Student Showcase Features Wide Range of Poetry, From Swings to Enlightenment

By Eileen Wingard
Eileen Wingard

LA JOLLA, California — Topics from swings to enlightenment were subjects for the student poets and writers from the San Diego Jewish Academy Middle School and High School, San Diego’s Torah High School and Portland, Oregon’s Jewish Academy Middle School who read their poems to more than 50 Zoom listeners, Tuesday evening, March 14. Joy Heitzmann, co-founder of the 15-year old Jewish Poets—Jewish Voices Committee, served as moderator.  These programs are staffed by JCC Senior and Adult Director, Melanie Rubin, and Senior and Adult Program Coordinator, Alyssa Micklos.

Below are six examples from the 16 pieces read that evening:

 

NATURE’S FIRST GREEN by Daniel Frankel, San Diego Jewish Academy Middle School

Nature’s first green is gold
Or so I’ve been told
But when the children of God come to play
They rain down a prismatic array
From the zenith of the mountain
To the petal of the flower
Before they bloom of golden manner
Prismatic angels shine their banner
YOU ALWAYS STAY by Nichola Grolman (Excerpts) SD Jewish Academy
Middle School

Sitting.

Staring.

Holding.

Crying.

But you still stay.

You stay there, hugging,

Comforting.

But, you don’t have to.

You can leave.

I tell you to

Quite often,

But, you stay.

You always,

Always,

Always stay.

You don’t know how much that means.

You don’t know the truth.

You don’t understand

How it feels,

How it hurts,

How much I need you.

But, you still stay.

So, this.

This is my thank you.

My everlasting thank you.

I know one day you will leave.

But, please, stay.

Stay for now.

Because, each time

I fall apart

Into your arms,

You put me back together.

So, stay.

I need you.

I want you.

You hold

Me up.

You carry me,

And put me

Back together

Each time I fall, I shatter.

So, this.

This is my thank you.

My everlasting thank you.

I know one day you will leave.

But, please, stay.

Stay for now.

Because, each time

I fall apart

Into your arms,

You put me back together.

A BLUISH TINT by Kai Berkson-Klaus, Portland Jewish Academy Middle School

Candles aglow

illuminating faces of the dead

Music glides across the seats

Like a wave of people

Fire like new generations

Darkness pulls the light in

Death screaming out

Phones with a bluish tint in front of us

A tall curtain hiding

what it does not want the world to see

We share it with our kin

But they don’t know what hides behind

The screens are scarred hopes

And devastated generations

Their children

Looking up at you

SWINGS by Sequoia Dorfman, Portland Jewish Academy Middle School

Do you remember

When you went on the swings

For the first time?

That moment between

Rising and falling

How life felt infinite

And your head filled with pleasure.

That split second

When there were no worries

Nothing to think about

Just the wind in your face.

But the second you fall

A rush of of energy hits you

And the whole world suddenly

Goes into motion.

And then you rise.

Everything stops again

And your vision is blurry

It’s the best feeling in the world,

Flying high.

MAP OF LIFE by Madrona Dorfman, Portland Jewish Academy Middle School

A map of the world is difficult to understand

It’s a purple tulip in a field of white daisies,

Different in every way, yet the same in another

But the cruelest map of all, is not of our world

But of our own life.

A map shows important things.

Even if we gaze at it for long.

Even if we travel along it widely.

Even if we think hard about it.

A map is still made up of all the things we don’t know.

Just like life.

But when we look at the maps of two lives

There will always be a difference.

No matter how hard we think.

No matter how hard we look.

We will never find a clone.

Just like life.

It’s a heap of broken records piled on top

Of roller coasters and hearts of gold.

MY PATH (Excerpts) by Kobi Schneider, San Diego Jewish Academy High School

As a young adult living in the early 2020s, I rarely have time to think about life’s deep questions. I constantly distract myself with meaningless troubles such as grades, school, friends, movies, and extracurriculars. However, when reading Siddhartha, I suddenly felt the urge to escape the small, foolish aspects of life and start focusing on the bigger question: Am I on the right path? To answer this question, I first had to define the path that I was (and still am) on.

I would say my path was (and still is) best described by three words: academics, obsessions, and non-athleticism. I care about doing well in school, especially in the four core subjects (science, history, English, and math or STEM). Not only do I care about STEM, but I also get obsessed (sometimes too obsessed) with seemingly random aspects of it. I’ve been obsessed with the Anglo-Saxons of England, human nature, and much more. These obsessions give me very little time for athletics; I don’t do that many organized sports and I’m not a fan of any sports team.

Once I figured out my path, I could determine if my path was the right one. To do this, I first had to define what makes a path “right.” In Siddhartha, the right path was the path that led to enlightenment, or a state of eternal peace, unity, and happiness. Siddhartha mentioned that there’s no one defined path to enlightenment; everyone has their own, unique way of getting there. Though I don’t believe in the concept of enlightenment, I do believe that the right path is the one that leads to peace, happiness, and connection with others. This path is different for everybody, and it depends on what makes you happy.
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Eileen Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com