UK KS3

Story·Michelle Byers, age 13 — During COVID lockdown, a mother and son each make wishes on matching copper bracelets that transport them through time, teaching them what they've taken for granted.

Story·Chloe Leng, age 12 — In a post-COVID dystopia where rich and poor are segregated, a lonely delivery boy discovers an underground society of 'Peacebreakers' who refuse to wear masks or social distance.

Story·Meital Fried, age 13 — A girl faces her aunt's terminal illness through the metaphor of a falling bomb while a mourning dove sits motionless on their roof, refusing to move.

Story·Renee Wang, age 13 — A dying man in a retirement home reflects on his life's losses—a friend's death, a failed marriage, and the changing nature of chess—while watching a cherry tree bloom.

Air

Poetry·Julia Marcus, age 13 — A hiker rises above civilization to Lake Alpine, becoming one with the hawk soaring overhead, breathing pine and sage and thin mountain air.

Art

Poetry·Sim Ling Thee, age 13 — A spilled mug of milk becomes a meditation on how accidents and disasters might transform into art when viewed from a different perspective.

Poetry·William Chui, age 13 — A boy discovers beauty in his seemingly routine summer day, noticing small details — a flickering light, his dog's warm belly, new plants in the backyard.

Poetry·Soheon Rhee, age 12 — A meditation on dishwashing becomes a portal to memory, neighborhood sounds, and the passage of time in a Korean household abroad.

Poetry·Parwana Amiri, age 16 — A refugee teen's defiant catalog of what takes courage — building schools, welcoming the homeless, staying human — versus what's easy: destroying, hurting, closing your eyes.

Poetry·Parwana Amiri, age 16 — A dialogue poem between two voices moves from invitation to fly, through a refugee's plea for help, to a declaration of collective strength and resistance.