Best Poem and Best Comic are new categories for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association’s Nebula Awards this year, joining Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Middle Grade and Young Adult, Game Writing, and Dramatic Presentation awards.

Poetry in general isn’t popular among the average reader, I think because so much of contemporary poetry is bad. The dominant mode is tediously confessional, and much of those confessions are mere complaints, petty and aggrieved, delivered in a deliberately solipsistic manner. Poetry critic Thomas M. Disch in The Castle of Indolence lamented the poetaster who “writes about almost nothing except himself and his fowl moods, from self-pity to reproachfulness.” And this when the poetry is readable.

Good news! Speculative poetry is different! You will understand every one of these poems. None of them is a personal confession. You might even enjoy reading them.

That said, I’m a little disappointed by the level of craft, free verse without much rhythm, rhyme, figures of speech, or formal structure. Still, for a poem to be understandable and enjoyable is a virtue.

“They Said Robots Are” by Casey Aimer (Penumbric 6/25) — Surprising final line.

“Though You Always Are” by Linda D. Addison & Jamal Hodge (Everything Endless) — A paean to “Poets of the 21st Century on Spatial Location Sol III.”

“Care for Lightning” by Mari Ness (Uncanny 1-2/25) — Strong voice, probably a goddess.

“To Be the Change” by Nico Martinez Nocito (Strange Horizons 3/10/25) — The prophecy cannot come to pass … until it does, but not in a way anyone expected.

“The Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu (Uncanny 9-10/25) — Exactly that, mourning robots, with intense imagery.

My vote: “The World To Come” by Jennifer Hudak (Strange Horizons 12/22/25) — The dead might not wish to arise. Plenty to admire in the technical execution, including assonance and rhythm.