original perspective
— 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 student's school bag becomes impossibly heavy with metaphorical weight until they decide their health matters more than attendance.
— A child observes another child eating ice cream alone while she laughs with friends at school, reflecting on their shared humanity despite different circumstances.
— Wind personified as a destructive force tears through a forest, damaging willow, birch, and reeds while warning of fighting spirits.
— 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.
— A whimsical recipe poem for making soup from bay water, moon snail shells, urchin spikes, and other seaside ingredients, stirred into a whirlpool under August lightning.
— A hermit crab named Kermit faces school bullies, challenges them to an exoball game, and wins by riding on opponents' shells, transforming his social status.
— A young elf girl discovers she can communicate with dragons and learns the kingdom's 'dragon attacks' are actually humans attacking dragons, becoming the prophesied Dragon Charmer.