lyrical prose

Story·Hannah Mayerfield, age 10 — A reincarnated blue jay, now human, returns to a fountain where they once drank as a bird, mourning lost flight until moonlight brings new hope.

Poetry·Rainer Pasca, age 9 — A nine-year-old observes a river scene at an arboretum, recording nature's details while a speedboat disrupts the peaceful meditation of water, birds, and trees.

Z

Story·Ayla Schultz, age 12 — A lonely rich girl befriends a mysterious park dweller named Z, discovering a hidden community that gathers at night, but Z vanishes with spring's arrival.

Poetry·Anne Brandes, age 12 — A girl journeys through fields and past a mill to a windowsill where, with pencil and paper, she begins to write as if the page were a ballroom.

Poetry·Katie Thomas, age 12 — A prose poem captures the joyful chaos of puppies at play, describing them as a single creature of fur, tongues, and wagging tails.

Poetry·Gabrielle Mott, age 8 — Peace arrives like moonlight through a window, then expands into visions of mountain streams, glass-still pools, and fields where doves coo sweetly.

Poetry·Wujun Ke, age 13 — Dawn breaks through trees as birds find their perches, while the speaker breathes in the ancient scents of maple and oak between dreams and waking.

Poetry·Alyssa Cho — Dawn breaks through trees as birds find their perches, while the speaker breathes in the ancient scents of maple and oak between dreams and waking.

Story·Julia Soderholm, age 13 — A young woman finds solace in morning rituals and simple pleasures before heading to the beach to write, savoring solitude before crowds arrive.

Poetry·Lauren MacGuidwin, age 12 — A night at a lake where moonlight transforms water into something magical, from skipping stones to being splashed with captured moonbeams.