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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.

Story·Ellen Wu, age 7 — A child chasing fireflies discovers a magical tree hollow that transports her to space, where she collects gold to help her friend who fears darkness.

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·Katie Furman, age 10 — A child's vision of a starlit doorway where wonder transforms darkness into clarity, eyes become windows to the soul, and grass appears dreamlike.

Poetry·Brooke Callan, age 10 — A speaker trapped beneath a blue night sky refuses to wait for morning and instead chooses to bring in the sun themselves.

Poetry·Pei-Ying Olsen, age 9 — A young musician experiences how playing music transforms perception, turning static moments into flowing streams and city streets into moon-lit landscapes.

Poetry·Pei-Ying Olsen, age 9 — A mysterious sound transforms cursed grounds into a place of beauty, paralyzing yet awakening the speaker through its symphonic power.

Poetry·Rainer Pasca, age 14 — A sensory-rich prose poem captures the disorienting joy of falling into snow, where time slows and the world transforms into crystal whispers and flying lights.

Poetry·Sean Tenzin O'Connor, age 5 — A child observes the grain patterns in a piece of wood under lamplight, seeing landscapes of mountains, rivers, trees, and worms in its natural markings.

Poetry·Sage Millen, age 12 — A sunset transforms into dragon fire and shattering colors, with the speaker urging readers to catch the pieces before everything ends in stars.