This paper presents 26 selections of students' prose and poetry from the anthology "There's a Soul Arising in My Mind" and as presented on a New York City radio show. The prose selections come from a form of journal writing called "contemplation writing," a pre-poetry program that uses music, writing, and discussion to guide children into journeys of self-discovery. The poetry selections were written after eight weeks of contemplation writing activities. To show how contemplation writing can be an important preliminary step to poetry, the order of presentation in the paper is contemplation-poem-contemplation-poem. (RS)