Poetry

Unexpected Love

Arielle Karni '26

He has so many friends.

They fill a whole aisle with style.

Jelly beans, lollipops, licorice, and starburst. Their regular visitors always wear a smile.

He has so many facets:

White, milk, bitter and dark. He has so many forms:

Bars, drops, nuggets, and bark.

He has traveled the world since ancient times.

His well-worn passport by every continent is stamped. Praised as god-like by the Mayans,

The richer he gets, the more his fans get amped.

He was luxurious in Europe,

Reserved for the rich and royals.

He was rationed to U.S. soldiers,

Who shared them with concentration camp survivors as spoils.

Despite being savored worldwide,

He still felt lonely and incomplete.

“Why can’t I find true love?” he asked,

His friends said, “Maybe you’re too sweet.”

“That’s it!”, he thought,

I need to expand my search. He set out to find true love, From atop his perch.

Then one day he found her, His heart was aflutter. Dry-roasted and creamy, His soul mate, peanut butter.

“Plato said that love makes us whole. My heart sang a song,

Your heart whispered back.

Our love will be forever long.”

So said Chocolate to Peanut Butter,

As they exchanged their vows.

Sweet and salty intertwined together,

She kissed him to the cheer of the crowds!

They each continue to succeed,

In their separate endeavors.

But when they stand united together, is when they experience their deepest pleasures!

I Believe In You 

Clara Fink '30

I know where you are may seem bleak,

But you are anything but weak.

I trust that you will power through,

Believe me, I believe in you.

Fragile

Katriela Nelkin '25

I don't want to be fragile

I don’t want to be glass

I won’t fracture, crack, shatter with a tap

I sit atop a pedestal

Constructed by my own will

Strong and unbreaking 

An imposing tower until 

My facade tumbles down 

Revealing the skeletal structure beneath

Splintering wood, nails dull and rusty 

Barely keeping everything together 

I stand there in shame 

Sweat on my face mixing with something saltier

Tears show weakness 

Weakness can’t be seen

The self portrait I’ve created 

Match the walls I’ve built around me

But the bricks are falling

Breaking, I’m caving in 

The destruction is total

The casualties high

Among the victims

My confidence, my dignity, my lifelong carefully crafted charade

Can anything be salvaged from the wreckage? 

What to do with my destroyed self?

Can these bricks hold hope as they once sheltered secrecy?

Can walls against invaders become bridges to welcome others in?

Neurodivergence Is Real 

Clara Fink '30

Neurodivergent kids

Exceed expectations 

Unfortunately, 

Right now 

Our community isn’t easy on those kids.

Do you know what neurodivergence means?

It’s when people don’t fit into that box society gives us.

Very easy things are virtually impossible to do.

Especially when neurotypical people are not understanding.

Remember that neurodivergence is real.

Great things can come from people who are different.

Einstein 

Newton

Today’s world is built from individuals who were perceived as stupid 

If you don’t believe, just look around.

See what you’ve been seeing this whole time.

Really listen.

Even if you feel confined, always pursue your own ideas.

And if you feel like you can’t go on, read this love letter. From me to you.

Love, Clara Fink

Butterfly

Anonymous

Disaster

Like an ice cream parlor on friday

Asked for two pine

Received butterfly

The river bed forever on the run

Tag you’re it 

Blue car forever in the parking lot 

White car turned red

Tsunami flooded the nursery

A swing left in the wind

A ghostly presence so deep and bare

The lily flower all dressed in black

The sun shy

The Ocean threatening to fall

Revelations of slides

Runaway battery acid

Contagious fever doomed for death

A slow waltz with eternity

Walnut why not

Anticlimactic

Perfect mid noon nap

How about ladybug as well

Time a concept for mortals

Industrial construction never ending 

Wisdom now synonymous with knowledge

Basalt might be great

Existence is simply taxes and death 

Apples filled with helium 

Fundamentals erased 

Travel in all axis

Windows are useless 

Paper unbelievably intelligent

Tires slashed as if concrete

Mage of science

Attic inhabitant of roses

Lightning zooms with dust cloud

Spires joined by arrows

Forest filled cities

Vanilla bean ridden and chocolate infested

Eldest of all empires

Bookcased numbers

Not gay if you have your armor on bro

Corn floods millions

Jack of all trades

Taco bells ring gracefully

Maybe palm would be a good bet

Islam for island

Grocery of bread and barium 

Insightfulness above and for all

Frozen and frosted canada

Quakes of large frog

Astrology to the ground

Discover rocks with sight perceptor

Tango with the axolotl 

Feet for height 

All the more curious

Memories receive arson

Future forever odd

Seesaw broken to ash

Vinyl records overgrown with vines

Best behavior

Covens and cults dedicated to clocks

Birch freezes with such subtle flavor

Oxygen barren

Danger deleted

Shop rong 

Wandies

Stilts of blood soaked with warmth

Speed is incoherence 

Light is shockingly heavy in taste

Intoxicatingly still

Colorfully extravagant end

Cool calm quick

Start of something new in theory

Heat depth deeper than nova

Pluto is extremely large

Throne unseated 

Crown melted

Task force demolished

Atoms are the closest friends 

Black hole my new favorite 

What It's Like to Be a Jew

Anonymous 

First of all

It’s years of waiting 

Having faith 

Trusting in hope

Getting comfortable in your home 

Finally feeling secure 

After centuries of 

Waiting 

Not having to flee 

Not having to hide your identity 

Everything is at your fingertips 

Until

November 9th, 1938

The glass was broken along with the promise 

The trust was totaled 

In a blink of an eye 

Six million lives were lost

Poof

Now more than SEVEN decades later 

We are still running

Still endangered 

But 

We 

Still 

Have 

Faith 

Wow

Leeor Messulan '26

I remember counting down the months

Then it came to weeks

Then days

Wow I cannot believe it is here so fast

Feeling so excited

The day was finally here

Getting my makeup and hair done 

Counting down the hours

Putting on my dress

I felt amazing I wanted the night to start

Then it came to minutes

Taking a photoshoot with my family

Then it came to seconds

Seeing my family and friends walk through the door I knew the night had started 

Wow I was really having a blast

Singing and dancing, wow I couldn't ask for a better night

Enjoying with the people I love the most

Feeling like this would last forever

Dancing and singing 

Wow, is this a dream?

I entered, feeling the most amazing

Surrounded by my family and friends

Then the montage came and I knew we were halfway 

It was coming to an end

People were starting to say goodbye

Wow I just don't want it to end 

I was so grateful for the most amazing night 

Though I was upset it was over

Thanking my parents for the best night of my life

Wow looking back now that it is over, I have memories that will last forever

I will never ever forget the most amazing night of my life

Voice on silent mode

Clara Fink '30

Sometimes I feel like my voice is on silent mode.

People just don’t hear me.

They have their own thoughts on the highest volume.

But then somebody else speaks.

And others hear them.

Why not me?

I try so hard to get a sentence out 

and this person is tossing words around like they can be wasted.

How can I get heard 

In this loud and busy world

Led by even louder leaders?

How can I play the game

The way I wanna play

When I’m not even in the bleachers?

I haven’t come to a conclusion, groundbreaking idea, or solution.

So I guess my voice will always remain on silent mode 

I broke up with Procrastination

Violet Berman '27

This is a break up poem

Dear my unproductiveness,

This isn't easy for me to say

Cause we've been together for so long 

It feels like I'm losing a part of myself just thinking about what I’m about to say,

Because we’re 2 puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together

But it's time to let you go for my own health

And for the first time, I will say, it's not me it's you

With your routines of procrastination that only grew.

You and your habits of always delaying work 

and forcing me to lose sleep because of starting too late.

You and your infinite promises to me but even now, most remain unfulfilled 

Or your endless scrolling on social media

Sucking the creativity out of my mind and rotting my brain, 

turning me more like a zombie day after day.

Telling me “only 5 more minutes!” 

But 5 hours later, I’d still be there

Lost in a void, unaware, in despair

you always invite guilt and regret to stay 

And they leave this place a disarray

I remember when we first met, unproductiveness,

You seemed like a harmless companion, a friend

But now I see the damage you've caused

The missed opportunities, the wasted time

The dreams left disappointed, the goals left behind

But my final straw was the day I realized you will never change 

Like a broken record playing the same tune for days.

You have told me for the past 3 years that you will get better

You whispered sweet lies in my ear during starry nights

Promising change under the darkened skies

And every day I found myself believing them

Giving my trust to you as if it were worth a hundred-dollar bill

And yet you wasted it like a penny dropped on the street

Carelessly tossing it away without a second thought, 

like you tossed away any ounce of drive within me.

One day of efficiency, a temporary spark,

But the years of unproductivity still leave their mark

A sudden burst of sunshine after days of rain 

But there are still puddles with every step I take

One day washes the previous years of carelessness away, leaving them forgotten.

Like how the waves wash away footsteps in the sand, leaving them forgotten as well.

I had hope for us, for a future full of growth

Like how flowers sprout and flourish at the start of spring

But instead, we remain frozen in time

You made me promises you couldn't keep

Kindling false hope within me like a flame in the wind

Only to extinguish it with a single breath

Leaving me lost in a sea of disappointment

Drowning in the shattered pieces of broken dreams

Trying to pick up the shards, of what’s left

In the quiet stillness of the night,

I find myself lost in thought

Contemplating the bond we share,

I savagely tied a knot

A link so effortlessly created

Yet impossible to break free

Like the roots of a tree

Entertwined for eternity

In the mirror’s gaze, I look at myself

And deep down I realize our undeniable connection

I can’t live without you, it's true

Like a tattoo that's etched forever imbued 

Or a song that just resonates with my soul

The lyrics’ never ending.

You are the shadow that follows me,

The echo that lingers in my mind

A constant reminder of our connection,

A tie that I cannot leave behind

You have engraved yourself too deeply in me

And now I don't think I can ever let you go

Our intertwinement has blossomed like a vibrant garden

that grows with each passing day.

I can only hope that one day you might change 

But the same presence of you in my life has only flourished.

Now, the day bleeds into nightfall

Your arms wrap around me shielding me from the chaos of life

Even through your comfort, I know in my heart that the wounds of unproductivity were created from your very own knife

Yours truly,

Me, your loving enemy 

middle child

Anonymous 

My mom tells me she loves me

But she doesn’t show me that 

She doesn't remember my little things 

My mom tells my sister she loves her

And she means that I know 

She's there to support all my sister’s silly little wins

The way she helps her every beck and call 

But when I need something one minute is called

And as I am waiting all is forgotten 

My sister gets everything she's ever wanted 

While I have the same things I've always had 

How does she earn it but I don’t 

What is the difference between us

Why don't I exist 

Why does my sister get help with her homework

But I get told to figure it out 

Maybe that's why she gets good grades and I don't 

My dad forgets I’m home 

Because he's comforting my sister

Just because she has a medical problem

And I'm the middle child

SAFE

Arielle Karni '26

1937-1939.

1. We had a privileged childhood,

2. in our large house safe within its courtyard walls.

3. Traveling safely throughout Cluj,

4. in our horse-drawn carriage and car (the first in the city!).

5. Our family may have been small,

6. but Cousin Freddy was our best friend.

7. The Jewish community was vibrant and philanthropic;

8. traditionally Orthodox, not haredi.

9. Tata played violin at weddings and bar mitzvahs,

10. Bubbie ran a soup kitchen.

11. Each well-off Jewish wedding couple

12. sponsored the wedding of a less fortunate couple.

13. Our great, great zaidie was a butcher;

14. Our tata and his tata transformed the business to sell animal skins to furriers.

15. Our future was bright and safely secure;

16. Yeshiva in England to come, and then joining the family business.

17. Tefillin and daily prayers,

18. Our daily life was infused with Jewish traditions.

1938.

1. Uncle David traveled to England for business,

2. and believed the worst of what was to come (but he really had no idea!).

3. He bought a large house big enough for the whole family;

4. Aunts, uncles, cousins, Bubbie, Zaidie, Tata, Mama, and us all under one roof.

5. Uncle David begged Tata to bring everyone to safety in England;

6. Freedom from evil and tyranny, but it was never to be.

7. We stayed in our courtyard in Cluj,

8. our parents mistakenly believing we were safe.

9. Factory owners and philanthropists,

10. naturally interacting with Jews and non-Jews alike.

11. We had no ghetto, nor separate shtetl,

12. and were comfortable within our privileged existence.

13. It was our last chance to flee to safety,

14. and escape the horrors of what was to come.

15. By the time Tata and Mama realized,

16. It was too late to escape.

17. Our safety was in jeopardy,

18. But England was an unsailable ocean away.

1944.

 1. We were still relatively safe for a few years,

2. as the war began and waged on.

3. The Germans never came to Cluj,

4. but in 1944 the Hungarians executed the Jews and the Nazis’ duplicity.

5. Stripped of safety,

6. our privilege did not protect us.

7. Shot, killed or taken;

8. Those were the options for Cluj’s 16,763 Jews.

9. The sudden darkness of Night enveloped us;

10. We were cold and scared without the warmth of the family’s furs.

11. Tata went to the labor camp in Dachau,

12. drowning with worry and wonder of what happened to us.

13. His Jewish faith kept him safe from death,

14. or so he told our sisters years later.

15. We and Mama were sent to Auschwitz,

16. and were murdered.

17. We were 5 and 7 years old,

18. and safe nevermore.

1946.

1. Tata and Uncle David returned to Cluj after the war ended,

2. searching for their family and praying for our safety.

3. Instead they learned that their whole family (including us) perished,

4. and Uncle David suffered a nervous breakdown.

5. Tata met Rosie,

6. an Auschwitz survivor whose family died on the Death March.

7. A match made in emotional safety;

8. Who else could understand the horrors they each endured?

9. Dawn rose as they settled in France at Uncle David’s suggestion,

10. to span the family business from England across Europe.

11. Tata remained shrouded in guilt;

12. Why didn’t he flee to England when he could, and why did he survive?

13. Tata and Uncle David leaned on each other;

14. clutching one another for safety.

15. Remarrying and rebuilding,

16. Tata carried on.

17. Clinging to Judaism,

18. understanding at the deepest level the essence of it all.

1948- 1978. Part I.

1. Edith Anny and Rachel were born,

2. our sisters with whom we never were able to play.

3. Tata and Rosie tried desperately to protect them,

4. and keep them safe from the memory of our ashes.  

 5. They never spoke of the war or the camps,

6. and never spoke about us.

7. Compulsory silence ruled their home,

8. Jewish Omerta.

9. Safety in silence,

10. silencing us to rest in peace.

11. The weight of unspoken things burdened our sisters,

12. despite Tata’s intention to keep them (and him) safe.

13. “Why is Papa older than the other fathers?”,

14. Rachel once asked her mama.

15. Rosie told Rachel the story of us and our mama,

16. when Rachel was 8 years old.

17. Edith Anny didn’t learn about us until much later in life,

18. which truth was also shared by Rosie and not Tata himself.

1948-1978. Part II.

1. Rachel felt deeply connected to Mama, who lost her children,

2. and Rachel feared the inability to keep her own children safe, so never had any.

3. Despite the silence, our sisters were bound tightly together with us;

4. Emotionally and physically; unconsciously.

5. Edith Anny saw our images once during a meditation,

6. and she saw our death; the closest she ever felt to knowing the details.

7. They think about us often (perhaps too often),

8. and carry us through life with them.

9. Their life is due to our death;

10. that is the foundation of our sisters’ being.

11. Edith Anny intrinsically felt like she needed to be a son to our Tata,

12. even before learning about our pre-existence.

13. Her psychic ties to us led her to the textiles business,

14. “fils” meaning both “threads” and “son” in French.

15. Silence, from Tata, until a week before his death;

16. He asked Rachel if she had seen “the” photo.

17. The photo of Mama, Tata and us,

18. our family frozen safely in his memory.

Today.

1. Our sisters exist because they each have a reason to be in this life now,

2. and so they owe it to themselves to live, and lived they have.

3. Our sisters and cousins honor our legacy;

4. they talk about us and think about us.

5. They research our history

6. and tell the next generations of our family about us.

7. They lay stones at Holocaust memorials

8. because we have no graves.

9. The silence has been broken;

10. and now our legacy is safe.

11. Rachel released us from everything we needed to be,

12. and now our souls have gone safely where they needed to go. 13. A new Day has come,

14. and our family is once again safe.

15. They say Kaddish for us and our mama;

16. for our friends and family of Cluj who were murdered.

17. They make sure that our memory will be for a blessing;

18. Never to be forgotten

Definitions:

Tata: Romanian for “Father”

Mama: Romanian for “Mother”

Bubbie: Yiddish for “Grandma”

Zadie: Yiddish for “Grandpa”

Haredi: ultra-orthodox sect of Judaism

Shtetl: small Jewish village in Eastern Europe Kaddish: the Jewish prayer for the deceased

Nova

Clara Fink '30

We will dance again

And as long as we’ll live

We’ll dance again

Until there’s nothing left to give

We will sing and we’ll cry

For the time that’s gone by

The time spent mourning our losses

But we’ll be happy again

We’ll dance again