"Ministry of Silly Pictures" — Unofficial Poetry Challenge

Aug, 14th - UPDATE: Added submissions: read, read, read them!!

Also, I apologize for being so late with this update.

Between my beautiful 15-month-old learning to open drawers and climb on furniture, my partner being away for work, and his birthday coming up... this week, getting behind the keyboard has been impossible.

My previous challenge came to an end, and now we wait for the gorgeous Dutchman to read and evaluate all the entries...

It will take some time.

When I launched that challenge, I didn't consider that its deadline would fall just around the time his new job position would start, and he'd be exchanging free time for extra stress.

So yeah, please be patient!

Results will be coming, but I can't say when for sure. I hope a couple of weeks, but it doesn't really depend on me.

What challenge am I talking about?

Commercial Time! Read all the awesome entries here:

Back to us.

While we wait for the results of the previous challenge, why not have some silly fun together?

This challenge is inspired by a short chat I had with Novel Allen on her latest Top Story, "Dressed to Spark" (more invasive links at the bottom!).

I'd like to invite you to write a poem inspired by a picture, inspired by another writer's poem's picture!

That's a mouthful, eh?

Let's break it down!

1. Choose someone else's poem on Vocal. Best if it has an intriguing picture.

2. Describe their picture (not the poem!) in fewer than 5 words. Write them down somewhere. I'll call it "description".

3. Open a new draft in Vocal. Paste your "description" (word by word) in the image search.

4. Pick a new picture. You are allowed to browse up to 5 pages of Unsplash pictures. Look for something that speaks to you or just looks like silly fun.

5. Write a poem about the chosen picture.

6. Add a link to the original poem (the one from point 1) in your post, and, if you feel like it, a short description of why you chose that poem.

7. Double-check that your post follows the rules and technicalities of the challenge (link to the challenge, subtitle format, etc...)

8. Paste a link to your poem in the comments to this post.

9. Wait for the 20/21st of August.

10. Read the winners and all other submissions.

11. Check if you got a prize tip!

Makes a lot more sense now, right? Let's review the Rules and Technicalities though!

RULES:

• What to write: A poem. No specific theme, no specific form, no constraint. Just a poem. As simple as that. For once.

• How long: Whatever Vocal and your heart tell you is right.

• How many submissions: You can write as many poems as you feel like, and I will probably read all of them, but I can't guarantee to reward all of them.

• Prizes: A random amount of tips will go to a random number of poems. Whatever I (and my wallet) feel like on the 20th (or 21st), when announcing winners.

• Technicalities:

1. I'd like you to write something new and not previously published.

2. All entries have to include a link to the poem whose picture inspired you, and the "description" that you looked up in Unsplash to find your picture.

3. Please make sure your subtitle says "For Sasha Desideri's "Ministry of Silly Pictures" — Unofficial Poetry Challenge", or any variation of it: I'd like you to spread the word as much as possible so more people can join in!

4. Please have a link to this article posted at some point in your story: same reason as above.

5. Your poem must be linked (or at least its full name written) in a comment to this post, so I can retrieve it easily.

6. Please drop your comment here before the 19th of August 2026 at 23:59, whatever your time zone is. I won't check submissions until the day after anyway.

7. How are winners decided? I don't understand much about poetry and its nuances, so I will not evaluate based on how well it's written. Sorry! Poems that elicit strong emotions, look cool, and have the silliest images will definitely rank higher, though.

8. When will winners be announced? Somewhere in the 48 hours after the deadline. Winners will be announced in a separate post, and tips will be distributed at the same time.

9. How are tips distributed? You must be Vocal+ to receive your tip here on Vocal. If you are not a Vocal+ member, please make a Ko-Fi account, or think of any service that allows me to safely send you a small amount of money. Add that information somewhere where I can find it, preferably in a link on your profile!

Here's a full-sized link to Novel's poem; check it out!

Now, good luck and have fun!