Where the stars went

When I was small,

the sky was a storybook—

every page dotted with stars

too many to count,

each one whispering my name.


 

But now the nights glow

with lights that never sleep.

Streetlamps, signs, windows—

they push the darkness back

until the stars have nowhere left to shine.


I look up anyway,

searching for the constellations

I used to trace with my fingertips.

Maybe they’re still there—

quiet, patient, waiting for us

to remember to turn the lights off

and look for them again.

Comments

Those Who Love Life

Life is

meant to be lived

Fully and completely.

You need to commit.

Fully.

You aren’t meant to dip one toe in from the edge

You’re meant to dive in 

with no hesitation

no “what ifs”.

The people who do that

are the ones who make every day

thrilling.

Who care so much

with their whole heart

about life and those who live it

that they are willing to 

risk their whole heart

to make yours a little lighter.

These are the people you can count on

to send you a hug

wrapped up in little glitters of their love 

any time you need it.

You might not even notice

when they lift the weight,

but the next time you turn inwards to confront it

it will be missing.

These are the people

who together

find a way to share their immense love for the world

with everyone.

Comments

fall in

past the burning day,

at bedtime when I shrug off sleep,

When I've got school the next morning, and I shouldn't be here,

 

I sit down and press play, and the noise starts, and the colors fly up around me, and cities erect and destroy themselves as the songs start and end.

I fall in.

I fall in deep.

Comments

Where You Live: New York Times Photo Contest

An image from a 2018 photo essay about neighborhood delis that was part of the New York Times series that inspired this contest.Credit...Ramsay de Give for The New York Times

YWP Photographers: Capture your hometown for a New York Times Contest, "Local Lens: A Photo Essay Contest for Exploring the Place Where You Live." Deadline: Jan. 14, 2026. Go to the New York Times story or YWP's Resources Page for more information. [Photo credit: An image from a 2018 photo essay that was part of a New York Times series that inspired this contest. Ramsay de Give for The New York Times]

YWP Photographers: Capture your hometown for a New York Times Contest! Go to YWP's Resources Page for more information. Deadline: Jan. 14, 2026.

My cold walk

Comments

It felt like wandering into the quiet part of autumn—

where the leaves whisper instead of shine,

and every tree leans in like it’s guarding

a secret only the forest remembers.

The path was barely there,

soft with fallen leaves,

fading into the dim and tangled woods—

like it was daring me

to keep going.

  • A cold walkway with trees but no leaves on them
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