JELLYFISH By Carmen & Vanessa, both age 9




















Jellyfish
By Carmen & Vanessa 
Their tentacles swirl 
around the ocean, 
tangling together,
gliding through the water,
blooming like flower buds, 
fluttering and hugging their bodies.
They glow like lanterns. 
They are see through and 
their hearts 
do not look like hearts, 
they look like 
missiles 
or bullets.
A cluster of trees stares at a 
school of fish swimming
through a squiggle 
of Jello-y noodles,
wondering why 
they never 
look 
back.

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.

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 bo
ttles 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.

SLURP! TEAR! BURP! By Angelina & Carmen, both age 8

Flowers bloom

in the sunlight
blazing
between 
redwood needles.
Wind sends petals 
fluttering and flickering
all around the 
welcoming sky.
  
Snakes slide on the 
dusty ground. 
Ssssssssss!
Bobcats scratch 
tree trunks 
and roar
while birds soar 
through the air.
When salmon jump 
out of the rushing 
waterfall,
bears catch them between
their jaws. 
Heads and tails
flipping and flopping,
teeth peeling scales from 
muscle and meat.
Blood drips on
the rocks
and water splashes 
on the grass.
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! 
Rip! Tear! Burp!