This month’s writing prompt was Bubbles. Here we showcase all the responses that were submitted.
Bubbles prompt: The pop of champagne welcomes a new year which fizzes in flutes and bubbles to the top. Children blow bubbles with iridescent hues until the delicate membrane pops. It’s a party, it’s a celebration! Bubbles fill the sky, so pretty and frail, their beauty can burst at any moment.
skin rosy from sun’s kiss
salt crystals stud
my chest
sargassum
wrapped thighs
mattress gritty
as a dune
lips taste of Brine
& I writhe
a merboy netted
in these sheets
myrtle, rehobeth
& cape may
mingling in the gills
of rainbow trout, bluefish
& dolphin
down the hudson
out to sea
the rains unleash
the pregnant clouds
who gathered
your sweet breath
I trace the current
back to you
to pompano shores
you’re in the waves
lapping at this body
held in the ever-crash
these waters foam
from your breath
travelling down, down
down pas
as you dance
barefoot on the plaza
sculpting the air
your exhalations
lifted skyward
I inhale
by Jon Rentler
ephemeral
you were always my wind,
carrying my splitting seeds into drains
and golden verandas, bursting with opulence
tender, as you brushed against my spine
a whispered reminder of my yearning
somewhere in Bath, you picked up a plastic bottle of bubbles, a nod to your childhood
and blew, watching the moments that we stole
float in its endearing, iridescent way, almost winking
at you in the early morning sun
one burst away in silence, a void in the air
another one sparkled and fizzed out in a
champagne flute as glitter and confetti fell all over me
lips tangled with someone that’s not you, forgetting all the
bubbles you sent my way
by Luei En Le (@satirewrites, Instagram and Twitter)
a movie theater, a bedroom, the power’s out and love is —
a synchronized giggle across a dark room,
two silver bubbles of moonlight escaping
by Victoria Alejandro
Pop!
Does it bother you
when my words burst your bubble
to expose the truth
you hide from your blind allies?
You’re a fragile heartless orb.
Your clones make my rage
boil deep inside, wishing I
could just float away
into the ether — but I
am grounded in compassion.
by Nitika Balaram (@nitika.balaram Instagram)
Pink Gin Glasses
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The bubbles hit the top;
Surfacing gases in pink gin filled glasses.
I tie the lace bow in your hair;
Kiss the mirror as we leave -
Champagne pink kisses sheer, but seen.
Cherry blossom soap bubble sinks -
Girls bathroom dates; girls bathroom ‘best mates.’
Oh, to be a women!
Floating; pop! pop! pop!
We swim in compliments and pink gin glasses.
by Elizabeth Santaromita
Why can’t I fly towards you?
For Moumita Dutta
On New Year's Eve, you were by the sea.
At 3:01 am, you have no clue what you want to say to me, but you desire to see me.
I'm cursed by the distance.
Why can't I fly towards you?
Champagne bubbles, your favourite cigarette's blue.
You tolerate me every day.
I can't be near you.
I'm cursed by destiny.
Why can't I fly towards you?
At 05:31 am, you were still on the bus.
You told me to stay safe.
I'm the scar, and you're the moon so bright.
I'm cursed by fate.
Why can't I fly towards you?
by Inner Monologue
Pop
Another pop as my bubble bursts upon a blade of grass
A wish gone
Gentle hope quickly destroyed
I attempt to blow another, a small sphere appearing before separating into a dozen tiny balls of
light
Shattering onto the ground before me
Dampening my shoes
I sigh at the loss.
My dream once again broken
I blow
A bubble floats
Up
Away
I smile
It shimmers in the sunlight
I never see it pop
by Lucy O’Neill (@turningthepage08, Instagram & Tiktok)
Innocence
Sometimes you can’t
Scrub yourself fully clean
I’ve tried but my innocence
Popped like the bubbles
In the air and I was stained
With discolored memories
That clogged the
Rusty shower drain
I bought a better soap bar
And a better loofa too I only tried
Ones from Dollar Tree thus far
But my Bath and Body Works
Body wash wouldn’t squash
The feeling of your phantom
Fingers tracing me it wouldn’t
Stop your shadow from chasing me
In my dreams
Last Monday I asked my therapist
What kind of soap could sanitize
My mind’s eye
She smiled softly and whispered
“That’s not how your mind works”
by Megan Ashe (@primarilypoetic Instagram)
Outside looking in
In a world of overflowing champagne
I push from the bottom of the glass to the surface
From the outside looking in,
Models with painted on smiles
Gentlemen only to not be so gentle
It is safer to be within, than without
In a world of overflowing champagne
In this season of drought
I arise to the surface, from within and never without.
by Jasmyne LaBeau
swim press 