strong imagery

Poetry·Ana Carpenter, age 10 — A girl imagines being queen of the world, floating above in moonlight and clouds, but discovers the weight of such power and chooses ordinary life instead.

Poetry·Karinne Ulrey, age 10 — Night falls on a city where stoplights reflect off water, distant conversations drift through air, and a lone car crosses a scarlet bridge.

Story·Elisabeth Baer, age 10 — A magical clock that regulates emotions is thrown away by its bitter owner, journeys through the ocean depths, meets the empress of the sea, and finds a new home with...

Poetry·Rebecca Beaver, age 13 — A speaker confronts the loss of their heart to the moon, becoming a whisper of their former self in this surreal exploration of identity and emptiness.

Story·Sydney Burr, age 11 — A girl who writes by a mountain stream is transported into her own story about an Egyptian pyramid, where she meets her protagonist and must find a way out.

Poetry·Carly Vermillion, age 10 — A child experiences shifting light and darkness through ordinary moments — feeding fish, eating dinner, waking up — each scene marked by sudden changes in illumination.

Poetry·Celeste Escobar, age 9 — A child celebrates physical connection with the earth through barefoot play, describing the planet as a mother whose sandy skin invites daily touch and joy.

Poetry·Neel Rangan, age 9 — A young poet imagines a distant land where theatrical beings act out our dreams, created by God so humans could experience wonder during sleep.

Story·Samantha Abrishani, age 12 — A girl discovers mysterious footprints leading into the ocean, searches for her missing brother, and befriends the reclusive neighbor who reveals she once cared for a dolphin-boy.

Story·Sadie Perkins, age 13 — A girl visits her dying grandmother in a nursing home, struggles with grief after her death, then feels her grandmother's presence return to comfort her.