Poetry

Poetry·Adair Brooks — Winter sunlight streaming through bare branches becomes a lesson about finding warmth in cold seasons, rendered in both English and Japanese.

Poetry·Miyo Kurosaki, age 12 — Winter sunlight streaming through bare branches becomes a lesson about finding warmth in cold seasons, written in both English and Japanese.

Poetry·Laberije Shala, age 13 — A young refugee from Kosovo mourns her father's death, expressing the emptiness of life without him and her identity as an orphan who brings roses to his grave.

Poetry·Sarah Dougherty, age 11 — A lightning bug carries the speaker's low spirit through gardens and town, returning it lit up and peaceful for a summer night's sleep.

Poetry·Alice Baumgartner, age 12 — Sensory memories of a Mardi Gras dinner trigger vivid recollections of sounds, tastes, and a game of Truth or Dare on an unseasonably warm February evening.

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 10 — A boy at boarding school writes to his father about missing their everyday rituals and recognizing the sacrifices his father makes driving long hours to work.

Poetry·Natalie Lam, age 12 — Rain transforms from mist to downpour, its gray fingers reaching through fog and pine trees, as the speaker celebrates the wet beauty of their Pacific Northwest home.

Poetry·Mark Roberts, age 10 — A boy remembers his grandmother through the landscape she loved — hot air balloons, hilltop trees, vineyards — and the moment of scattering her ashes.

Poetry·Connor Park, age 12 — A young reader searches library shelves until discovering a forgotten red book with gold lettering that promises adventure despite its brevity.

Poetry·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — A midnight journey from bed to kitchen for milk captures the disorienting sensory details of being awake at 3:30 A.M.