Contest Description
![]()
Please - no AI generated or adapted poetry. It takes spaces off those who have taken the time to write a poem and is discouraging to all concerned
What to Submit?
Write a new poem using one of the laws of physics as your prompt but transposed to human experiences or the human condition (not about physics itself) - free rein beyond that. E.g don't explain the theory but use the concept to extrapolate poetically. Feel free to pick one of the below or your own personal favourite. Name the theory at the top of your poem with a short summary (epigraph). Title the poem "Humanity". I am not a physics expert and just came up with the idea as I sometimes breezily reference gravity, inertia etc. in my poems and had a quick Google and thought the thermodynamics laws looked very poetically compelling.
1. Newton's Laws of Motion
- First Law (Inertia): An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an external force.
- Second Law: Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma).
- Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
2. Law of Universal Gravitation
- Any two objects in the universe attract each other with a force proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
3. Thermodynamics
- First Law: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred (conservation of energy).
- Second Law: Entropy, a measure of disorder, always increases in a closed system.
- Third Law: As the temperature of a system approaches absolute zero, the entropy of the system approaches a constant minimum.
4. Quantum Superposition
- A particle can exist in multiple states or places simultaneously until measured.
5. The Doppler Effect
- The observed frequency of a wave (e.g., sound or light) changes if the source or observer is moving relative to each other.
6. Fermat's Principle
- Light takes the path that requires the least time when traveling from one point to another.
Not too long but no specific line length limit.
Ensure you have a strong first line.
Anything that isn’t related to the prompt need not be entered as it won’t place.
Any form or free verse is acceptable.
Prizes
First Prize, Glory
Second Prize, Glory
Third Prize - Glory (up to 10)
Preparing Your Entry
Submit one copy of your poem online. Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation.
A Note to Poetry Contestants
You are welcome to enter this contest, whether or not you placed in one of my previous contests.