silence

Poetry·Yuli Zucker — A quilt with intricate patterns of flowers and pine trees holds untold stories and unasked questions in its silent, soft interior.

Poetry·Stella Lewin — A poem captures the immersive act of writing as ink consumes the page, until external sounds and the command to 'Look up' break the spell.

Poetry·Sierra Elman — A moment of solitude in the shower becomes a meditation on breath, heartbeat, and the harmony between body and rain.

Poetry·William Clark — A playful, energetic poem captures the exhausting joy of endless banter, with words crashing together like the conversation itself until silence finally arrives.

Poetry·Arabella Aab — Dawn in winter Asheville: a solitary observer watches snow fall, trees dance in wind, and contemplates ancestors' fear before the household wakes.

Poetry·Mara Occhuizzo — Morning light and wind become a meditation on listening to silence — mountains, birds, voices, and things unheard speak through a bedroom window.

Poetry·Emma Catherine Hoff — A woman sits alone in an automat, invisible to others, as her hair whispers conflicting advice and laughing people demand she smile.

Poetry·Zar Rezwan Pavri — A meditation on water transforms from stillness to boiling, from possibility to necessity, as the speaker makes soup from nothing but water itself.

Poetry·Mia Xu, age 11 — A child observes her father's emotional state mirroring stock market fluctuations during COVID-19, realizing she cares about stocks because they affect him.

Poetry·Shivanshi Dutt — A speaker seeks refuge in the art room, a space where they can exist without intrusion, where silence protects solitude and there's finally room for the self.