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Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 10 — A disembodied perspective from a ditch observes the world above—sun, sky, ladybugs—while grass grows wild around what remains.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 10 — A young poet stands with open hands, waiting to receive rain, life, and all the world's green until only she remains in eternal readiness.

Poetry·Eily A. Chiu, age 9 — A child greets morning in a garden filled with roosters, geese, flowers, and a brook, experiencing each element as a gift from the natural world.

Personal Narrative·Olivia Choi, age 12 — A five-year-old devastated by her family's move from California to New York City gradually discovers unexpected joys in her new home, including Central Park and snow.

Poetry·Daniel Shorten, age 10 — A winter morning bird-feeding ritual captures the urgency of survival as small birds race to eat before crows arrive from the chimneys.

Poetry·Eva Denne, age 9 — A young poet imagines a circus where clowns juggle cookies, lions jump through donuts, and magic makes everything disappear.

Personal Narrative·Ia Sofocleous, age 11 — On the last day of fourth grade, a girl says goodbye to her best friend who is moving to Israel, clinging to the promise they'll be pen pals.

Poetry·Sonia Teodorescu, age 13 — Light and shadow, seasons and elements carry memories through abandoned spaces—a house no longer lived in, paths no longer walked, games no longer played.

Poetry·Benjamin Romano, age 10 — A child sits on a dock at sunset, watching boats bob and waves crash, finding peace in the transition from day to night.

Poetry·Necla Asveren, age 12 — After humanity reaches for the stars and drowns in riches, survivors emerge from bunkers to find a transformed world with golden moons and purple grass.