Things That Slightly Alter Reality

Reese Westerdale, 12
Slauson Middle

Playgrounds at night
Churches in Texas
The wistfulness of entering a used book store
Empty museums
Empty parking lots in the night
An empty area where many people usually are
Previous schools in the summer
The farthest bathroom stall during a concert
A child, much well-set in youth, who is extremely talented at music
Abandoned stages and sets
The subtle but persistent feeling that you are out of place
The time of day where the sky still reflects the night,
and you are awake but everyone else is asleep

Thieves

Dawsen Mercer, 12
Tappan Middle

Thieves
walking through the dusty shelves,
which pages will I delve?
Musty pages
bindings of silk
were these pages once as white as milk?
Seem as old as earth,
could that truly have been their birth?
Have thieves broken in?
Knowledge is gold,
after all.