LITERARY GALLERY
The following literary pieces were selected from collected submissions of local student-written poems, essays, and short stories.
Thank you to WSWHE BOCES and to all of the students who contributed to this exhibit for inspiring us all with your thoughtful creations.
2021 Outstanding Artist Award Winner // Literary Art
Unvanquished
Pallavi Datta
Niskayuna High School
"
If we sifted through the faded dust of our ancient past
in the long lost fact and fiction blurred into folklore,
we might see how we built castles made of sand,
waiting to be washed away by the sea of time,
daring to defy our destiny, choosing to overlook our fate of oblivion
relentless, resilient, resolute
"
Where I'm From
Faith Lawani
Queensbury Middle School
"
I am from onions sizzling in oil,
From outrageously rich tomato stew,
and over-mircowaved s’mores
I am from towering mountain peaks
And surrounded by an ocean-length of fiery trees.
(Shimmering gold, dusty brown, and rich red.
The cozy colors of mid autumn.)
"
Sophie Dvorak
Shaker High School
Singing
"
i look and see
Two thousand empty wells
Smiling
And beneath them i feel clumps
Of earth
Mud and dirt and gravel
Stick to my fingertips
"
LITERARY SELECTIONS
Click a name below or scroll down
Unvanquished
Pallavi Datta
Niskayuna High School
If we sifted through the faded dust of our ancient past
in the long lost fact and fiction blurred into folklore,
we might see how we built castles made of sand,
waiting to be washed away by the sea of time,
daring to defy our destiny, choosing to overlook our fate of oblivion
relentless, resilient, resolute
In human hubris we crowned ourselves king, transcending our kingdom,
once hordes of warring clans abandoning our tribal instincts and
escaping our mercurial nature to become creators, debaters, scholars, designers and dreamers
who constructed glittering palaces, cosmopolitan cities and sweeping bridges,
with laws like gossamer threads tethering us to civility,
tying the tattered shreds of a fragmented world into
a united race unwilling to surrender without fight, audacious enough to declare equality as
birthright, with the realization of this dream of peace and justice for all in sight,
emerging unvanquished
With our gold-plated crowns we stand in regal aura,
power lying not in our wealth or strength, but in the depth of our imagination
In that liminal space bathed in ethereal glow between the abstract and concrete
where visionaries and idealists wander, we connect the stars
which shimmer like flecks of silver in the midnight sky into constellations
and look above and beyond for strength and purpose to cloak us in certitude
as we search for our origins
But even gold tarnishes
As centuries of injustice and the dull ache of disillusionment leave masses jaded
aspirations sinking, like a childhood dream now all but faded
From seeming powerlessness stems apathy, lack of empathy--
we fail to recognize that each loss is a light extinguished, a story’s abridgement,
Our victories and creations seem hollow as armies of men slay their brothers without sorrow
The absence of dissent, despite fear, is still complicity
Truth trembles in the face of silence and willful ignorance
and when hatred is wielded into cruelty and terror, our delicate constructs collapse
But even then, hope glimmers on distant shores
For we are the heirs to a legacy only we can define
We wait on the cusp of this new chapter where we are no longer chained, bound or divided into
the oppressors and oppressed, the conquerors and the conquered, the powerful and the powerless;
We each stand tall, adorned with our own crowns, not because of the absence of adversity
but in spite of it, reclaiming our purpose and realizing our power, liberated at last
When we speak, our individual voices coalesce, rising in a collective roar
For when we couple courage with conviction—we will soar
like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, magical in harmony
But our metamorphosis is incomplete
The future lies before us, vast and wondrous, pens clasped in our hands, ink to paper, we write it
our story is still unfinished
A Candle's Right
Gregory Ng
The Albany Academies
In the boxes and stores, I waste away, unburnt and unwanted;
Polished, clean ivory dormant in these pitch drawers,
Come the day we are bathed in flame, our unburnt suffering shall never cease.
Dusty, damp, the thick smell of decrepitness fills our prison.
Empty dreams of a phoenix’s rebirth,
Only to be shunned back to our dull reality.
When all light is gone, gather us from where we rest,
So we may see your face in the orange of our luminance,
With every second my flame leaps and dances across my head,
Invading darkness, and chasing shadows.
Long white columns come to life, as we light the way
Fragile pieces of marble or glass;
Lit by flowing amber.
As my halo burns bright my water-like blood drips to my feet,
With a single breath you may choose my fate
With every second my essence leaves.
As my soul now flickers I weep waxy tears,
Light now fading, for my job is done,
No more purpose left to burn,
All ended with a single breath,
My spirit uplifted by a wisp
Singing
Sophie Dvorak
Shaker High School, North Colonie
i look and see
Two thousand empty wells
Smiling
And beneath them i feel clumps
Of earth
Mud and dirt and gravel
Stick to my fingertips
One thousand dull stones sit before me
And i have an urge
To reach out and feel one
Watch it crumble into ash
And rinse my hands clean
In a stream of clear water
i feel the urge
To reach a stone
To touch it
And I do
Golden sand
And colored raindrops
Pervade the air and settle
Snow falls
And
Blood rises
The wells fill
And a thousand birds
With jeweled wings
Leaving dusty teardrops behind
Fly from their cages
Freely into the sky!
Where I'm From
Faith Lawani
Queensbury Middle School
I am from onions sizzling in oil,
From outrageously rich tomato stew,
and over-mircowaved s’mores
I am from towering mountain peaks
And surrounded by an ocean-length of fiery trees.
(Shimmering gold, dusty brown, and rich red.
The cozy colors of mid autumn.)
I am from the lone and mysterious crimson-leaved tree
The countless daylilies
whose elegant, dancing red and orange blooms
disappeared beneath the cruel blades
Of a lawn mower, while the untouched weeds laughed maliciously.
I’m from swirling colored pencils and sprawling pillow forts
from Soric and Amber.
I’m from “Stop being sarcastic!”
and “Go to bed!”
from “It’s your turn to do the dishes!”
I’m from “Ain't nothing gonna break
my stride”
and whispering flutes paired with a jaunty beat
to create an irresistible melody.
I’m from diligent parents
who work until their bodies hurt so much,
that I can barely embrace them.
from paprika and ripe fried plantains.
From a bright summer day
turned dark
by the glowing flames of an untamed fire.
In a partially-charred orange box
that can always be found if you aren’t looking for it,
are faded photos that strike like lightning,
rekindling a fire of old memories.
siblings in the dozens,
and some as simple as strawberry
ice cream smeared on the
faces of two toddlers.
I am from the simple things,
but that does not make me boring,
It makes me who I am.
Emerge
Jade Orapello
Broadalbin-Perth Senior High School
Stage One | The Egg.
Born into this world,
life seemed to fit society's mold.
I had a mother and a father who birthed
me,
cared for me,
and briefly taught me the ways of the
world.
Soon I learned,
my father would leave for a new life,
and my mother,
would leave me for drugs.
But one day,
I will emerge.
Stage Two | The Caterpillar.
At only nine years old,
I had shuffled in and out of foster homes,
desperate to find a family
that would love and care for me,
and take me in as their own,
the way my real ones should have,
should have chosen me,
the way I would have chosen them.
And yet, one day,
I will emerge.
Stage Three | The Chrysalis.
After two years of back and forth,
alone and scared for my life,
I finally found a family,
a new family, that chose me,
the way I chose them.
This new family, my family,
now safely surrounds me,
defends me,
loves, and cares for me.
I am protected by my new family
from the dangers of my past.
I witness affection and respect,
not abandonment and rejection.
In this space,
where
I am protected by my chrysalis,
I will have the time to grow into my own,
to become what I always knew I could be,
beautiful.
I will be beautiful.
Because I know, one day,
I will emerge.
Stage Four | Almost a Butterfly.
As I patiently wait,
to reach the stage of my life,
where I manifest my truest colors
and eventually take flight,
I find comfort in this metamorphosis
knowing who will fly alongside me,
my new family.
My new family will forever support me.
My new family will be there for me when
I fall.
My new family loves me.
They will forever love me.
Because of them,
and because of me,
I will become something I didn’t have a
chance to be.
I will become the beautiful butterfly they
couldn’t see,
What they didn’t want to see.
Because I know,
I will
emerge.
A Philosophy of Life
Kevin Lee
The Albany Academies
Forever is a blink of an eye
Faster than a peregrine shooting from the sky
If after death is an eternal sleep
Will it not go by in a flash
Won’t we need to use our consciousness
To gauge the time we are asleep
Must we reincarnate then
Into a new life
Only our first years have no memory
As we are washing previous ones away
from our souls, our consciousness
Lives pile up, a library of memories
Learning from past lives and mistakes
Perhaps this universe is a classroom
Where I learn and grow
Until the end of time
When the school year ends
16 Years
Claire Pelletier-Hoblock
Schuylerville Jr./Sr. High School
16, Every morning with the same depressing headline,
Who could’ve predicted a global pandemic?
15, Celine Dion, Cher, and Trisha Yearwood in concert, Best year ever.
14, First day of high school,
Mamma doesn’t see me as a kid anymore.
13, First date, first kiss,
At 13 that counts doesn’t it?
12, Grandpa decided to go be with God,
Reality sucks.
11, They tell me he is in Texas and I have 45 half siblings,
How was I born? I asked.
10, Life with two moms is great,
I have the perfect family.
9, Third trip to Disney World,
Winnie the Pooh is my favorite.
8, I met a girl named Sarah today,
I think we are going to be best friends forever.
7, I haven’t seen the dog in a while,
Mamma said he’s taking a nap.
6, Today we sat on the floor in the dark,
My teacher said we had to be very quiet.
5, A boy pushed me in class today,
Whats a bully?
4, I cry and cry all day,
Why did my parents leave me here?
3, We got a dog,
My older sister names him Charlie.
2, I will only eat scrambled eggs,
Don’t ask me why.
1, It’s called pee-a-boo,
But where do they go?
Zero,
I see light,
I am innocent,
I am born.
Life’s Butterflies
Sadie Underwood
Galway Jr./Sr. High School
Growing up is like the caterpillar stage,
Full potential is awaiting.
Wings that provide us with the beauty, confidence, and power to fly away are nothing but a
dream for the future.
One of those dreams that forces you to wake into a state of utter misery.
Will life ever be that perfect?
We watch as the others, the experienced, the monarch butterflies of society stand above all with
pride and elegance,
And we search for answers.
Maybe it’s trying out that harsh side part and winged eyeliner for the first time in middle school,
Or following in the footsteps of an older sibling.
During this journey, we get wrapped up in a cocoon of mixed emotions.
As we shape ourselves into our own unique versions, society’s high standards make it nearly
impossible.
Some want to change everything about themselves all at once.
Parents buying their children phones at as young as the age of ten.
Social media creating this unrealistic standard:
“Go on a diet, curl your straight hair, it’s too thin, straighten your curly hair, frizziness is
unattractive!”
Some don’t make it out.
They become trapped in an endless cycle of not feeling good enough.
I would know.
It is up to you to break down society’s cocoon walls and spread your wings.
Know your worth and set an example for the growing caterpillars.
For butterflies are a sign of the natural beauty of life when it is lived to its fullest extent.
It just takes time.
Sunrise
Elonne and Qwin Pisacane
South Glens Falls High School
Stillness but for the sky above,
Hues of color known only in heaven
Drawn up like a fisherman's net
Clouds, silver lined fish in a sea of roses
The deep is penetrated
Fathoms of the universe illuminated
Gone is the reign of the stars
Only the mightiest now holds dominion
For night becomes day, welcoming revelation
Hills that were stained by nebulous ink
Bathe in rivers of molten gold currents
Cleansed by the fragrance of youthful blossoms
Gone are the whispered words of moonlight
Souls awaken to serenades of sweet serenity
Loveliness clothes the earthen queen
Cheeks blush with the tender caress of clouds
For night becomes day, embracing life
I sit amidst the majestic metamorphosis
The heavens above and the ancient lands below
Awash with hues entwining like human hands
All around, the world seems to breathe a sigh
My heart bravely beats as angels paint the sky
A glorious reminder of all it is to be alive
By the Tree
Adam Spero
Queensbury Middle School
I’m still, as I say
Like a simple, unblown leaf
Un-touched by the wind,
Nature’s ever sweeping thief
Leaves compose a swirling dance
As I sit, crouched by a tree
I watch the scene unfold
Unmoving, observantly
I inhale my surroundings
And exhale, silently
My breathing is like a song
The outside air, the melody
I think of our world
So tainted, so impure
Full of all confounding things
Society imposed
But sitting, as delicate underbrush
Brushes at my knees
I feel so simply pure
Like I had just felt lucid glee
Because, out here
Where birds are free to sing
There exists no judgment,
No human-anything
If only the entire world,
Could see just what I see
Yet it’s interesting
That I thought of this
While sitting by the tree
Hope Written in Ink
Jocelyn Gerke
Scotia-Glenville Senior High School
Sentiment to Change: A Slam Poem
Katie Asenbauer
Columbia High School
