New­borns begin life as nat­ur­al poets, lov­ing the sound of their own gur­gles and coos. And, with the encour­age­ment of par­ents and teach­ers, chil­dren can con­tin­ue to write and enjoy poet­ry into their high school years and beyond. A group of ele­men­tary stu­dents in Detroit, Michi­gan, wrote poet­ry on the sub­ject of what seashells might say if they could speak to us. I was espe­cial­ly charmed by Tatiana Ziglar’s short poem, which alludes to the way in which poets learn to be atten­tive to the world. The inhab­i­tants of the Poet­ry Palace pay atten­tion, and by that earn the sto­ries they receive.