Christine Klocek-Lim

CLOSED to Submissions until January 17, 2026

CLOSED to submissions until Jan 17, 2026

CLOSED to Submissions until November 3, 2025

CLOSED to submissions until Oct 3, 2025

Best of the Net 2025 Nominations

CLOSED to Submissions

From the archives — First Aubade by Jeremy Heartberg

First Aubade by Jeremy Heartberg from Autumn Sky Poetry Number 3, December 2006

Saturday book feature — Balance by Laurie Kuntz Balance by Laurie Kuntz from Balance (Moonstone Press 2025)

Saturday book feature — Balance by Laurie Kuntz

Balance by Laurie Kuntz from Balance (Moonstone Press 2025)

Perseids by Bonnie Proudfoot

Editor's Note: This lovely poem reminds the reader that there is not just one thing of beauty to love, but many.

Wax Wings by Nicole Michaels

Editor's Note: This poem's energetic closing stanza is the perfect ending to the story of birds whose beauty never fails to enchant those who are fortunate enough to see them.

The Mellowing by Vaishnavi Pusapati

Editor's Note: At first glance, this quiet poem offers gentleness, but soon peels back the layer of calm to reveal the true nature of a surrendered relationship.

The Lavender Dress by Nanette Schieron

Editor's Note: This narrative poem shows the reader that if the emotional framework is sound, the missing details don't matter—heartbreak is universal.

CLOSED to Submissions until October 3, 2025

CLOSED to submissions until Oct 3, 2025

Headed Home by Karen Kinley

Editor's Note: This poem carries the reader through a space that is both overwhelming and ordinary—a train, a commute, and the wish for a place that is better.

From the archives — How Language Lets Us Down by Corey Mesler

How Language Lets Us Down by Corey Mesler from Autumn Sky Poetry Number 4, December 2006

Saturday book feature — Soundtrack by Alex Stolis What we once thought we had we didn’t by Alex Stolis from Soundtrack (Whittle Micro-Press 2025)

Saturday book feature — Soundtrack by Alex Stolis

What we once thought we had we didn’t by Alex Stolis from Soundtrack (Whittle Micro-Press 2025)

Summer Show by Sarah Daly

Editor's Note: This poem's narrative focuses on regret and frustration, and how difficult it is to accept life when it leads somewhere you never wanted it to go.

Today by J.R. Solonche

Editor's Note: The repetition in this poem hammers home the speaker's yearning for an innocence that likely only existed in childhood, but is longed for nonetheless because of the present moment's difficult reality.

Turning Forty by Jason Barry

Editor's Note: This poem leads the reader into the speaker's regret over past inaction with a gritty sort of courage—this is the truth of life, and this age is where one faces it.

In the Pale Heat of Late September by Devika Mathur

Editor's Note: The unique imagery in this poem allows the reader to experience the emotional ache of the speaker with startling clarity.

Absence by Dean Abbott

Editor's Note: This poem's use of personification and repetition creates a framework for an emotional narrative rich with both love and persistence.

From the archives — The White Oak by Martin J. Elster

The White Oak by Martin J. Elster from Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY, August 4, 2023

Saturday book feature — Ice Cream for Lunch: A Grandparents Handbook by Laura Foley Joy and Sorrow by Laura Foley from Ice Cream for Lunch: A Grandparents Handbook (The Poetry Box, 2025)

Saturday book feature — Ice Cream for Lunch: A Grandparents Handbook by Laura Foley

Joy and Sorrow by Laura Foley from Ice Cream for Lunch: A Grandparents Handbook (The Poetry Box, 2025)

Earliest Memory by Greg Watson

Editor's Note: This poem offers a story by denying the narrative multiple times until the reader can't help but read between the lines to find the trauma hidden within.

Lavender by Carole Greenfield

Editor's Note: This almost-sestina uses the form's repetition to beautifully illustrate the persistence of love and grief and memory.

Dreaming, Drowning by Dale A. Lombardi

Editor's Note: This poem's surreal imagery carries the reader into a prayer where pain and beauty coexist in a balance that feels like peace.

The lane where she went missing by Ian Clarke

Editor's Note: The melancholy imagery in this poem illustrates the speaker's despair with perfectly chosen metaphors of grief.

to a young woman who took too many painkillers by Isabel Chenot

Editor's Note: This poem's message transcends the rhyme and slant rhyme to slip directly into the heart of the reader where fear and suffering and choice reside.

From the archives — With the Current by Richard Jordan

With the Current by Richard Jordan from Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY, August 10, 2022

Saturday book feature — Your name is a poem by Roseanne Freed A poem begins with a lump in the throat by Roseanne Freed, from Your name is a poem (Picture Show Press, 2024)

Saturday book feature — Your name is a poem by Roseanne Freed

A poem begins with a lump in the throat by Roseanne Freed, from Your name is a poem (Picture Show Press, 2024)

I love this poem!

On a Beautiful Afternoon in August by Matthew King

Editor's Note: This musical sonnet carries the reader into the speaker's reluctance to face that most difficult of weather—oneself.

Chipped Dishes by Richard Cummins

Editor's Note: This narrative poem carries the reader through a life where each choice lingers in the mind with an unexpected weight.