Birds of Paradise
“Heaven is waiting: a pair of snow / leopards guard the entrance in sculpted marble and obsidian, each coiled round the other, muscles / tensed and ready. I open the door.”
Vanitas: Half Skull, Orchid, Gecko
“Even our orchid chokes on / the affection—overwatered, coffee grounds for soil. / The flies connive among the fruit.”
Daphne, 1958
“at her waist, of silk more than wood. / the rush whisper”
Septuagenarian Abecedarian Love Song
By Tina Blade
“Superimpose over all of this a photo of our younger selves— / tight smiles and a greedy earnestness that nearly // undid us—”
Featured Poetry
We are so grateful to every poet who shares their work with us—please enjoy perusing the stunning work in our poetry archive.
2025 Love & Eros Prize: Winners & Finalists
Please join us in congratulating these remarkable poets. Winners were selected by Sun Yung Shin.
there is no place for tigers
“in the end : the body recedes into veils of budded / jasmine : cottoncloth in the underground country / do you understand?”
Deadlines: June & July 2026
Every middle of the month: new deadlines, new contests, and new opportunities for your work to find its audience. Here is a roundup of ten submission opportunities with deadlines in the next two months.