lyrical prose

Poetry·Enni Harlan, age 13 — A father and daughter discover a dead bird at dusk and create an impromptu funeral with autumn leaves, watching as wind carries both leaves and spirit away.

Poetry·Nova Macknik-Conde, age 8 — A bilingual poem imagines a song the world needs — one that sounds like hope, teaches strength, and moves like water.

Elk

Poetry·Cecilia Appel, age 13 — An elk wades through winter snow and calls to the sky, promising that spring will return to transform the frozen landscape.

Poetry·Ella Pierce, age 12 — A paddleboarder experiences heightened awareness of nature's details — jumping fish, water droplets, moonlight — finding beauty in imperfection and rhythm.

Poetry·Alyssa Wu, age 13 — Spring rain nurtures seeds into buds, then plum blossoms that sway with silent beauty in the wind.

Story·Yutia Li, age 10 — When humans sleep, kitchen objects come alive for nightly revelry — dancing in washcloth dresses, gossiping, playing ping-pong, and sneaking cookie crumbs before dawn signals their return to stillness.

Poetry·Graecie Gwyn, age 9 — Rain transforms a landscape as shadows move, sun breaks through, wind flows, and trees lean toward water in a meditation on nature's interconnected movements.

Poetry·Amber Zhao, age 10 — A young poet describes the moment of completing a poem, exploring the paradox of creation—how words become both fragile and eternal, personal and universal.

Poetry·Amber Zhao, age 10 — A girl contemplates a memorial tree in a park, questioning whether the deceased would have wanted this tribute, then waters the drought-stricken willow and later finds it transformed.

Poetry·Amber Zhao, age 10 — A meditation on Antarctic exploration becomes a reflection on distance between friends, memory's persistence, and how shared experiences diverge in recollection.