Nature is an encompassing theme in the anthology’s 15th installment, with students writing about the earth, natural disasters, and everything in between. “A Family Reunion” explores the stigma and discrimination that a boy with Down’s Syndrome faces when meeting with relatives. “The Birth of Venus by Botticelli” is an ekphrastic poem about the Renaissance painting. “A Summer Evening on the Prairies” reflects on an experience that still holds true to this day: “And from the fence post / Where I sit / I can see / Forever.” “The Moment” details the immediacy of time in nine short lines. The poem “Without You” delves into a relationship, using the garden as a metaphor: “I’m the statue in the garden, / You are the flowers around me.”
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