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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Raking the River

Jeff Kovatch Memorial Ohio River Cleanup,
Harris Riverside Park, Huntington, WV

My father
reaches out with the rake
and pulls the bottle toward us.
I pick it up with my litter-getter and
drop it into our big green plastic bag.
“I’m raking the river,” he says.
We both laugh.
I think that would be a good idea for a poem.

Raking the River Charlotte Tigchelaar
Charlotte Tigchelaar, 11
Huntington, WV