Love+Unity Week Poetry/Short Essay contest winning entries

Love+Unity Week is underway in West Orange.
The week-long event includes masterclasses, workshops, and presentations that have been curated to promote diversity, inclusion, love and unity in the community through the arts, according to organizer Carl Brister.
A Poetry/Short Essay Showcase was held to support the message of Love+Unity. Students from grades 6-12 submitted essays and poems around the theme “Love+Unity Starts With Me.” Out of 40 submissions, the top 3 from each grade band (6-8th grade and 9-12th) were chosen.
Love & Unity Poetry/ Short Essay Winners, 2024

First Place
Parker DeVose
Grade 7, Liberty Middle School

“What love and unity mean to me”
It’s a handwritten card on your birthday
Or the pasta your mom always makes
It’s your favorite song on the worst day
Or the pool on a hot day in May.
Love and unity a dance so fine
in every heart, their love shines
like a kilt sewed with threads of care
When we all come together we share a bond so rare.
Love is the flame that will forever burn in our hearts
At each twist and turn, unity is the beat in life’s song
Where all our differences make us strong
like a tsunami, we face the tide, whilst love and unity should be our guide in
other’s embrace, we find our worth almost like a pool of everyone’s rebirth
Love and unity like a choir of souls in love our connections unfold
In differences our strength is found but together we fight to find our solid ground.

Second Place
Tenchay Young
Grade 7, Liberty Middle School

“Love”
When push comes to shove we feel forced
Forced to show the love once and still represented by a dove
Flying high, elegant and free
Love starts with you and me
Unity
Seems hard to achieve
But we can do it if we believe
If we want to change the world we need to see
See what’s wrong and don’t choke it out but breathe
The door of unity awaits
Don’t rush to open it when it appears unexpectedly
But when it appears look around to find the key
Unity starts with you and me
Love + Unity means a hall of opportunity to me
With Love + Unity we can respond and call
If we trip we dont hurt but we fall
Love + Unity helps us bring a fight to the dark tyranny of opposition and the negative
They are below us
Those that kill the fire from a glow
They constantly grasp at us from underneath
They strike from under our feet
But with love + unity we stand a chance
With love and unity our forces, and we, are enhanced
I can bring them to their knees
That’s what unity means to me
For me and others to defeat the evil and watch them flee
That’s what Love + Unity means to me
For when the two kingdoms of love and unity unite We win the fight
We strive
And we restore our sight
So we can better the world
That’s what Love + Unity means to me
Love our foes and unite our differences
It cannot be you alone but also I
Love + Unity starts with me

Third Place
Kaya Verem
Grade 7, Liberty Middle School

“Love is Unity and Unity is Love”
Love is your favorite person
And how they make you feel
Love is the memories you make
And the joy you feel when remembering them
Love is your family
And the precious time you get to spend with them
Love is the sky
Blue, orange, and pink with differently shaped clouds
Love is the ground
Brown dirt and green grass, moss and sand
Love is the ocean
And its ever changing waves
Love is the sun, moon, and stars
Shining bright throughout the day and night
Love is life
And how lucky you are to have one
Unity is coming together with the people you love
The people in your community
The people who think like you
The people you feel like you
The people who relate to you
The people that make you feel like your best self
The people that make you smile
The people you unite with
Love and unity go hand in hand
Linked arms
Intertwined fingers
Connected
Together
Love is unity
And unity is love

First Place
Nicole Ng
Grade 11, West Orange High School

“It All Begins With You”
Words can spark a deep connection,
Starting the cycle of endless affection.
It can begin with a simple “I like you,”
Blooming into a tearful “Yes, I do.”
An honest loving phrase,
Can brighten up the darkest of days,

As even a lone ray of light.
Can cut through the shadows of sinister night.
Though for others, their expresses may vary,
For acts of true kindness can merrily carry,
The unspoken words from their heart,
Silently calling out “’til death do us part.”

With varying forms, love is a shapeshifter,
From a lengthy hug to a touching whisper.
A language that no wall can countermand
Spoken in many ways, yet we all understand.

Among the many forms of love we reside,
To help others, to be their guide.
Even on this chessboard of global war and hate,
Love and unity are the resounding checkmate.

Though to start up, the cycle needs a hand,
In the name of love, will you take a stand?
From all that I’ve lived, one thing has held true
In love and unity, it all begins with you.

Second Place
Luvans Lafleur
Grade 9, WOHS

“Ivory”
Plicks and plucks encircle me
As my fingers sail across
A sea of black and white;
It feels far from it,
For the vivid color it produces
Illuminates my surroundings.

The audience before me sits in silence.
I look around the room
And think to myself, why?
Why have they come here?
Each person in this diversified group
Must have their own reason.
Of course they should, but something…
Something seems to be universal.

It’s as if each person I see adds a note
To a melody I continue building upon; A meticulous melody strung together,
Emerging from a passion that has lasted
Nearly the same time I’ve been here.
They came, unified in mind,
Willing to hear my voice through my craft.
Defining love and unity is complex for me.
Every time this feeling occurs, I’m able to
Forget my worries and play. I was Given this for a reason.
Eventually, I go home believing that I
Created an atmosphere for people to gather
Due to a mutual love of music

Third Place
Alyssa Nicholson Lewis
Grade 11, WOHS

love can be found in spring, when the flowers start to bloom and the dew glistens off it’s petals like diamonds in the light . it can be found in a whistle of a child hood song or in the meals made my hands that nurture. love is the energy that fuels the world around us inspiring us to look at life with a new perspective. when you love something its not just about the surface appeal; in order to truly love, you must break down and analyze every aspect before you decide you like all of it. It’s a game of complex understanding and vulnerability, that forces you to appreciate the little things in life. the smiles of passing strangers, or the song of the birds in the morning, an infinite and effortless presence.its the “text me when you get home” and “i know something is up”. love is that magic that makes a house a home and a saying into a song. love is raw and patient. When I learnt to love i learn how to accept. way love moves through our bodies is like blood, an entity so strong that anyone has the capability to do it. humans were made to do it, to hold and care, every part of our body is carved out so we can embrace. love is togetherness and trust. Without love there would be nothing to make up the things that we take for granted.

  Love+Unity, West Orange