Invisible Words

Popularity by: Anne W.

Tragic corruption comes from others
Their words like whips cracking on your back
They scar you until you are invisible
Infected with the love of others, they see no harm
They do what they do without uncertainty
Attaching themselves to others with fake affection
They call it popularity
No longer should you hide under the shadows
Speak with authority and stand up for yourself
Call down the monsters in their lies
Declare to the world, exhort them to join you
Challenge the ones with sharp words
Speak with conviction
Under the weight, they will crumble
And you will no longer be
INVISIBLE.

What is worth fighting for? Standing up for yourself is definitely something worth fighting for. My poem is about this, someone standing up to the people who hurt them and ruin their life. Standing up for yourself is worth fighting for because it's your life, do what YOU want with it. I would stand up for myself and get other people to help me. This relates to my poem because it is about someone who is being bullied and then they get other people to help them stand up for what is right. Life is too short to waste it hiding under the shadows, its time that you go and stand up for your right to say and be what you want. Standing up is a way to fight for what you believe. What is worth fighting for?

Escaping the Clutches of Death

“Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.” (Omar Bradley) That’s what Jerzy Bielecki did to save the one he loved. Jerzi fought for the girl he loved, and he fought to out run death. He escaped out of Auschwitz, every moment expecting to be shot down. He was Catholic and was on the first train from Poland to Auschwitz. Jerzy, born in 1923, met his love, in Auschwitz, working at a grain farm. He decided to rescue his love, a Jewish Cyla Cybulska, from the death camp. Jerzy formed a plan, he stole a SS uniform, went to her cabin, and took her for “questioning” where they then escaped to freedom, when he was only 17.

Jerzy showed us how saving one person can make a difference. He did what he thought was right, he helped Cyla to freedom by sneaking her out of Auschwitz and taking her to one of his relative’s homes. He motivated Cyla to escape because she was the only one in her family left, her mother, father, sister, and 2 brothers, were all dead from the gas chambers or from intense labor in the concentration camp. As prisoners on the run, their food supplies soon ran out, and they lacked many resources. They were hungry, tired and dehydrated. Cyla couldn't take the hardship anymore. She was exhausted. Cyla begged for Jerzy to leave her behind, but he would never, keeping her moving by telling her they were close. Most of the time when she was tired he carried her, across rivers, up and down hills, and on flat ground. Jerzy was determined that Cyla should survive which shows his selflessness by only doing what was best for his love. All he cared about was keeping her alive and safe. He even gave up on his own safety to keep her safe, he did everything stealing food, clothes, water, risking his life to keep her’s alive.

Jerzy went beyond his breaking point to get to freedom with Cyla. Jerzy knew he couldn’t save everyone in Auschwitz but he knew he would make a difference to one if he saved their life. He did make a difference to Cyla. He looked death in the eye and said “You won’t take her away from me,” and he took her away from death. After they escaped they were separated, he went to met her but found the building, that they were supposed to met at, burnt down. They both survived not knowing if the other made it. Jerzy's story soon spread, and when Cyla heard it she immediately knew it was her Jerzy.

Fighting for what you believe in can be a hard thing, especially when you are trying to escape from a concentration camp. Jerzy accomplished it, he did what he believed in. He kept the one thing that mattered the most, Cyla, alive. Jerzy did one the hardest things to do at a concentration camp, but yet he did. Jerzy escaped the clutches of death.

Painting: The Great Escape by: Natalie Green