Poetry
— A young writer expresses the desire to dissolve boundaries between self and nature, imagining feet sinking into dirt, floating as water, swaying in trees.
— A poem confronts a classmate who casually weaponized the speaker's adoption status, exploring how thoughtless words can shatter trust and leave lasting wounds.
— A prose poem traces summer wind through sensory moments — sweet taste, ruffled hair, fireflies — until winter arrives and only memory remains.
— A boy's first hunting trip with his father becomes a moment of moral reckoning when he shoots a deer and collapses under the weight of what he's done.
— A catalog of sounds in the aftermath of loss — from helicopters to stomach gurgles to silence — anchored by an empty iguana cage.
— An eight-year-old's birthday celebration is interrupted by the September 11 attacks, transforming joy into confusion as dreams scatter like jigsaw pieces over New York.
— A boy recounts the aftermath of a crash he can't remember, describing the physical trauma and how others see him differently while he remains the same inside.
— A granddaughter observes her grandfather's dementia, as Holocaust memories resurface while present moments fade, yet his gentle spirit and their bond remain intact.
— A child watches sunset from the beach, sees dolphins, rides waves on a boogie board, and promises to return tomorrow to the ocean shore.
— An 11-year-old holds his baby brother for the first time, contemplating the transfer of childhood wonder from one generation to the next.