original perspective

Poetry·Sofie Dardzinski, age 9 — A young philosopher contemplates time's mysterious nature — how it stretches through space, moves at different speeds, and ultimately asks what we do with it.

Poetry·Julia Marcus, age 13 — A clock hanging on the wall in the middle of the night ticks steadily through darkness, lonely without anyone awake to ask the time.

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·Summer Loh, age 8 — Through a fogged window, a child observes city life: a girl with her dog, a street musician, an old couple, and a flower growing through concrete cracks.

Poetry·Benjamin Ding, age 9 — Thirteen playful poems explore opposites, paradoxes, wordplay, and environmental concerns through a child's inventive lens, ending with a critique of materialism versus nature.

Poetry·Soheon Rhee, age 12 — Precise instructions for cleaning a hallway become a meditation on observation, revealing the quiet dignity in routine work and moments of beauty glimpsed through windows.

Poetry·Soheon Rhee, age 12 — A solitary dinner becomes surreal when the narrator realizes their guest across the table is actually their own reflection in a mirror.

Story·Steven Cavros, age 9 — In future Orlando sewers, sentient creatures made from garbage attempt to form a government, leading to chaos, tyranny, and one night of freedom above ground.