High School East 11th grader Aishani Kadiyala has earned second place in the Suffolk Youth Poetry Competition. She will be recognized for her achievement on March 22 at the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site.

“I’m truly honored and excited that this poem received second place,” Aishani said. “I wrote it as a reflection on resilience and the quiet strength that people carry during difficult moments. It’s about moving forward, no matter the obstacles, because you know you’re capable and won’t be defined by them.”

Aishani’s English teacher, Emily Sommers, said the recognition comes as no surprise.

“Aishani is an exceptional student who goes above and beyond in everything she does,” Sommers said.

Be sure to take a moment to read Aishani’s award-winning poem and celebrate her inspiring accomplishment! 

 

She always held the sparks.

Small, relentless—spilling from her hands

Into streets where no one walked;

They hit puddles, skimmed stone,

vanished into wind, into the corners

where nobody waited.

 

For a while, the sparks stayed hidden:

pressed into palms, tucked beneath ribs,

carried like contraband through quiet

rooms.

 

Still she kept moving—

past wilted blooms that used to make her

heart swell,

past rivers reflecting faces that

disappeared too fast,

past burdens too heavy for small

shoulders.

Her hands still lifted toward light—

gathering what flickered,

holding onto what endured.

 

Rain threaded her sleeves;

wind learned the shape of her name.

Branches bowed as she passed.

 

She endured the tempest:

winds that tried to bend her,

rain that clawed at her sleeves,

nights that whispered doubt.

And still she rose—

grown, uncontained,

a blaze bending the dark,

lighting every distance she traversed.

 

Her trail a flame—

and with every heartbeat, every stumble, every flicker,

she finally feels alive.