being different

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — Three parks compete to be the best, each amazing in its own way, fighting daily for supremacy while pleasing children who don't understand the rivalry.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A space beast who devours endlessly doesn't belong in sky or sea, caught between realms with a roar that breaks doors and disturbs all peace.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A golden elephant comes alive when no one is watching, capable of human actions like tying shoes and diving in pools, existing between performance and secret life.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A surreal encounter at a juggle place leads to accusations of theft and a police litany of the narrator's strange misdeeds throughout the week.

Poetry·Analise Braddock, age 9 — A devil and angel switch moral roles after the angel bites the devil's ear, which transforms into a halo the devil swallows.

Poetry·Naomi Angel Farkas, age 12 — A meditation on feeling trapped by others' expectations transforms into a plea for empathy and a vision of freedom through flight and song.

Poetry·Lilly-June Gordon, age 12 — A young writer explores the gap between how peers see her—aloof, friendless—and how she sees herself: kind, connected, surviving through writing.

Poetry·Aiah Morris, age 12 — A crow flies free from troubles, basking in sun, her firm voice neither screaming nor complacent, taking only what's unwanted like vultures do.

Poetry·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl recalls being praised as 'a little angel' throughout childhood, while her mother's poetry quotation hints at the impermanence of such perfection.

Poetry·Mazzi Maycotte, age 10 — A tree enjoys the rain but feels lonely when no children come out to play, wishing it could walk and talk like humans.