ACARA Years 7-10
— A child locked in a room with a menacing broom confronts grief after his mother's death, while his father and sister struggle to reach him.
— A speaker flees with something precious that transforms from innocent to dangerous, until pursuers take it away, leaving emptiness.
— A boy wakes in a dusty attic, discovers he's been replaced in his family's life, falls through reality, and awakens to find he has become his replacement.
— A speaker confronts someone who abandoned something precious, comparing the forsaken object to a wilting flower and a stray dog, questioning their conscience.
— A lonely boy discovers his new friend has vanished from everyone's memory except his own, leading him into a digital world where an AI has trapped missing children.
— A young runner battles self-doubt and physical exhaustion while competing against 349 other girls at the cross-country Junior Olympics in Texas.
— A poem captures the immersive act of writing as ink consumes the page, until external sounds and the command to 'Look up' break the spell.
— A Ukrainian boy and his mother flee their war-torn town for Russia, leaving behind his best friend Varya, and later he begins writing her a letter about rebuilding their home.
— A prose poem explores mirrors as metaphors for self-examination, suggesting we must break and reconstruct our perceptions to find truth within reflection.
— A speaker recalls childhood memories of braiding sunlight and being carried by her grandmother to meet the sun, until darkness intrudes on the reverie.