Inverse

The Prompt

Your task is to create a reverse poem—an enchanting composition that unfolds with one meaning when reading the lines from top to bottom, and an entirely different meaning when reading the lines in reverse from bottom to top. Carefully choose words to construct lines that reveal hidden depths and unexpected twists in both directions. Your poem does not need to start and end with repeated lines.

This challenge invites you to explore the creative boundaries of expression, playing with the reader's expectations and delivering a unique linguistic experience. Craft a poem that seamlessly transitions between two distinct perspectives, offering a literary dance where the verses gracefully pivot to convey contrasting meanings. This dual-layered exploration in form can be tricky, but when it works, it's magical.

In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:

The Prizes

Special shout-out to Tressa Rose for inspiring this challenge idea in Share Your Ideas to Shape the Future of Vocal Challenges.

For your poem to be eligible, it should be submitted to the Poets Community, follow the rules above, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Poems published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on February 22, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Inverse Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.