Category: poems

Today’s Constraint: REHAB

Today’s poems circled around recovery, but not always in a solemn way. Some leaned into humor and chaos—latrines, chatter, and indulgence—while others hinted at something quieter: the moment when a person turns, or feels the pull to change. The constraint worked because it carries weight on its own, allowing writers to approach it directly, indirectly, or even playfully. Across the group, rehab became less a place and more a turning point—whether taken seriously or not.

Today’s Constraint: CLASP

Today’s poems explored moments of grasping—sometimes literal, sometimes emotional. Hands reach for safety at the bottom of a pool, clutch gold from a riverbed, fidget with a clasp in quiet social tension, or hold onto something symbolic after grief begins to lift. The constraint pulled the group toward contact points—those small, decisive moments where something is held, secured, or controlled, whether out of necessity, habit, or hope.

Featured Worku of the Day — by Lari

This one earns the feature by doing what strong Worku does best: it sets a scene and lets it unfold. We’re placed immediately in a cabin, ready but not safe, with something approaching. The middle line builds tension—the hoard draws near—while the cool draft hints at both atmosphere and unease. Then the final line lands clean.

It doesn’t overreach. It simply names the moment when anticipation turns into action. The poem works because it trusts the setup—no explanation, just a clear progression from readiness to threat to inevitability.

Today’s Constraint: GRADE

Today’s poems played with the word grade in several directions—school memories, steep hills, and the subtle grading of mistakes and misadventures. Writers leaned into humor and wordplay, especially around the cluster of “gr–” sounds that appeared across several poems. The constraint naturally pulled the group toward moments of evaluation and consequence: a downhill escape, a stumble after wine, a childhood realization, or an awkward discovery that probably shouldn’t be graded at all.