Tiny Prize

Peter A. is the happy winner of the princely sum of £5!
Here is the poem, 

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shinrin-yoku (forest bathing)

 

To escape the outside world’s tumult

Throw down my worries like a stone

I walk beneath the verdant vault

In solitude yet not alone

 

I know the breeze is ruffling the branches

And stronger gusts cause the trunk to sway

But as she rhythmically rumba-dances

Tree pulses with living heart today

 

Bark seems to rise to take a breath in

Exhaling next, tree branches long 

Stretch tai-chi-like to heaven 

While earthed and ever standing strong

 

I breathe in, then

Breathe out slowly and

Find small but various ways to

Stand under her in silence, so to understand

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City of Poets offers the monthly TINY PRIZE to any poet registered on our website. Entry is free.

The prize is worth £5, and one could be forgiven for thinking it's not worth it. It is...

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• a poet is recognised • winning can go on a CV • £5 still just about buys a drink •

• it adds to a local buzz about poetry 12 times a year•

• your work is shared across our social media platforms and City of Poets community •

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Themes for 2024 are:

January - Transformation • February - Redemption • March - Beginnings • April - Thrust

May - Colour • June - Midpoints • July - Nurture • August - Pride

September - Earth • October - Justice • November - tbc • December - tbc

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Submissions must be by email only, and only from poets registered with City of Poets. Please put in the subject line: "TINY PRIZE - xyz month - xyz theme"

Submit 18 lines or fewer within the body of the email - no attachments. Closing date for submissions is the 15th of each preceding month -

for example, to submit for May - Spring,• please ensure that we receive it by 15 April.

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Submission, results will be notified on the last day of the month preceding publication. Publication will be on or before the 1st of the following

month to which the submission's theme refers. £5 prize will be credited to the PayPal account of your choosing by the 15th of the month of publication..

the City of Poets judges, 2023/2024, areTINY PRIZE winners Adam Burnel and Nicola Kirk, and poet and editor, Jacqueline A. Smith

regrettably, shortage of time does not permit us to enter into correspondence about the results of the TINY PRIZES

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