March/May 2022

Issue 12

This issue spans two academic quarters due to the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

FICTION

Letter from the Southern Coast

Claudia Johnson

Dear Mama —
We have reached the end of the world.

POETRY

June

Julia Segre

The rain dances along my mother’s roof
And she says it is God crying.

FICTION

The Windy Times, and Those After

Sol de Ugarte

When my phone screen reads 2:30 a.m., I know I won’t sleep at all.

POETRY

Stranger

Auden Svoboda

“you look like the kid from stranger things”
is the only thing people stop me to say

POETRY

summer in words

Chloe
Rappaport Crowther

the light seems to linger in summer
she wants to stay longer than necessary

POETRY

Devour

Zael Johnson

The stars are all angels
above human guilt
great beasts of the stark bittersweet

FICTION

Your Rain

Zora Laddish

I’d like to think that I have a choice.

FICTION

Sense of Carefreeness

Jasper
Lovvorn-Black

I woke up before the sun did that morning.

FICTION

The Crime Against Raisins

Skyler Rockmael

The pain aux raisins may have sparked the least amount of joy, but it was the cheapest option . . .

POETRY

Over and Over

Eva
Fostovsky-Geckeler

5 . . .
4 . . .
3 . . .
2 . . .
1 . . .
And I’m out of time

POETRY

me, you, and the calla lilies

Aja Lelchuk

always wondering
what you might be seeing
next to the pond with the calla lilies

FICTION

Just a Moment

Daisy
Paris-Kaufman

Look
Find
Bend
Cut
Stand
Look.

FICTION

Cafe Dandywolg, Part Two

Divya Sachdeva

I walk slowly from the cafe to my cave home, thinking about Alia.

POETRY

Breathe

Meghan Malone

Breathing is easy
Breathing is supposed to be easy
When did breathing stop being so easy?

FICTION

Déjà Vu

Ash Dodge

Every building, plant, person, and crack in the ground stands out.

FICTION

Heavy Rain

Kenna Klop-Packel

We lie in waiting.
We are in the mud, at the very edge of the schoolyard.

FICTION

The Friend Downstairs

Soline Loeffler

"Fiore, honey? What're you doing?"

POETRY

Surrender

Miriam Reichenberg

I have been inside doing nothing of consequence all day,
just staring out the window and wishing for things

FICTION

Automata (Repulsed), Part Three

Zoe Mitchell

Record of the thought patterns and testimony of Project 001 . . .

POETRY

Coping

Sonja Wooley

I rest my head
against the wide window
of the city bus.

FICTION

Gallery Games

Julia Weinberg

It was a head-spinning summer for Danny.

2022 Emerging Writers

Each year, Redwood invites eighth graders at Berkeley public middle schools
to submit pieces for publication in our May issue.
Emerging Writers are guided through the revision process by experienced Redwood writers.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

On the Bench by the Sea

Haley Willem

An old man gripped his white cane tightly, tapping the ground as he walked down a narrow path.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

All That's Left

Sylvia Burns

Ahh, the cold. So sharp, so profound in the way the frigid air digs at my arms, my shoulders, my bare legs.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

As Far as the Eye Can See

Max Mardesich

Thrumm picks his way through a tangle of ruins, flakes of rubble crunching under his feet.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

You See Me?

Jamaica Rodriguez

I am 13. Born 23. In my late 60s.
Old soul. Old soul.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

when time ran out

Sophia Bevis-Lipton

breakthrough at the bridge

Emerging Writer

POETRY

It Takes a Village

Cruz Foster

It takes a village
to raise a child. It takes a child
to think even a village could do so perfectly.

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Relic

Penelope Kershaw

Sometimes Hecate absolutely despised being immortal.

Emerging Writer

POETRY

Masked

Samantha Lopatin

I don’t mean covid
I don’t mean sickness
I’m talking about my emotions

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Packages

Penelope Purchase

Ding dong!
Toby Myers jumped up from his seat by the window and ran to the door . . .

Emerging Writer

FICTION

Calina's Story

Maya Dang

The dreams — ahh, the flow of them!

Past issues can be found in our archive.

Redwood is published online once per academic quarter.