'

A girl named Tavona

2008-02-19T09:13:00.004-05:00

By Jamiea Jackson

My sister whose name is Tavona has been through a lot
She's seen all that you got
When she was young she was loved by many
Until one of those many passed in a hurry
Her father was shot in an alley
And she was nothing but about seven or ten years of age
She felt the need to have a father in her life
Which wasn't her fault that one simple night
She grew up in harmony and pain
And fought everyone that messed with her pain.
She grew up in a bad situation
When she got older, she got in a bad girl place
And talk into everyone's face
Now she's trying real hard to do a better job.
I took her name
Because I kinda feel her pain.

Queen of the World

2008-02-19T09:01:00.003-05:00

By Niya Miller

A Anyone steps in my praise going down.
B Being a second child can sometimes hit the ground.
C Compassion is me don't be acting crazy.
D My dream is amazing.
E Eyelids up and sometimes down.
F Faith is in and debate is out.
G Greatness is where I come from.
H Hate is not in my vocabulary.
I am an angel.

What, what, what?

2008-02-10T09:53:00.001-05:00

By Brittany Watkins

What if I fail but never land it?
What if I land it but never fail?
What if the stars fell out of the sky?
What if life itself waved goodbye?
What if kisses wandered away?
What if cries no longer had a say?
What if melody had no words?
What if worlds had no laws?
What if fire burned creation?
What if love scorned imagination?
What if I was aborted 15 years ago?
What if I had no say so?
What if I wasn't hear today?
And what if the world lived to see another day?

What if's of the Mind

2008-02-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

By Damon King

Some things catch me
Others do not,
But whatifs catch all
What if my ink runs out of my pen.
What if I never write again?
What if the words on my paper don't rhyme?
What if I'm writing and run out of time?
What if my poems keep getting darker?
What if I grow up and turn out a stalker?
What if my emotions get stuck on anger?
What if in the future my friends are all strangers?
What if I don't stay alive?
What if I don't live to be twenty-five?
Everything's cloudy, very unclear-
Just to let you know the future is near.

Please don't let it be real

2008-02-10T09:25:00.000-05:00

By Luqman Abdullah

What if the world was different way?
What if the moon started the day?
Not like a metaphor but a new world tour.
What if Bill Gates made doors?
What if women started wars?
What if Obama wins too?
What if little boys could marry dudes?
What if Britney goes back?
What if Amanda Bynes was black?
What if kids could hold guns?
What if Marvin's father didn't kill his son?
What if Kurt Kobain didn't die?
What if Nirvana was a lie?
What if the night was day?
What if our Army turns gay?
I wish all these lines would die.
I wish some of them were lies.

What if from the Dark Side?

2008-02-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

By Cynthia Proctor

Now here comes the whatif's.
Now what if we all die of cancer?
What if the world burns up in the middle of the core?
What if my best friend burns in a fire?
What if my teacher fails me?
What if my dad dies?
What if your car blows up?
What if your family burns in hell?
What if I die and no one cries?
What if I burn in hell?
What if I never make it past sixteen?
What if I die before I graduate?
Now, when I think about it--
They're not really a problem.

What if?

2008-02-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

By Ayesha Williams

What if I died?
What if I start to smoke?
What if I was killed?
What if I was white?
What if I get hit by a car?
What if I was bold?
What if I was gay?
What if I was never happy?
What if my mother slapped me?
What if I lost sight?
What if I couldn't fight?
What if I wasn't smart?
What if I didn't have a heart?
What if everything was dark?
What if the sky was red?
What if everyone was dead?
What if I lost my life?
What if I lost my North Face?
What if I flew to outer space?
What if I caught a case?
What if I got punched in the face?

What if . . .?

2008-02-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

By Princess Nelson

What if the teacher went blind?
What if the students cried?
What if I went outside and died?
What I grew smaller?
What if my head grew taller?
What if I didn't have a heart?
What if I went to heaven?
What if I seen angels.
What if I was caught at an angle.
What if I lost all my bangles?
What if I ate a flower
What if I die for an hour?

Poem about what if . . .

2008-02-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

By Antonio Cabbell

What if I was late.
What if the line wasn't straight.
What if it was dark.
What if they drove a stick through my heart.
What if the cat was adead.
What if I first sit in my bed.
What if the day was dark.
What if I didn't have love in my heart.
What if the gods came back.
What if they give us smack.
What if the soldeir comes back.
What if people stop using crack.
What if I get green hair
What if the cupboard was bare
What if we start to cry
What if our enemies die.
What if I begin to flunk.
What if I got a dunk.
What if we begin to play
What if I take on the pay.
What if I see a jail.
What if its starts to hail?

For me why not try

2008-02-05T09:29:00.003-05:00

By N. Crawley

Why not "love is peace"?
Why not your belief in me?
Why not your ego shrinks?
Why not you take a sec to think
what I think?
Why not cry alone?
Instead of telling me.
Why not be your own with no clones?
Why not at least try to be
sympathetic?
At least except my apology
Why not you be less aggressive
and more accepting?
Why not you understand me?
Why not you create me a future
I wouldn't mind to see?
Why not you?
Why not?
Why not you do for me.

What If

2008-02-05T09:29:00.001-05:00

By Jabari Simmons

What if my head always aches
What if jails had no gates
What if Michael sung his song
What if I die cuz I tried to smoke a stone
What if this school had not lights
What if crackheads had no strikes
What if I got lost
What if I had no coins to call
What if I were battered
What if all men were gay
What if I were the only straight
What if I went on a hell date
What if I arrived a little to late
What if time flew by
What if I was the flyest guy
What if later on I get a sty
WHat if TV was black and whtie
WHat if rapper had not flight
What if the army was afraid of heights
What if this whole city floods
What if the Freeside made legal bud?

My Clock

2008-02-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

By Luqman Abdullah

At 4:10 I glared at my clock
It made the time go fast
and the days go past
It's with you when you're
bored in class like an hourglass
it stayed with us in the past.

It makes it more easy when you know how many hours have past
when you're at the end of your class
it's such a wonderful task
staring at the clock.

Space

2008-02-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

By Sequan Wilson

A book is a story of endless dreams,
Containing priceless amounts of wayward lives.
Cutting a rift through time and space,
Space - without it we'd have no lives.
Where space remains a mystery,
where it stops is endless,
it lingers around you everywhere,
Before you close the book.
But remember this well,
Keep an open mind and space'll be
everywhere.

Florida

2008-02-05T09:13:00.001-05:00

By Keyara Snead

I like Florida, it's so good
Should I go, should I? I should.
It's so pretty,
It's like a big city.

the air smells ike chicken
Micky and Minnie sometimes be pickin'
on people.
My hotel room was so nice
The only thing that was big was the price.

The carpet was clean
Even in between
The place was hot
if you like it or not.

Too much sun
But a lot of fun
That's the end
You're my friend.

Ode to My Spot in the Cement

2008-02-05T09:03:00.000-05:00

By Damon

Never could I imagine
This in my worst dream
Ode to him above for sparing me
It's like something in a movie
I wouldn't care to see
It's like in a project house
When you turn on the light
And all the roaches spread out between
Show and fear
Rush to save themselves
I mean ode to this place
But I wish I wasn't here
I mean I'm glad I'm still here
But 30 minutes ago
I just wish I could disappear
Ode to the place I no longer feel safe
To another innocent soul
And the thought that it could
Have been not
This place my spot in
The cement.

Ode to Atlanta

2008-02-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

By Cishelle Evans

I want to see all 50 cousins
Choked up in one house at a reunion
It smells like all good soulfood.
Greens, corn and a whole lot more.
I love this place as much as my sisters.
I will always remember
the memories from a long
time ago.

That's the Blues

2008-01-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

By Janine Green

Jealousy

2008-01-11T09:18:00.001-05:00

By Talaya Jenkins

No More Minutes

2008-01-11T08:54:00.001-05:00

By Cynthia

Silly City Blues

2008-01-10T17:34:00.000-05:00

By Ishmael Perkins

When your shoelaces get stuck in the escalator
Then you get stuck on the elevator
Then you get chased by an alligator
That's when you feel like an alien invader.

And you go see Star Wars sooner or later
Than you accidentally start a fight with Darth Vader
That's when you feel like an Alien Invader.

Life is ticking like a clock of everlasting time,
So while you're trying so hard to make some dumb poem rhyme,
When you think someone's your friend, but they reach out to a traitor,
It's ok, 'cuz they're is always gonna be haters.

The Four Seasons

2007-12-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

By Walter Jones

I like Fall as if anyone else; it's fun
to do what I do; bright afternoons
and having a good time.

I would want to wake up in the early
morning for my new age to begin;
For snow to fall and let it show.

I see flowers bloom and trees grow
And rain to drop from the sky above and
Long walks in a park.

I love summer of heat, beaches, pools,
And all of the above.
Summer is good for anyone
And hanging with my friends.
I love the four seasons
And so should you.

Song of Janine

2007-12-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

By Janine Green

I celebrate by being myself
My inspiration is being alive
having emotions
having a brain
I laugh at almost everything
I believe in loneliness and hope
I wince at the world and the
president who runs the country
into a sewer
I am not wealthy
nor will be wealthy
I behold my life
I know I am original.

Song of Renita

2007-12-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

By Renita

I celebrate myself and tickle myself
When I want to laugh.
My inspiration is my mother:
she's strong and brave.

I laugh at Boondocks
I believe in hope, freedom
I wince at being squeezed on my waist.
I am not a sad soul.
I behold a universe in my hand.
I know I am funny in my own
I am glad I see another day.

Celebration of Destiny

2007-12-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

By James Saunders

In times of Joy I celebrate
myself and I loathe my
existence in times of struggle.

My inspiration is divine, God-sent,
and is not of this world.

I laugh at endeavors of discomfort and harlequins of fear.

I believe that respect can only
show respect to one who is worthy
of being respected.

As a reflex, I winced at you
when you requested my trust.

I am not exactly where I want
to be in life. Often at times
my dreams seem far-fetched.

I behold a taller, stronger; smarter,
fresher, and more spiritual version
of myself. A self that has been
through the savage battle of
self-hatred and self-hindrance.

Then I know that I am destined
for greatness. And I cry which
is my way of celebrating.

Swagga up

2007-12-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

By Nefertearia Crawley

Shawtii flatout
Shawtii way fresh
Swaggin capital letters
Rockin Nothin less than the best
that's my man real talk cuz I
Mess with him shonuff Adidas Rugby
Man I love that stuff
Shawtii be stuntin whole time he bout nothin
he cant get in my business
and I ain't Rocking like nothin
Shawtii get like you, No
get like Me stack ya swagga up
ha swagg in my eyes you'll never
see get ya swagg up
get like me

The Bomb

2007-12-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

By Monae Smith

bangin strength
flowing through
that bum joint
lookin
psychotic
and wicked
random
imagination
got you geekin
but yet you flockin
all
on
my
joc
loneliness in that
bookitten
that is stuck
in the
moment and
still flocking like a
peacock
callin you
her umaga
man even
though she look
like a man
callin her
Jawanna Man
sayin
but I got
u
guh man.

Out of Trouble

2007-12-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

By Sequan Wilson

I've never been to the principal's office,
That's not the person I am,
I've never been in serious trouble,
If I do, I'll turn my life around,
In twists, turns, curves and dashes,
Eventually until it crashes,
It's not what you think if you can't see,
The classroom isn't a place for me.

I Am Microscopic

2007-11-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

By Ishmael Perkins
I am microscopic
No one can see me
But I see everyone around me.
No one wants to be me.
But everything surrounds me.

You can never see me.
Especially if I move fast.
You can probably see me,
With a magnifying glass.

Some people call me little.
I say I'm big.
You can catch me in a forest,
Lounging on a twig.

Even though I am small,
Smaller than any kids,
I still enjoy life
the way that it is.

Talaya of Washington

2007-11-19T17:21:00.000-05:00

By Talaya Jenkins

Jamal of Hades

2007-11-19T17:01:00.000-05:00

By Jamal Buggs

Me walking around smiling
Teenagers rolling in stolen vehicles styling
Kids peeping around corners just looking and spying
Infants coming
out of the womb crying.

The blissful moment that you think they share
Can at any time dissappear in the air
A mans' teenage son could be a renegade
That might have kids an accident made.

Jamal of Hades a true boys name
No reason he shouldn't be
In the Hall of Fame.

Letter to Mr. Drew

2007-11-13T17:52:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Drew,

Why do we have to take your class? I do not like to write because it is not good for your hands. I will not do any more dumb things. Why do I have to write? I am not a big fan of writing so that's why I don't like Tuesday because we have to write. I hate writing because it's just stupid. Because you just take a pencil and a paper and start to write. I love your class but I just hate writing. If you were in my body you would feel how I feel. If you taught another subject I would not have a problem with doing your work. Mr. Drew, I liked that you come but you just give us too much writing. My opinion is that one day can we do something different instead of writing? Writing is not healthy for your hands because you have to keep on and on. I understand you like to do it because you write great stories but I am just not a big fan of writing. So please can we do something different one day?

Dionna

Dear Dionna,

Thank you so much for writing me a letter and expressing your feelings. I agree with you that writing is hard work, and that it makes your hands hurt and it can make your head hurt too. I don't think writing is stupid though, since it's the way we communicate with one another, and it's how I know that you don't like writing--because you wrote it to me! When I'm writing, I feel the same thing as you all the time. It doesn't mean that writing is stupid, it just means that I'm writing about the wrong thing. If you write about things you like, it makes writing a lot easier.

Just so you know Dionna, writing complaint letters and asking for things to change is an important skill and I applaud you for exhibiting it so well to me in your letter. I am always impressed with how well you write and how you are always the first to finish our assignments. I won't promise to stop making you write, since that's my job and it's what I love. However, I will make a deal with you that next week we'll do something a little different in class, alright?

Keep writing!

Your Friend,
Mr. Drew

Silence

2007-11-06T23:25:00.000-05:00

By Marcus
Silence everywhere.
It's so silent, it hurts.

Untitled: A Work in Progress

2007-11-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

By Damon

Writing

2007-11-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

By Maryum Abdullah

The Shoes

2007-11-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

By Antione Winfield
Once upon a time there was a town named Shoeville. There was a man named shoe-McNill and he owned his own shoe store. Shoe McNill wanted to make shoes for people that had a height disorder. So he sat and thought about his moneymaking project, but Shoe McNill did not finish anything he started. Shoe McNill started making the first shoe--three months later he was almost done. Before he could make the next shoe he saw a shiny quarter and lost interest. In Shoeville the single boot was very popular, but he never made another shore.

RED

2007-10-31T12:01:00.000-04:00

By Darrien

My color is red because it's the symbol of love.
It can hurt and it can be kind and gentle.
If you do right by its rules, you can be happy for the rest of your life.
But if you do wrong, it will leave you heartbroken.

It is on all things, like blood when it hits the air.
Or, for instance, like a rose--
It has thorns, but if you have gentle hands
You won't get poked.

GREECE

2007-10-23T10:18:00.000-04:00

By Niya Miller

One time on a hot, hot day in Greece there was a super diver. She went all around the world. She got into the nice blue ocean and she saw all types of things, except an octopus. The one day she went scuba diving and saw one. She was so scared and perplexed and then she had so much fear in her heart that she fainted all the way at the bottom of the ocean and when she woke up, all the creatures were surrounding her. She swam as fast as she could then from that day she never was scared of the creatures. Then she was frightened by a hammerhead shark and then she was scared again. She told all her friends. She went back into the ocean and then something happened. She wasn't scared of anything in the ocean. She had so much fun with the creatures she went all around the classroom and told all the children about it.

TANZANIA

2007-10-23T09:07:00.000-04:00

By NaQuan Parker

We were planning on going on a vacation. I wanted to go to Africa at this beautiful beach in Tanzania. We planned on leaving tonight so we could arrive in the morning. I start to pack my bags and so did everyone else. We left to get to the airport early. I was always afraid of planes because I have seen a lot of bad plane movies. When we were arriving, I looked out the window. The water was crystal clear and there were big palm trees and giant huts. I saw many people.