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THEMES by PROMPT
We publish writing using a series of prompts as an entry point for exploring emotions, personal histories, shared truths, joy, grief, shame, and those themes that matter most to us in our hearts.
Explore the themes by prompt below:
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Dec 15, 2024
We Under the Net
By Leonard S. Tao — There is a net, like a spider's web. Grids of class entrap us. You are on one end. I on the other. Flies hover at the


Dec 13, 2024
British riots, August 2024
By Colin Ian Jeffery — Hate rioted running amok. Screaming for civil war. Attacking police who held the line. Mindless thugs, fiendish


Dec 10, 2024
an hour in disguise
By Kenneth Kesner — It could remind you of other times when a door quiet as gray, unhinged at its side, about to be stripped and planed in a


Dec 7, 2024
I Was So Tender
By Gerry Grubbs — I was so tender this morning. The way you feel when broken open, a softness comes. Doesn't matter if it is happiness or


Dec 5, 2024
Days of the Week
By Adina Lynn LeCompte — As a young girl, I had a set of panties with the days of the week on them. Each of the seven was a different color,

Dec 2, 2024
In Just One Sleep…
By Audrey Geliga — 2023 was going to be a good year. My dad’s cancer was in remission. My kids were doing well in school. My husband and I

Nov 29, 2024
EITHER WAY IT'S BAD
By Stephen Philip Druce — Trapped and hitched or single and ditched, either way it's bad. Coupled and chained or rejected and shamed, don't


Nov 26, 2024
I Stand Here
By Kellie Brown — I stand here fretting. Hands clasped, clenched. Breath stalled. Dread drowns fragile, nascent dreams. I stand here


Nov 24, 2024
How They Came
By Thomas Elson — Their first day in group. Most will come bargaining, pleading, “Make me better, but let me keep doing what I’ve been doing


Nov 21, 2024
Robin and Eagle
By Jan Wiezorek — On a rooftop, an American robin, state bird of Michigan, commands his post, ordering elements, causing worms to hang and


Nov 19, 2024
Horizon
By Anthony John Ward — I stand captivated upon the shore of night and day, looking out to sea. The light receding towards darkness, drawn in


Nov 16, 2024
About Me
By Rachel Turney — I change direction like a flock of small birds. I burn for seventy hours or even more. I clear ground on the way to the


Nov 13, 2024
The Greatest Year
By Polly Kreisman — Stacks of tomorrow morning’s freshly printed papers lean against a shuttered newsstand, bundled with rope like unopened


Nov 11, 2024
Touchdown
By Lina Lambert — “Get yourself a wife who watches football on two TV screens!” my husband boasted, “and rubs your shoulders at half-time!”


Nov 8, 2024
Barns End
By Rick Bailey — I’ve got barns on my mind. I’m driving across Illinois on 88 West. This is corn country. On this bright sunny afternoon,

Nov 5, 2024
This night will punish them all
By Vandana Kumar — The music playing in a neighbor's home isn't happy. You wonder what it really is that makes you think it has that weepy

Nov 2, 2024
Renaissance of Genuine Creativity
By CJ The Tall Poet — Devouring poorly planned adaptations may motivate one’s creativity, the blandness blended well with detachable hearts


Oct 30, 2024
New Times For Old
By Lynn White — It wasn’t the first pandemic and, as in all the ones before birds sang an opening chorus for the pollen laden bees to hum


Oct 27, 2024
A Look at Life
By Duane Anderson — What is next in my life? Being a hero, being a coward? I look at my life with no idea where it is going. Hopes and

Oct 24, 2024
The Meaning of Grief
By Emilie Brannan — Here I am talking about how I feel instead of reflecting on my sister, whose life was taken way too early. But I want to
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