, compared to copywriting or other writing markets, getting your poetry published can be a stepping stone for bigger things. The more you write and publish your poetry, the more you build up a portfolio of work. And consistently submitting poems for money could turn into a book deal, which is what happened to me.

The reality is if you want to make a full-time income writing, you’ll need to do more than just poetry.

No matter what freelance writing market you work in, don’t forget you can access over 300 hours of courses and interact with a community of 1,500+ supportive writers who want to help you make more money by becoming a Den member .

If you want to tap into your more creative side, write poetry, and learn  how to make money writing , check out these 14 poetry markets to get started.

These two journals, 50 Haikus and Three Line Poetry , were run by the same editors, regularly welcome new writers. They look for short lines with meaning. They also reprint your poem in an anthology.

• Charge to submit : none
• Rates : As of 2021 the rate was $1.50 per poem + a subscription

 3. The American Journal of Nursing  

A nursing journal that publishes poetry? Yes. The American Journal of Nursing publishes poems about health and health care, but not necessarily nursing. I actually help screen submissions for this publication. And I ask this question of every poem I judge: “Would this poem appeal to nurses?”

• Rates : As of 2021 the rate was $150 per poem job

This is a lovely literary journal published in Canada. The Antigonish Review doesn’t have an agenda about edgy vs. formal poetry, but the guidelines do say “expect. . .work to be considered within the full context of old and new poetry.” They only accept submissions through the link above, so don’t try to email your poems.

• Charge to submit : $3.00
• Rates : $5 per page (up to 5 pages) + plus two copies

This highly-regarded Arts & Letters poetry journal based at Georgia University specifically encourages emerging poets and writers to submit their work for consideration.

• Charge to submit : $3
• Rates : $10 per printed page (minimum payment: $50), +  one contributor copy + a one-year subscription.

New Letters writers and poets frequently win tons of rewards, and the editors are a pleasure to work with. This publication prefers to work with writers and poets “waiting to be discovered.” Plus, New Letters publishes a range of styles and subject matter.

• Charge to submit : $4.95
• Rates : As of 2021, the minimum pay for poetry was $12 plus. More for multi-page poems, but pay often exceeds those minimums. Payment to contributors also includes two copies of the issue and 50 percent discounts for additional copies and subscriptions.

If you’ve spent any time trying to publish poetry, you’re probably familiar with this publication. Poetry Magazine is the authority mag on poetry that publishes established and new writers.

Study the mag, and pitch your poetry. This is the top journal in the field. Crack this mag, and you’ll both earn top pay and build your credibility as a poet.

Just know that you’ll need to be patient. They say it can take 8 months for them to get back to you after you’ve submitted your poem. So if you’re looking to get paid to write poetry right this instant, look elsewhere.

• Rates : $10 per line with a minimum payment of $300

Strange Horizons calls itself a magazine of speculative fiction, but it also publishes fantasy and science fiction along with slipstream poetry.

• Rates : $50 per poem job, regardless of length or complexity.

Cricket Media publishes a series of six journals that feature children’s poetry for different ages. These poetry journals include  Ladybug, Cricket, Babybug, Spider, Cricket, and Cicada.

Want to get paid to write poetry (or essays or short stories) for one of these journals? Check the site for the editorial calendar, themes, and submission deadlines.

• Rates : As of 2021 the rate was up to $3 per line; $25.00 minimum

If you want to get paid to write poetry, some basic rules apply, just like writing for consumer mags or trade pubs. Here’s what you need to know:

• Don’t put your poem on your blog. Journals want to know they are the first place that has published your piece, and they consider blogs and public social media as publications. So, feel free to send your poem to friends for fun and feedback, but don’t go public.
• Hone your craft. Many people feel inspired to write poetry in times of great emotion, but don’t just write poetry during those times. Spend time honing your craft and revising and editing your work, just like you would for any other type of professional writing.
• Read the journal. Most journals have quite a few sample poems on their website. Read it. Study it. Get a sense of the type of poetry it publishes to make sure your work is a good fit.
• Follow directions. Poetry editors can be very picky about their submission guidelines. Do not be the poet that doesn’t follow the guidelines and is disqualified from a technicality.

And finally, write for the love of poetry . I would argue any great writing has to have you in it-your passion, your struggles-but poetry even more so. If you are only writing a poem to get paid, I suspect it won’t be good enough to meet that goal.

Instead, write the poem you must write, and find the right journal for it.

What poetry jobs markets have you written for?

While most people aren’t able to make a living by writing poetry, if you love poetry don’t let that stop you!

If you are looking for more help publishing poetry, check out these expert tips: How to Publish Poetry: A Published Poet’s Methods ( article link ).

Looking to publish short stories instead? We’ve compiled a list for that too! Where to Submit Short Stories : 30 Magazines and Online Publications

Deborah Bacharach is the author of After I Stop Lying (Cherry Grove Press, 2015). Her poetry has appeared in five of the journals listed above.

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It’s a great way to make a living writing if you pitch the right publications. How about $500 or more per assignment?

If you’ve been cranking out magazine stories for $50 to $150 a pop, you may be wondering if that’s really even possible. That’s often the going rate for local, regional, or small-circulation magazines.

If you want to write for magazines, and have limited experience, these are great places to get some clips, and earn some money, but it shouldn’t be your last stop.

Many consumer and trade magazines pay $500 or more per assignment. And the pitching process is pretty much the same as smaller pubs:

• Identify a magazine you want to write for
• Study the submission guidelines
• Develop a solid story idea
• Do a little research and interview a source
• Write a killer query letter, and pitch your story idea to an editor

If you can do that, you’ve got the chops to get paid well to write for magazines. But you need to know where to look for those $500-plus assignments. Check out these 25 magazines to get started.

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