SUPER-NOVAMAN By Vanessa, age 8, Angelina, age 9 & Carmen, age 9

BACKWARDS by Katie, age 9

TREE BONES by Vanessa, age 8, Timothy, Nam & Wellington, age 9 & Alan, age 10

Night Sky Photo by Tiffanie Tudor. Big Talbot beach, Florida. 

Tree Bones 

The sky’s

night light

peeks over

the horizon.

Little

stars raid

the violet night.
Tree bones

rise

from the dirt.

Wind swishes

across your face.`

Pick up as

many branches

as you can and

bury them.

Check on them

tomorrow

and see if

they

are

still

there.

PARADE OF LIGHT BY Cindy, Binh, Misu, Jack & Carmen, age 9 & Lily & Helen, age 10

Big Allaki Photo by Sergey Garifullin — National Geographic Your Shot: 
Chelyabinskay obl., Russia.

Parade of light

Fingers of green water grab a rock.

Swish!

A vine of amber light grazes the ground.

Stars

pop

in the sky like soda bubbles.

It’s as if

people

went to another planet,

leaving behind

a tree so lonely it thinks

its reflection is

a friend

reaching

for the specks

of light

above.

ORANGE GLOW by Angelina & Jack, age 9, Lily & Tony, age 10, Wisdom, age 11

Star trail and eruption Photo by Davide Castiglione — National Geographic Your Shot: 
Yesterday night, from Centuripe at my house, there was a little eruption from north-east 
crater of the volcano Etna.

Orange Glow

Sparks spread across a rain-shattered sky,

An orange glow sprouting from the mountain

as if the sun were setting

as if the sun were rising

as if you’re in a different world

where people don’t exist.

TONGUE OF AMBER by Daniel R., age 8, Ali, Misu, Jack & Emily, age 9 & Anvivi, age 11

Northern light in Iceland Photo by Gudrún Hauksdóttir — National Geographic Your Shot: 
This photo was taken on my way to Thingvellir at 'Mosfellsheiði' 8th of October 2013.

Tongue of Amber

A cloak of emerald ombré

waves

and crackles

across the atmosphere.  

Limbs of light

the color of a hummingbird’s neck

brighten the sky.

A tongue

of amber peeks

over

the horizon.

Colors race

towards a finish line

of light.

Calmness

is a thing with

flames.

NAIL SALON by Helen, Tony, Ali, Jack, Timothy, Misu, Anvivi & Binh, age 9 & Carmen, Angelina, Vanessa & Emily, age 8

Nail Salon


Chemicals drift around my nose,
and bottles of polish clatter 
and clink 
on the shelf. Clippers click,
files whisper,
dryers whir.
From beneath the sound,
Mom paints finger and toenails
the color of crashing Atlantic waves,
of morning,
of sunflowers,
of paradise,
frost 
and blood,
and a million stars
gleaming down
from a 
Saigon 
sky.

OFFICE By Misu, Binh, Jack, Tony, Nam & Timothy, age 9 & Angelina, age 8

Office
By Misu, Angelina, Binh, Jack, Tony, Nam & Timothy 

From a wire above, papers dangle.
Bandages flu er onto the floor,
and the smell of blood and Purell leaps through the air. 
Scribbled letters dance across 
white boards
that reflect
florescent light
and sunshine
piercing through the window.
Ms. Peggy slides a drawer shut 
and paper clips 
clink and scatter across her desk.
Steam rises from a mug of coffee, and when 
that kid who breaks crayons 
knocks it over,
dark liquid puddles on the floor.
Ring ring ring.
Click click click.
In the corner,
balls gobble air.

FLYING By Helen & Lily, age 9 & Anvivi, age 10

Flying
by Helen Luu, Anvivi Vong & Lily Nguyen 

My aunt
started the engine,
and we took off for Saigon.
Dust like salt and pepper in my eyes. My hair
blew
like a
flock of
butterflies.
I felt like I was
flying.