A series of paired photographs and poems that document the effects of deprivation, poverty, and racism on young people in the United States.

“I wanted to bring attention to the lives of these young people, not just to document the darkness they endure but to honor the deep strength and wisdom they possess. I also wanted to recognize the people who, from these worst circumstances, have found the inspiration to make their communities—and their world—a little better.”
—Andre Lambertson, “Sometimes Miracles”

“The poems came—and, as poems do, they worked some things out for me. They turned the images back into what they had been all along: stunning images of beauty but also poignant moments of real people struggling with being human. After that, I found my way through the poems with ease. Not an ease of emotion, but a technical ease. I knew where to focus, what I had to say.”
—Kwame Dawes, “Deep Empathy”