lyrical prose

Story·Nicky Cannon, age 12 — A boy races from car to ocean, feeling invincible in the Atlantic waves until his mother calls him back to ordinary life at nightfall.

Story·Anna J. Mickle, age 12 — A girl finds comfort in Green Lake, moving from cliff to water to cabin, observing nature's details and remembering boat rides with her brother.

Story·Nicky Cannon, age 12 — A boy races from car to ocean, feeling invincible in the waves until his mother calls him back to ordinary life at nightfall.

Poetry·Olivia Smit, age 12 — A red fox crosses dewy ground at dawn, joined by his mate and kits who play in wet grass before vanishing, leaving only footprints as proof.

Story·Serena Alagappan, age 12 — A family's failed miniature golf outing becomes an unplanned beach walk, leading to a realization about the perfection found in spontaneous moments versus carefully planned ones.

Poetry·Madeline Snigaroff, age 11 — A catalog of simple sensory pleasures builds to an unexpected direct address, transforming observation into intimate connection.

Story·Amanda Kneppel, age 13 — A girl reluctantly follows her friend out her bedroom window at midnight to explore a moonlit field, discovering freedom and wonder in the darkness she once feared.

Story·Chappell Sargent — While packing to move, a teenager discovers stories she wrote at age nine, including one that eerily predicts her current situation of leaving her childhood room.

Fog

Poetry·Robin Sandell, age 11 — Evening fog cascades over mountains like a waterfall, settles in the valley through sunset, then retreats at dawn back to the sea.

Story·Jamie Geng, age 11 — A family hikes through scorching heat to a waterfall, where the narrator climbs rocks and discovers a breathtaking view of the shimmering river below.