Alexa Gumbas came out of her shell Friday, reciting her poem "Father" during a poetry slam.

Photo Credit: Anthony Buzzeo

Alexa Gumbas won a poetry slam with a score of 39 out of 40.

Photo Credit: Anthony Buzzeo

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Dolan Middle School eighth-grader Alexa Gumbas is known to be quiet. But on Friday she showed a different side of herself to friends and classmates. The 13-year-old wildly waved her hands and pounded her fist as she recited her poem “Father” on her way to winning the school’s poetry slam.

“I am a quiet, normal girl no one would listen to. Now that I did this, people will listen,” Alexa said.

In her poem, Alexa describes her father as a storm and even the devil, to show how tough he is on her. She concludes by stating she will overcome it to become a strong, independent person. “You will witness a storm, much worse than yourself,” she said, reciting her poem with force behind every word.

After her performance, Alexa realized she had found a new way to express herself and deal with her feelings towards her father. She felt so good that she plans to continue writing and reciting poetry.

It was the third annual Eighth Grade Poetry Slam and Spoken Word Competition the middle school has held to  give students them an outlet to vent, language arts teacher Dierdre Crouch said. Although poetry slams are usually saved for high school, Crouch felt that with just about a week left in middle school the students were mature enough to have their own.

“They’ve been alive long enough to have a story to tell,” Crouch said. “These are not ‘roses are red, violets are blue.’ This is some beefy stuff.”

After 25 students performed their poetry, Crouch and fellow eighth-grade language arts teacher Matthew Belfiore offered an open mic session for other students to share their work.

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