morning

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — Morning fog lifts as blackbirds sing and a coyote chases a dog, leaving the speaker wondering who cleared the fog away.

Poetry·Juliet Del Fabbro, age 11 — A young person resists the world's morning energy, finding comfort instead in rain sounds and the warm cave of bed on a Saturday.

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl wakes on her thirteenth birthday to find her family has forgotten, but they quickly orchestrate a do-over when they realize their mistake.

Story·Vandana Ravi, age 12 — A girl's morning bike ride to school becomes a meditation on class differences and gratitude, finding beauty in her modest neighborhood despite glimpses of wealth.

Story·Alina Samarasan, age 12 — During morning hair-braiding, Carlita reflects on her Cuban heritage, school discrimination, and her absent brother who's been arrested.

Poetry·Patrick Lusa, age 11 — A counting poem tracks a day's progression from winter owls at 2 a.m. through summer heat, using numbers to structure observations of daily life.

Poetry·Anna Calegari, age 12 — A speaker sees herself as a monochrome old photograph in the mirror, noting only pink shoelaces and purple under-eye bags break the grayscale of her reflection.

Poetry·Hannah Parker, age 12 — Day transforms to night and back again as God casts spells, fairies dance under stars, and the sun emerges like a yellow ball of fire.

Story·James Wilson, age 11 — Three surfers perform a silent New Year's dawn ritual at a California beach while a crowd watches, then celebration breaks out after they ride three perfect waves.

Story·Sophia Gallegos, age 13 — A girl dreams of descending through ocean layers to encounter a mysterious jellyfish, then wakes to ordinary life while harboring her grandfather's secret journal of undiscovered sea creatures.