Elliot Levy

is a senior at Harriton High School of Lower Merion and enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program.  He saw a documentary on spoken-word poetry that captivated his imagination.  He wrote his first poem in response to a bullying incident between two young boys.  He furthered his poetry interests by writing original work and performing at local coffee houses on the Main Line.  Elliot received the Mad Poets Society Open Mic Award in 2010. Elliot lives in Wynnewood with his parents and cat Winston.  He plans to enroll in business school in the fall of 2011.

Video: Watch Elliot Levy read "Halloween" and "God's Lottery"

Halloween

So it's Halloween night during my senior year,

And I,

Am inside studying,

On a night when the world plays dress up,

I feel like I am wearing a mask,

Trying to be who you want me to be,

Like trying to define myself on an 8 by 11 page,

My dignity is not up for auction,

There is a knock at the door,

It 6 year old Elliot,

Dressed as a 1920's gangster,

With a mustache and a tommy gun,

Smiling cheek to cheek,

He asks me,

If I would like to go play,

And I am not quite sure how to tell him no so I,

Slam the door in his face and watch him run away thinkin' damn,

I used to be pretty fast back then,

And I can't quite keep up with him now,

Because the weight of this world slows me down,

And then it hits me,

I don't want to spend my entire childhood,

Preparing for my adulthood,

Just to have someone read a paper manifestation of who I am,

And tell me whether or not I am worthy of your institution,

I dare you to tell me I'm not good enough,

Cause I am gonna change this world with,

Or without you.

It's like somewhere between being a student and being human I lost you,

Like,

Growing up clipped my wings,

And then gave me a suit and tie to hide my wounds,

There is a knock at the door,

It's 8 year old Elliot,

Standing just under 4 feet tall with hair like it was nobody's business,

Smiling cheek to cheek,

He asks me,

If he could have some candy,

And I want to give him so much more than just candy,

I want to give him courage,

And tell him to use it when he's scared,

And I want to give him strength,

So that he can get back up every time this world knocks him down,

And I want to give him insight,

So he knows who he's meant to be even when this world laughs at his dreams,

I want to hug him,

And hold him,

And never let him go,

There is a knock at the door,

It's three kids,

Dressed as a pirate,

A mermaid,

And I think the last one was a ghost,

Or a tent,

He was only wearing a sheet,

But regardless,

It's Halloween night during my senior year,

So I,

Walk over to my neighbor's house,

And with a confused look on their face I say this,

I know I don't have a costume on,

And I am probably way too old to still be doing this,

But do you have any candy left for a 17 year old college applicant still trying to fly,

The extend the bowl and grin,

So I take a Kit Kat,

And walk back to my house,

Fully aware that this was most likely the last time I would ever be on this side of the Halloween spectrum,

And as I swallowed that piece of candy,

I swallowed my childhood with it,

You see when I was a kid,

I used to count,

Every,

Piece of candy that I got.

This wasn't the most produce Halloween I have ever had to say the least,

I didn't make out with 200 pieces of candy like I used to,

But,

That one piece,

That one,

Piece,

It never tasted so good.

God's Lottery

You have won the greatest lottery imaginable,

And I know it sounds strange,

But you have won not because you are lucky,

But because you are here,

Here in this moment,

Here in this room,

You are alive,

And living as I stand before you,

Flesh and bone,

As human as the heart that pumps blood through my stain glass soul,

So let me break it down for you.

The average male produces roughly 525 billion sperm cells in the course of their lifetime,

But you originate from only one of them,

Do the math in your head,

But anyway you crunch the numbers,

That's still a long shot,

And there are 400 mature eggs in the female body,

Which puts the chances of the right sperm cell, picking the right egg, at the right time,

At 1 in 21 trillion.

And you won,

So let me take this time to pay homage to my fallen brother and sisters,

All 524.999 billion of them,

The ones that didn't make it,

Those who never got a chance,

They succumb to death by nonexistence,

They are forgotten,

Every one of them.

And the Catholic Church says that life starts when sperm meets egg,

But I can't help but feel lucky.

Because I have won god's lottery,

You see we are winners from the beginning,

From when your mom and dad first met eyes,

From when the doctor brought you into this world on the roulette table that we're born on,

And from those lucky number seven's that encode your DNA.

Luck,

Has nothing to do with it,

No,

This was meant to happen,

You were meant to be here,

Now,

So as members of the only species on the only life giving rock capable of beating such extraordinary odds,

Do not waste your time here,

Cause that would be like winning a million dollars,

And then burning it the moment it touches your fingertips,

And I know things might not always go the way you want them to,

But when you're feeling unlucky, unwanted, or unhappy,

Remember how you got here,

Do not forget your odds,

You won before ever stepping foot on this planet,

Before ever taking your first breathe,

Someone,

Or something,

Believed in you,

So do something great,

If not for you,

Do it for the billions who died to make it possible for you to live today,

Make their sacrifice mean something,

Because they live through you,

So next time you feel that you cannot dig yourself out of the hole life has put you in,

Go to a quiet place,

And softly,

Whisper this statement,

There is a 1 in 21 trillion chance I should be living: Life has picked me.

And I haven't met God,

Don't know what she looks like or how he talks,

But something tells me,

That God,

Loves to gamble.