Prompt: Apocalypse

We title this call for submissions "Apocalypse," a word that for many people is synonymous with the end of the world. The two are related concepts, but they are not exactly the same. "Apocalypse" comes from the Greek apokalypsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation." In its original sense, it refers to a revelation of hidden truths, often divine or cosmic. In religious contexts, especially in Christianity, it often refers to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, which includes visions of catastrophic events leading up to the final judgment.

"End of the world" typically refers to a literal or physical destruction of the Earth or human civilization, through war, natural disaster, climate collapse, or other catastrophic means. So while the apocalypse can include the end of the world, especially in modern usage, it originally referred more to that vision or revelation about ultimate things, which may or may not include destruction.

In our two model poems, Jane Hirshfield writes of a vision more apocalyptic in the classical sense than world-ending in the modern sense. "On the Fifth Day" was written in 2017, but it is just as appropriate in 2025. It was originally published not in a poetry journal but in The Washington Post. The silencing of people is in the news now. Is this the fifth day of the apocalypse? Does it lead to the end of the world? In her short poem, "Like Others," the end is here, and the voice of the poem admits - embarrassed, frightened, and perhaps guiltily - to being like the others who did nothing to stop the end. Both poems appear in her 2020 collection, Ledger.

For our July issue, we want to read poems that address "the end" as an apocalypse that is perhaps near, perhaps very distant, and may be destruction or revelation.

Model poems can be helpful, but can also be tempting to imitate. There are more than seventy poems on this theme linked on this website. Be inspired. Don't get trapped.

Award-winning poet, essayist, and translator Jane Hirshfield is the author of ten poetry collections. She is known for her contemplative, deeply humane verse. Jane was born on February 24, 1953, in New York City. She graduated from Princeton University in 1973, among its first classes to include women. Deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism, which she formally studied at the San Francisco Zen Center. Her poetry collections include The Beauty and Ledger, both longlisted for the National Book Award. Jane is also the author of two collections of essays, Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, and Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World, and she has translated classic Japanese poetry. She is also a committed environmental and social justice advocate, often weaving these concerns into her work.

The deadline for submissions for the next issue is June 30, 2025.
Please refer to our submission guidelines and look at our archive of 26 years of prompts and poems. Follow our blog about the prompts and topics in poetry.