nature

Poetry·Caroline Smyth, age 12 — A young writer explores the paradox of constant transformation and fixed identity, finding that despite daily reinvention, the same eyes witness it all.

Story·Will Stroud — A young hunter describes his first archery kill, from the three-hour wait in a tree stand to the moment the deer falls, rendered in precise sensory detail.

Poetry·Anamaria Grieco, age 13 — A child drifts to sleep in a hammock, moving from stillness through sunset to starlight, cradled by gentle swinging and soft sounds.

Poetry·Ellanora Lerner, age 13 — A teenager finds solitude at abandoned railroad tracks, contemplating how nature reclaims human progress and feeling the ghost of trains that once passed.

Poetry·Edie Patterson, age 10 — A meditation on leaving paradise, watching cars diverge on a canyon highway while coyotes howl and a finch lifts off into morning light.

Story·Hannah Mayerfield, age 10 — A reincarnated blue jay, now human, returns to a fountain where they once drank as a bird, mourning lost flight until moonlight brings new hope.

Story·Hannah Mark, age 13 — A city boy reluctantly spends summer on his grandfather's Montana farm, initially resenting the work but gradually discovering satisfaction in farm life and connection with nature.

Poetry·Rainer Pasca, age 9 — A nine-year-old observes a river scene at an arboretum, recording nature's details while a speedboat disrupts the peaceful meditation of water, birds, and trees.

Story·Ermeen Choudhury, age 12 — A girl forced to move from her beloved bedroom runs into the woods, where blue jays sing a song that helps her understand home is carried in memory.

Poetry·Lulu Priede, age 11 — A child sits on the porch during a thunderstorm, savoring the sensory experience of lightning, rain, and the fresh smell of a summer storm.