Greta Schäfers and Linnea Lachnit (aged 15). Students at the Christian Morgenstern Schule, Hamburg. The poem was composed as a task during an art studies lesson.

The dying Niobe

(5th Century BC, Greek sculpture)

Brave until the very end,
a second of pain; 
empty eyes; 
her body, just an empty shell. 

Her mind so strong,  
her wish to be free sealed her fate. 
One moment alive

then, sharp pain,

she fell. 

Seconds felt like hours.
Until her very end she kept her 
dignity and grace, 
her eyes looked up to the sky as 
they turned empty, reflecting the 
stars.

She didn’t care anymore
Her dress, drenched with blood, 
hit the ground as she took her last
breath,
finally
free from sorrow and pain, 
Peaceful, 
free at last.