Stone Soup

Where young artists paint the world with words

The international magazine of stories, poems, and art by young writers and artists. Published continuously since 1973.

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One Snake’s Life

New Spanish moss was my bed
The ships’ horns were my alarm clock
In the early morning
Along the Mississippi River’s edge
I was swimming left to right
Left to right
The mud was brown
The sky was gray
Going up the willow trees
Down the willow trees
Hiding in the rocks
That mourning dove egg was delicious
It was cool and damp
When I slithered to the top of the levee
(I was in a frightening mood)
It happened
I didn’t see it coming
The wheel

One Snake's Life Ben Amoss
Ben Amoss, 10
Jefferson, Louisiana