seeing beauty in the ordinary
— A child celebrates physical connection with the earth through barefoot play, describing the planet as a mother whose sandy skin invites daily touch and joy.
— A boy confronts his fear of spiders during a nighttime trip to the garage refrigerator, learning to see them as fellow creatures just trying to survive.
— A dreamlike poem where nothing and noone inhabit a valley of inverted colors and upside-down trees, until someone and everyone arrive to paint the sky with love.
— An alien's confused observations of human life, mixing up body parts and behaviors based on misunderstood information from 'a piece of paper.'
— Seventh graders torment a new student who attends class via video call, only to discover she has a disability when she finally arrives in person.
— A young poet captures New York City at night through vivid sensory images—scraggly trees, moonlight on curtains, flickering streetlamps—ending with the city caught in 'the tangled thicket of past importance.'
— A car journey through a mountain valley becomes a meditation on the overwhelming beauty of landscape and the intrusion of human presence.
— A walker observes the ocean at sunset, noting waves, seagulls, and the changing sky as day transforms into starry night.
— A mirror poem captures the dual nature of listening to music—the same notes can bring magnificence or screeching, beauty or pain, depending on perspective.
— A girl discovers that paradise isn't just a California beach but something she carries with her, from hotel rooms to airplane windows to her New York apartment.