Congratulations to our Amaranth Winners!

Amaranth is the literary and artistic journal of St. Joseph High School, comprised of works submitted by students, faculty, and staff. This year, we received a record number of submissions and we are proud to highlight 2 student works which were selected anonymously by the student-staff for Awards!

The theme for this year's issue is Words Unspoken 

2024-25 Student Awards:

Best Art: "Chaos"- Mixed Medium Self-Portrait by Olivia Szczerba '25 

 

Best Literature: “Her, From Afar”- Free-verse poem, by Sadie Plotkin '25

There she is–
across the distance,
where the light catches her curls, 
a wild halo around her head.
Her eyes, deep brown oceans, hold storms and secrets, 
and I want to tell her–
You are beautiful,
a sunrise breaking through the gray.

She doesn’t know how loud she is,
a burst of life in a quiet world,
how her laughter shakes the walls,
how even her smallest kindness
is enough to pull someone
out of darkness.

I long to tell her–
You are strong. 
Every stride, every scar,
etched from battles fought alone.
You’re a hurricane and a home,
and I am breathless in your orbit.

I see the marks on her skin,
proof of every battle,
Every fall she’s taken and risen from.
Yet she wears them
like armor no one can take from her–
A quiet, defiant crown.

I want to love her,
to step closer, to close the distance.
To finally say all the things
I’ve locked behind my own fear.

When I reach for her face–
the one I’ve feared to praise aloud–
my fingers meet glass.
She looks back at me,
eyes soft, aching for kindness.
And I realize–
the only person I was afraid 
to love 
was me.