Sensational II

The Prompt

This challenge kicks off our revisited series, where we revisit fan-favorite Vocal challenges with new twists.

In this revisited version of our original Sensational challenge, we're asking you to condense a world of sensory experience into just five lines—one line for each of the five senses. Whether it’s the warmth of morning coffee, the sound of laughter in a bustling park, or the scent of rain on pavement, we want you to take us there by engaging our senses in a precise, powerful way. The rules are simple, but the challenge lies in your word choices: you have just one line per sense to create a full, immersive experience.

Your poem must represent all 5 senses, which one line each dedicated to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Each line should stand strong on its own, while also contributing to the overall sensory experience. Think of this as poetry in its most distilled form.

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

• Five lines. Your poem must represent all 5 senses, which one line each dedicated to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
• Submitted to Poets community. Choosing a community is a final step in the submission process. Your poem may be rejected for word count requirements if it is submitted to any other community.

The Prizes

• Grand Prize: $500
• Second Place: $200
• 10 Runners-Up: $20

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

Challenge results date has been changed to October 21. Thank you for your understanding.

For your poem to be eligible, it should adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on October 4, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Sensational II 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.

Any content that is determined to be generated by artificial intelligence will be disqualified and will not be eligible to place in any challenge. Read more on our stance here.