Dangerous Domino Effect

I am atop a wispy golden plain
with a colourful ombré pattern

But that time is so short.
There is danger, too.

Enduring loneliness and cruelty.
A dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off.

Pulled In

Maroon red, lilac purple, amber gold.
Aurora colours on the swooping wings
Of fragile butterflies. It jumps from leaf
To leaf and flashes its grand wings to watchers.
A beautiful bright view, the watchers say.

If only their eyes shifted to the side:
A moth with dull greyed wings sits on a wall.
It is the dark sky—twinkling stars surround it.
It is the canvas on which butterflies shine. 

Its eyes spot flickering red flames on candles
With shining vivid shades like sunset glow.
Dull wings take flight, petite feet land on the
Melting wax stand. It tiptoes closer, then
Too close.

Flame touches, then spreads, then envelopes it.
Fire eats its wings, thus forming deadly sheens.
Fire steals its limbs in a colossal blur.
Remains then sprinkle down as smoky ash.
A startling bright view as it fully burns.

Now, I approach the dark tight alley that
May be my flame. My mind is on fire, and 
My daring burns away. But people flutter
Around me, mingling, giggling, and make me 
A shadow like dull grey smoked ashes, yet
I am pulled in.

Sea of Sharks

The hallways are crowded, my mind is filled 
My hand twists the knob, my eyes take in the view
The sea of sharks awaits me in their seats 
All giggling and whispering—most likely at me

I spot the rainbow outside the window, 
Nothing like the storm inside 
Both the classroom and my head 
As I long to run and hide

Grace Lee, a high school student in Seoul, South Korea, is passionate about words. Whether crafting stories or poems, she blends her unique perspective with the vibrant culture of Seoul. Excited to contribute to the literary landscape, Grace’s writing reflects the universal themes of adolescence in a big city.

In Love with You

You will never be lonely
You’re the one that I can’t deny with my heart 
Got you stuck up in my heavy head
Cheers to the precious moment we met
Cheers to the earnest wish you were here
Every hour, every minute, every second, I’ll think of you

Enchanted Forest

I was able to see
tree branches making a shelter above me
The comfy grass gave me a mattress to sleep

Bright sunshine was rising up to the sky
the atmosphere filling up with light
on the forest, giving a beautiful glow

Then my eyes met the birds flying in the sky
Flying towards me, leaving rainbow trails behind
They stood on my shoulder, their colourful fur glowing

A Celestial Journey

running with a useless white suit
adding weight
lasers were passing right by

I’ve seen the hope
empire falls, and the new world forms
rest with my fellow friends

run and run until I am out of energy
what was the rumble
Thought the world was in peace

The Neighbourhood

This is where I played with my friends
Chasing each other with bicycles
Where I ran into my friends without a blink

This is where my friend lived
Our imagination playing together
The large house granting us a smile
Those were the good old days filed with grins

This is where I lost my fellow bicycle
A bicycle which afforded me freedom
The place where I wasn’t allowed to play

This is where I lost myself
All that was misery
Eventually finding the way back home

This is where I first opened my eyes
The time was full of mystery
All I could do was cry
Now I can do a whole lot more

This is where all the goods are sold
I bought a bunch
But it would disappear with someone’s munch

This is where I suffered
The culprit of multiplying -1 to my life
The infinite loop of studying
All I learned is the pain of education

This is where I got my happiness
The place I was free
The place I could only release my stress
The place I could meet my friends far away

This is the place where I bought my second happiness of life
The grey glossy figure
The apple on its top
After, my life started to change once again in the positive way

This is where I will play again
Allowing me go back to the past
When it was the good old days

This is where I will study
Works are harder and harsher
All I wanted was freedom from studying
But all I got was more restrictions

This is where I wanted to stay
The price was high
The money I couldn’t earn until I die
I gave it all up all with a sigh

This is where I will die
The perfect place for death
I would imagine the after life
This is the same place where I was born

Dongeon Kim is currently in 6th grade and attends an international school in Seoul, South Korea. He likes to read both graphic novels and chapter books. He also likes to play games and socialize with his friends. 

Shield

Every human being 
has something of value,
Bonded with

An opaque screen that’s a couple inches
in front of our eyes
Dangling and gradually sinking 

resorted to an intricate string of false
and misleading claims,
But staying safe with

some sort of deflector shield
As if dropped
into some dead space in your brain

Your dreams
 
I’m so gifted at finding
Finding your dreams come true

Any time I count sheep
That’s the only time I wake

I put my hand on the stove
Blunt pain was everything I felt

It was all a dream

917

This where all the lights are broken down
               Into pieces.

This where the colour grey gives hope to a man.
This is where the concrete silver bleaches him white.
This where nothing is served cooked; but raw.
This where men can say what they want,
              it’s their cry, not the clash of metals.

This where fairness kills a man,
But allows the equity of fancying. I think I wondered
Here, but not now.
This where a glimpse of a night turns real.
This is where too sweet for adults to eat.
This where the thoughts are the most innocent
              But the dirtiest.

I was short, standing there.

This where the sun never drops,
Doesn’t matter if it’s shaped by us.
This where I built my signpost.
This is where I return.

This is where I saw a seal in the middle of green.
This where it swam, and danced.

Jin-Woo Ahn is a student at an international school in Seoul, where he explores the intersections of culture, identity, and language through poetry. Drawing inspiration from his multicultural upbringing, Jin-Woo’s work reflects a deep appreciation for the universal human experiences that connect us all. As an emerging poet, he is passionate about fostering community and collaboration within the literary world.

rusted deer will dream

In a new garden I have the biggest hands
rusted deer will dream, and they will envy it 
Those are my summers

i’d wanted to be seventeen that month in the garden
In that garden, branches swing high
It talks and builds with me

I guess i own this garden
some hours in the playground
it became dirty to me

What about an unafraid tree? reckless
used to slide with a fantasy
times with my sister used to always fly 

we needed to plant more
scared about fading on my own 
All i see is a stain while seeing my grandparents climb 

The cherry could believe it has already bloomed 
I begged to ride and I couldn’t imagine
Could my apartment see these verses? 
 
our grandpa wants to see flowers and visit me
My grandma swears she read the bible 
all house no garden 
  

a cherry plant that never blooms 

The garden has a swing set with elephants on them 
It is rusted and old, 
The colour is fading away. 

The garden has a cherry plant that never blooms 
My grandpa swears that he saw a flower on it once. 
I don’t think anyone believes him. 

The garden has a dirty slide. 
I used to ride it with my sister 
Now I’m afraid that the dirt will stain my clothes. 

There is a tree in the garden. 
It was always taller than me as a child, 
It was even taller than my parents 
I would climb it, seeing how high I could go 
Weaving in and out of the branches, being reckless 
Unafraid. 

Now whenever I climb the tree, 
The bugs bother me 
I get soil on my hands 
I don’t want my clothes to spoil. 

A couple times a month 
my grandma sends me pictures of deer 
That she saw in the garden 
She sends me bible verses with them. 

As a child, I envied the garden. 
I begged my parents to let us move to a house with a yard. 
I could not imagine being stuck in an apartment
My dream house became a house with the largest garden
I could plant my own flowers, have my own pets,
Build my own playground
I wanted to be just like my grandpa 

Once in a few summers I go visit the garden
Nine hours on a plane is all it takes to meet my grandparents
All my grandma talks about is the garden. 
All my grandpa talks about is the new flower on the side. 

I don’t envy the garden anymore, though
I think i’d be fine with living in an apartment
I don’t need the biggest garden or seventeen dogs
I guess the garden in my mind was a fantasy.
Temporary.

invincible flower 

The cold kills 
Slicing through my veins and 
Crashing into my skin 
Tears stain the floor

The cold hurts, 
Scrape your knee on the snow and it will bleed 
White snow flooded with red, 
Traces of murder, 
And you wonder, what died here? 

In the coldest of winters 
Blooms the most beautiful flowers 

Winter is over now, 
And i’ve found that 
My tears have become seeds—- 
Planted in the ground, 
Ready to flourish 
Ready to blossom into the warm spring air 

The blood is now a red flower 
It does not die easily 
It lives through storms  
It can go without being watered 

In the most extreme conditions, 
My flower can thrive 
She can flourish, grow faster than any other flower 

When winter comes again 
I don’t need to be 
Scared 
Because when the cold kills 
When it hurts and it bleeds, 
I know that out of it i will get an invincible flower

Elisa Min is a seventh-grade student with a passion for poetry. She discovered her love for writing at a young age and enjoys exploring themes of nature, identity, and the human experience through her poetry. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading voraciously or spending time outdoors, drawing inspiration from the world around her. She is excited about the possibility of sharing her work with a wider audience.

you broke me first

I envy the leaves
that grow from the trees
They’re all so carefree through the seasons, 
unaware of the fall

How evergreen
our group of friends
don’t think we’ll say that word again

And I don’t mind bleeding
I’m glad we crashed and burned
I’ll pack my memories and go
The lies you sold me all saw the light of day

You broke me first

bulldozer fish

bulldozers hanging over them like vultures.
you can see dying fish,
flopping on the dirt ground and drowning in air.
they say the world is chaos,
others say it is dying.
perhaps they are one and the same.
drain our air and watch us drown.

a garden in a shoe closet

honey yellow scent of warm potted soil around
             packed cracking kitchen

murmuring flowers streaming back onto the
             shoe racks from humming pots

split plants rusted in green sun
             carved in the coloured tray

stems blossoming through
             scattered tiny air chatter

petals haphazardly watering the floor
             wild sweet dirt hanging off dark shoes and cigarettes

tattooed stains of leafy walnut water
              shimmering stars in the window

Regina Kim is a high school student in Seoul with a fervent love for literature and creative writing. She draws inspiration from her cultural surroundings and personal experiences to craft narratives that resonate with authenticity and emotional depth. Regina’s writing explores themes of identity, belonging, and the human condition, reflecting her curiosity about the world and her desire to connect with others through storytelling. When she’s not writing, Regina enjoys reading classic literature and exploring new cafes in her vibrant city.

Guernica

Blood.

            Chaos.

                         Remorse.

I remember
It was a sunny bright day and
I wore a yellow shirt
with princess Belle imprinted on it.

“Catch me if you can!”
“Vroom Vroom”
“CRASH”

“Rinse with water!”

She screamed in pain.
“Be quiet, don’t tell mom! It’s going to be ok.”
She held back her tears.

Blood showered the bathroom sink.
I tried to rinse it off
but the splattered blood dried
Gravity pulled hard on my chest.

“I don’t know what to do.”
“Can you resist the pain?”
She shrieked as the water pricked her scars

The ambulance came.
All eyes glared at me.
What have I done?

Now I have outgrown my yellow Belle shirt
But that stain of blood on it,
had not been erased.

The contract says: Perhaps in the future we will all be one

When you come, bring your brown
-ness so we can be sure to please 
The publishers. 

Share and pass on the stories from the griots. 
Be sure to reminisce and remember what had happened. 
Don’t forget.

Will they tell us stories that make us feel
Uncomfortable? Will they value something
That we have never heard of?

Almost like a black hole. Their thoughts are unclear.
Thoughts are filtered. Thoughts are dragged into
darkness by the force of gravity.

Wish we could drop a mouse into their poems
See the way it probes his way out. 
Wish we could know more about their maze of thoughts. 

There’s more to learn. There always will be.
But now, inquiry fades away
and people became reluctant to learn.

Perhaps in the future, 
diversity is acknowledged and valued 
Perhaps in the future, 
We will all be one.

Ah-young Dana Park is a creative seventh grader who loves to bring her imagination to life through both writing and art. This is her first submission to a literary magazine, marking the beginning of what she hopes will be a lifelong journey in the creative arts.