Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
To Win Just Once
Introduction These are just some mind wanderings on winning or placing in Vocal Challenges as well as the almost daily multiple Top Story awards.
Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished 3 days ago in Journal
I Pray It Is Tame
I hope you find joy from the harvest you planted and forgiveness from the one you didn’t. When your soil dries, I dream you’ll make time to water the lilies most days and learn to release the ones who couldn’t survive their newfound independence.
Sam Eliza GreenPublished about a month ago in Poets
Stranded
It was a gorgeous, sunny day in Southern California. Luke and his parents were about to set sail on a long cruise to Hawaii and the surrounding islands. The breeze tousled his short blonde hair in the wind as he stood on the deck, watching the other travelers gather on board.
Holly DraperPublished a day ago in Fiction
Carousel Dance
They're razing the old carousel today so I figured you'd come home. Still, it shocks me to see you after all this time. Your face is weathered now, your once supple skin sagged and sun-creased into frown lines that retreat behind your greying beard, and there's a middle-aged paunch that wasn't there before. But you're standing with those same slouched shoulders and your hands in your pockets, smiling that same gapped-tooth grin, and I recognise you in an instant.
Em StarrrrrPublished 5 days ago in Fictionmiles to go
It had been three years to the day since his mother passed. He was making the nearly two-hundred-mile trip back to his childhood home to spread her ashes with his family, and he was running late. The sun had risen several hours ago, and now he felt some distance from the task of driving. Now that he could see clearly in the morning light, the road stretched out before him, open and inviting. He allowed his mind to wander and muscle memory to take over. He had made this drive hundreds of times before; living in Southeast Michigan for the past eight years had provided ample opportunity for him to return to his parent’s home and visit while still affording him the space and distance he needed to flourish on his own. The drive was long, but he knew it well, and hours flew by like minutes.
When Jesus didn't answer me.
I was standing alone in a desert. It was windy and dark. The sun had already gone over the horizon, and night had come down to face me. By then I understood that darkness is inevitable and that we are only passing through as guests. I could only spot a few specific lights in this seemingly abandoned little town. Hopefully, there was someone to help me find a place where I could spend the night. My first stop was usually a fire station.
Oleksandr MatvyeyevPublished 3 days ago in WanderFirst Place in Full Moon Challenge
The Topsy Turvey Men
They sally-sauntered and jiggy-jauntered over the cobbled stone of the archy, bridgy, oily, smidgy pathway to its throne
Ward NorcuttPublished 27 days ago in Poets- Second Place in Full Moon Challenge
Winter Moon
On a sleepless night, my cat squats on my shoulder gnawing on my dreams. Awake or dreaming, I leave my son’s empty room,
Geoffrey PhilpPublished 27 days ago in Poets 
Tetrachromancy
I saw snowflakes dance in the sky on the day we met. I saw the bright crescent moon on the night of our first date. I saw a pure soul when you kissed me and I was enchanted by your smile, as sparkling white as my wedding gown.
Cathy holmesPublished 3 days ago in Poets
Full Moon Challenge Winners
Write a poem inspired by a crazy dream. In some ways, dreams are like poems. They often hide their meaning through imagery and allusion. It takes a keen eye to decipher both. And if you look at them too closely, you may not make out their meaning.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 2 days ago in ResourcesDance Of The Cosmos
Songs may sing The one in a million Chance of a lifetime As if the lottery was won Lover’s gaze entices As the stars align
C. H. RichardPublished 3 days ago in PoetsIntroduction To Annotating Poems
Many students dislike reading poetry, let alone analyzing it, because they think they do not understand the art form or what the poem means. So, before we get into how to annotate a poem (or find meaning in a poem), let’s first look at what “poem” means and then what “annotation” means.
Stephanie J. BradberryPublished 3 days ago in Education
Write Here, Write Now: The Reunion by Megan Anderson
Swipe left, swipe right- it’s a match. Settle in at a wine bar back table for a Tinder date that’s doomed from the start. Meg Anderson’s take on a classic revenge tale won’t end quite the way you might expect.
Write Here, Write Now: A Vocal PodcastPublished 3 days ago in ResourcesDear Reader
Dear Reader, If I ever loved you, just know that I still do. When the rain taps at my window, and I fall asleep watching the tiny flame of a citrus scented candle,
Daniel IngramPublished 5 days ago in PoetsDouble Jeopardy
With great care, I place my journal on the table. And still, the drop of blood domes, glistens, and spreads, staining the parchment. Irretrievable. Accusing. Irrevocable. The crimson blot mocks my final musings …
Harmony KentPublished 6 days ago in Fiction
Reflections
Calm breeze carries quills through chaos of dancing trees over amber seas
I'm Not Supposed to Die this Way
Sarah watches the coffee cup tumble from the desk, falling in slow motion, the contents pouring out like ooze from a lava lamp. In silence it meets the floor, bouncing off the plush burgundy carpet, the dark liquid vanishing immediately.
Jason BasarabaPublished 12 days ago in FictionThis Place
Atticus Black. A glassy reflection to it that made him think of beached whales, slick with oil after a tanker spill. He blew smoke down into it and watched it swirl and linger like a fog. Slowly, it faded and the features of his face reappeared in disjointed form, fragmented in the rippled liquid. Fragmented, he thought. Pulled apart. The liquid settled further and his face came into clear view within it. Broken. He pulled on his cigarette, exhaled and brought the coffee to his lips.
Dean F. HardyPublished 11 days ago in Fiction
I Like Rainbows and I Like Unicorns
Douglas Dugan held the door open for his 73-year-old brother Dennis as they entered the restaurant. Dennis refused to walk in, "You walk in," Dennis commanded to Doug, "People are going to think we're a couple of old fairies."
Rick HenryPublished 5 days ago in FictionWhy Haiku?
So, if you’ve been on Vocal for a while now (or at least since November ‘22!) you may have noticed, what Mike Singleton - MikeyDred lovingly refers to, as the “Plague of Haiku.” Since November, Vocal has announced three separate haiku challenges, the most recent one even being the chance to write a “Quadru-Haiku.”
sleepy draftsPublished 5 days ago in Motivation
