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Poetry, Grades 7 – 9: First Place

Quickening Heartbeat— Leah Truskinovsky

I quietly whisper in the darkness,
“I am ready; I will do this.”
A long, winding, endless path
Lies before me,
Promising misery, suffrage, but hope.
A mockingbird’s song quietly echoes
In the distance, leaving a
Sudden feeling of safety.
I feel alone with this vast fabric that can
So easily be torn.
I have long abandoned trying to ask,
But now, I know.
“I am ready; I will do this.”
A condescending breeze
Whips my face, telling me that
I know better.
I truly am ready now.
The plan is already laid out
As I push open the door.

Leah Truskinovsky is in eighth grade at the Amos and Celia Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School. She enjoys all forms of art and volunteering when she can.

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