birds

Poetry·Anna Elizabeth Blech, age 12 — A gondola ride on a New York lake at dusk becomes a meditation on the city's transformation as day turns to night, ending with the gondolier's Italian song.

Story·Christopher Fifty and Indra Boving, age 11 — A flock of geese migrating south encounters a storm at sea, observing a skipjack crew struggling below before pushing through to reach land.

Poetry·Wujun Ke — A poem traces the transition from pre-dawn silence through the first bird's call to full morning chorus as day breaks.

Poetry·Eden Amital, age 13 — Gulls fly between mountain peaks while the immobile rocks' shadows dance below, exploring the contrast between movement and stillness in a landscape.

Poetry·Dylan Sherman, age 10 — White becomes a meditation on beauty and renewal through images of doves, snow, sails, and roses emerging from ashes.

Story·Mary Woods, age 11 — A sparrow clan leader, haunted by his mate's death, flees when his son faces the same predator—but the son survives to lead the clan home while the father finds healing...

Poetry·Mina Alexandra Oates, age 7 — A winter morning at a lake where steam rises, ducks linger, and observers choose traffic over stillness, missing the quiet moment.

Story·Christopher Fifty, age 13 — An osprey hunts for fish to feed his mate and chicks, navigating marsh winds and the constant threat of eagles to provide for his family.

Poetry·Bailey Victoria Nold, age 10 — A young poet urges readers to step outside and notice their freedom, safety, and luck through simple observations of birds, melting snow, and neighborhood play.

Story·Lulu Russell, age 11 — A sparrow flees a hunting hawk through forest branches in a desperate chase, then the perspective shifts to reveal the hawk's necessity of feeding its young.