seeing beauty in the ordinary

Personal Narrative·Caden Wang, age 12 — Four brief meditations capture moments in different outdoor spaces — a forest path, tennis court, porch, and window view — through precise sensory observation.

Poetry·Peter Shuster-Raizberg, age 7 — A young poet's repetitive meditation on the strangeness and nothingness of cactuses, built through simple observations and circular phrasing.

Poetry·Peter Shuster-Raizberg, age 7 — A young poet observes the ocean's mysteries—fish, sharks, treasure—while lamenting that its population is disappearing.

Personal Narrative·Sonia Teodorescu, age 13 — A girl labeled 'alien' by her friend for her waterproof hair and quirks observes the equally strange behaviors of everyone around her at what seems to be a summer camp.

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.

Story·Harper Fortgang, age 13 — A Purple courier delivering documents in the Forbidden Strip—where Purple and Green people live together—meets Unum, whose greyish-brown skin and perspective challenge everything she's been taught about segregation.

Poetry·Nora Cohen, age 11 — A moment on a winter porch watching snow fall from grey clouds onto beautiful mountains, then walking away from the peaceful scene.

Personal Narrative·Jack Moody, age 10 — A peacock appears on a suburban Virginia roof, struts like it owns the place, calls to another peacock in the yard, then flies away.

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.