I have to tell you,

there are times when

the sun strikes me

like a gong,

and I remember everything,

even your ears.

— Dorothea Grossman

This year, brevity meet clarity.

The Denver County Fair Poetry Contest is seeking Summer Shorts — poems of 10 lines or less. *

Even after all this time

the sun never says to the earth,

"You owe me."

Look what happens

with a love like that,

It lights the whole sky.

— Hafiz

Writing short is a challenge. Shorts require the potent blend of profound and precise. Or funny and tight. Or clever and clear. That can be tough stuff. To blather is easy, to edit divine.

a bee

staggers out

of the peony

— Basho

Do you write short? Have you a short poem to share? And tell me, what's the key to making a short poem sing?

* Lucky me, I'm the Director of Poetry for this fun occasion.