Three Manhasset Eighth Graders Honored in Walt Whitman Birthplace Association Poetry Contest

Three eighth grade students from Manhasset Middle School have been recognized for their exceptional literary talents in the prestigious Walt Whitman Birthplace Association 40th Annual Student Poetry Contest. Facing stiff competition from a pool of over 1,600 entries, the students’ creative voices stood out to a panel of expert judges.

Alexa Lin led the honors, securing the distinguished title of Second Place Grand Champion for her poem, "Weaving Through Rain." Her piece was celebrated as one of the top three poems in its category, with judges praising its outstanding creativity, depth, originality and strength of voice.

In addition, Alexandra Corti and Serena Wang both earned Honorable Mention distinctions for their submissions, cementing a remarkably strong showing for the school's English department.

The students are guided by English teacher Lori Pellegrino, whose dedication to fostering literary excellence continues to inspire young writers.

In a celebratory notification, the WWBA commended the students, stating, "Your work stood out to our panel of judges and left a lasting impression."

To celebrate their remarkable achievements, the students will be honored at the official WWBA Awards Ceremony at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Museum on May 31.

Weaving Through the Rain

By Alexa Lin

In the corner of the quiet wall,
A spider lifts a shining thread,
Spinning quiet bridges through the air
Towards the dreams ahead
Cold drops fall from the storm-dark sky
Clouds roll in and heavy rain falls
Drops crash down like rising doubts
That shatter silver walls.
Soon the finished web collapses fast
Each strand pulled down by rain
My goals slowly slipping away
Under struggles, doubt, and pain
For a moment all is still and bare
The web is nearly gone
Then slowly, through the storm again
The spider moves back on
It spins new threads where old ones broke
With patience, will, and strain
And strand by strand the web returns
Not perfect but still strong
Because the strongest dreams are built
While learning to weave through the rain

Swimming in the Blue

By Alexandra Corti 

A pining pollinator,
Viewing the vast world set before them,
Wings with any purpose but to take flight,
Meant to do anything but dip into the endless ocean of blue one cannot help
but
long to swim in,
A blueprint that did not account for desire nor connection.
Despite the aerodynamic laws, the bumble bee has rewritten the sky,
Each flutter and hum of a wing acts as an opposition as it signs its signature into
the endless blue;
The cold math laid out for generations could not calculate the spirit of a bee in
the
sky,
with ease.
Cutting through the air, with wings that defy the heavy mass, yet carry ambition
Bumble bees, though petite, have aspirations and complexity that drive them–
a drive that our logic and laws cannot limit nor explain,
The bee spreads this warm joy with each plant pollinated, fulfilling their defiance
of reason,
The bumble bee has shared their unlikely fire amongst the world,
inspiring others to rewrite their own blueprint.

结网 - spinning a web

By Serena Wang