hArtworks
Winter 2005 • $5

featuring guest authors

bomani Armah, Gabrielle Martin & James Saunders
The Charles Hart Middle School Literary Magazine

Cherish Gaines

The hArtworks Editorial Board
Writers-in-Residence: Bomani Armah, Ruby McCann, James Saunders, Nancy Schwalb, andJamila Wade
Student Editors: Luqman Abdullah, Maryum Abdullah, Antoinette Better, Shamá Better, Somaiya
Blakney, Denisha Bolden, Aaron Brooks, Bruce Brown, David Brown, Steven Brown Jr., Reginald
Conway, Mariah Cooper, Disheka Crook, Naaman Dudley, Cherish Gaines, Mary Holsinger,
Jerome Jackson, Kevin Jackson, Markus Johnson, Yasmin Jones, Nichell Kee, Brandie Keys, Erica
Kyle, J.C. Morrow, Tiffany Nelson, Shavon Osborne, Terrence Patterson, Sade Paylor, Taylor
Peterson, Jerahmeel Shields, Marché Shields, Monae Smith, Ashley Stevenson, Tierra Thornton,
James Tindle, Tyshaun Turner, Tiona Wade, Lisa Walker, Brittany Watkins, Teresa Wilkins, Jamal
Williams, Renita Williams

Cover, l-r: Nichell Kee, Marché Shields, Maryum Abdullah2Introduction
Welcome to hArtworks, the nation’s only inner-city public middle school literary magazine, written andedited by the students of Charles Hart Middle School. hArtworks is published through a collaborative
effort between the school and the D.C. Creative Writing Workshop, an independent non-proﬁt working
to create a literary renaissance in Southeast Washington. Now in its sixth year, hArtworks gives our young
writers the opportunity to exercise their creative energies, speak their minds, and be heard by an audiencethroughout the city. The 2006 edition of Poet’s Market recognizes hArtworks as “an outstanding example ofwhat a literary journal can be (for anyone of any age).”
This year we welcome two new writers, Bomani Armah, who joins veterans Ruby McCann, Nancy
Schwalb and Jamila Wade as senior writers-in-residence, and our ﬁrst junior writer-in-residence, James
Saunders, a 15 year old sophomore at Ballou Senior High.
We have many friends who have helped to make hArtworks possible, and we would like to express our
gratitude to them. Our sincerest thanks go out to the Herb Block Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn
Cafritz Foundation, Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington, Commonweal Foundation, Community
Foundation of the National Capital Region, D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, Fannie
Mae Foundation, John Edward Fowler Foundation, Philip Graham Fund, Harman Family Foundation,
Hitachi Foundation, International Monetary Fund, Junior League of Washington, Moran Family Fund,
Meyer Foundation, Rotary Club of Washington, Wachovia Foundation, Wendling Foundation, Weissberg
Foundation, the friends and family of Anna Su, Michael Joy and TSCJoy/Monterey, LLC, Sarah Booth andBloomberg L.P., Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Karibu Books, Free Hand Press, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum, the Arena Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, McGuire Associates, Joyce Page and Ms. Printing,Tollefson & Gustini Investment Management, our friends at Popeye’s on Malcolm X Avenue, Ms. Shin’s
6th grade class at Bush Hill Elementary School, Gregory Auger, George and Lenore Cohen, Fritz Edler,
Tom and Carolyn Grey, Mark Hollinger and Kathy McNeil Hollinger, Frances Horn, Betsy Karel, Gay andCharlie Lord, Paul Mandelbaum, Nicholas Polt, Judene Slaughter, Cherie Swiss, Raina Rose Tagle, friendsof the late Meyer Saul Taubman, Juanita Wade, Vera M. White, and Martin Youmans.
Special thanks for the hard work and dedication of the D.C. Creative Writing Workshop Board of
Directors: Dr. Susan Gerson, Bernie Horn, Kathleen Huston, Joan Kennan, Bill Newlin, Nancy Schwalb,
Kirsten Tollefson, and Jamila Wade.
We would also like to thank the following administrators, teachers, and staff who are our partners in thisendeavor: Principal Willie Bennett; Assistant Principals Yvonne Davis and Shelton Wilson; Ms. Randa
Alhegelan, Ms. Catavia Buck, Ms. Gloria Fergusson, Ms. Carolyn Jackson, Mr. Jarvis Massenberg, Ms.
Gina McKinney; Ms. Megan Merklinger; Ms. Eleanor Seale, Ms. Pamela McKinney, Ms. Ann Brogioli, and
Ms. Maevern Williams.

3InsidehArtworks presents featured poets Bomani Armah, Gabrielle Martin,
and James Saunders ............................................................................................................... 30
Bomani Armah
Vacation Bible School ............................................................................................................... 34
Gabrielle Martin
Expressions of My Prime .......................................................................................................... 37
James Saunders
To Be in a Song ........................................................................................................................ 36
Non-Conformist ...................................................................................................................... 37
Our student writers
Luqman Abdullah
Split by two worlds................................................................................................................... 55
If Fast Were a Color ................................................................................................................. 56
Freedom .�
56
Maryum Abdullah
Sadly Depressed ...................................................................................................................... 23
I am .......�
25
Regina Abraham My Philosophy ...................................................................................................... 9
Chris Beckham
My voice is true ....................................................................................................................... 48
My Route �
49
Diamond Bedney Goddess of Diamonds ........................................................................................ 40
Terry Bennett Everything Is Possible............................................................................................... 11
Antoinette Better
Coming Home to D.C. ............................................................................................................ 20
My Sisters.............................................................................................................................. 54
Shamá Better
Reality ..�
14
I am so ..�
15
Winter ..�
16
Danielle Blake My House .............................................................................................................. 11
Somaiya Blakney Wooden Heart ................................................................................................... 17
Aaron Brooks
Oblivion ..�
47
In the Distance ........................................................................................................................ 47
Bruce Brown
Know .....�
20
Sugar ......�
24
D.C. .......�
26
Ricole Brown The Singing Castle ................................................................................................... 40

4

Steven Brown
Perfect ....�
57
Forgotten Ones ........................................................................................................................ 57
John Brunson Who Am I? ............................................................................................................. 41
Anthony Bullock To a Tree ........................................................................................................... 41
Diamonique A. Campﬁeld V.O.I.C.E. ........................................................................................... 43
Ashley Cooper The City ............................................................................................................... 48
Mariah Cooper
Scars on my Body .................................................................................................................... 22
Coming Home 2 D.C. ............................................................................................................... 24
Giovanni Copeland Red Day ........................................................................................................ 40
Anthony Cotton Sleep With Your Eyes Open .................................................................................. 53
Simone Craig In Praise of the Daisy............................................................................................... 27
Nicole Diggs My Traveling Voice ................................................................................................... 53
Ceshelle Evans Air ....................................................................................................................... 39
Cherish Gaines Meanings ............................................................................................................. 58
Daniel Gaskins Used in My Own Way ........................................................................................... 46
Stanisha Gaskins
Daughters and Mothers ............................................................................................................ 22
To See the Rain ........................................................................................................................ 27
Crishauna Gay
Shades of Green....................................................................................................................... 20
The Season Tree....................................................................................................................... 27
Demetrius Gibbs Drama .............................................................................................................. 19
Kiauna Hamilton I Believe ............................................................................................................ 12
Tamekica Heckstall Circle ............................................................................................................ 18
Jasper Hicks I Believe ................................................................................................................... 29
Shamia House My Name .............................................................................................................. 12
Markela Izlar The Mystery .............................................................................................................. 8
Isiah Jackson In My Head ............................................................................................................. 42
LaShawn Jackson My Grandma Old Blossom Rose.......................................................................... 38
Quanika Jackson My day out ........................................................................................................ 28
Genise Johnson The sound of my voice .......................................................................................... 50
Markus Johnson At the back of progress......................................................................................... 15
Maxx Johnson My Voice ............................................................................................................... 44
Shaina Jones Big Sister ................................................................................................................. 55
Yasmin Jones Another Monday...................................................................................................... 17
Damon Kee My Voice ................................................................................................................... 43
Nichell Kee
Secrets ....�
13
Hail My Name ........................................................................................................................ 13
Brandie Keys The Barbershop Chair .............................................................................................. 52
Angelo Martin In Praise of the Apple Tree ...................................................................................... 25
Daisha Martin About Me............................................................................................................... 28
Shambriel Metts Transparent .......................................................................................................... 9
Sequinta Millet Crossing Rivers ..................................................................................................... 52
Diamond Mitchell Refusing Silence ............................................................................................... 51

5

InsideMercede Monroe Silence will keep us safe ...................................................................................... 50
J.C. Morrow Gods of Happiness and Madness................................................................................. 49
Jasmine Murray Don’t Let Go ....................................................................................................... 10Mark Neal Life ............................................................................................................................. 29
Shavon Osbourne Keeping Quiet .................................................................................................. 43
Shanice Parker The life of people ................................................................................................... 19
Larry Pinkard How Strong My Voice Is ........................................................................................... 49
Keyonna Plowden Kisses and Hugs ............................................................................................... 16
LaJean Pratt Perfect ...................................................................................................................... 21
Davon Rawlings
Silence ....�
22
It’s All Too Much ..................................................................................................................... 28
Johnathan Richardson Relax ........................................................................................................ 21
Parris Robertson Peace will keep us steady ..................................................................................... 42
Rico Sanchez Pineapples ............................................................................................................... 41
Marché Shields
Sunﬂower Seeds....................................................................................................................... 54
All Hail Marché ....................................................................................................................... 55
Polluted Streets ........................................................................................................................ 56
Lance Slaughter Silence ................................................................................................................ 29
Monae Smith The Complicated Facts of Life ................................................................................... 53
Erika Stephens Blueberry Tree ...................................................................................................... 52
Anthony Sterling A Nice Place ...................................................................................................... 26
Ashley Stevenson
To love ....�
12
Another Monday ..................................................................................................................... 58
Palm Tree ............................................................................................................................... 58
Troi Stevenson
White Suit with a Gray Face ..................................................................................................... 44
My Voice.�
44
DaShawn Taylor In Praise of the Tulip ........................................................................................... 39
Sade Taylor The Home of D.C. ...................................................................................................... 54
Jasmine Thomas The God of Heat ................................................................................................. 38
Rakeeah Thompson I Live in an Apartment ................................................................................... 10
Tierra Thornton
Me .........�
14
Better Than You ...................................................................................................................... 14
Coming Home to D.C. .............................................................................................................. 15

6

James Tindle
Within His Spirit ..................................................................................................................... 45
The Teardrop........................................................................................................................... 45
James, the god of war ............................................................................................................... 46
Home for the Holidays.............................................................................................................. 46
Ashley Walker Around Here ......................................................................................................... 39
Lisa Walker Blindness ................................................................................................................... 17
Quanice Walters Addiction ........................................................................................................... 21
Brittany Watkins
the District of Columbia ........................................................................................................... 50
She .........�
51
Larry West It’s All Too Much ......................................................................................................... 38
Adrian Williams Rainy Season ...................................................................................................... 25
Renita Williams
Duration of Childhood ............................................................................................................. 11
Angry .....�
13
Ronnard Williams The Gladiator Story ......................................................................................... 18
Chris Willis Black Out .................................................................................................................. 19
Franzel Willoby Life as a Game ...................................................................................................... 87

The MysteryMy gaze is sometimes fearful,
because of all the violence going on.
I can’t sleep at night--shooting going on.
I like my family, that’s all I love
but all the violence is sending them above
to a place they should not be.
The secret is that they hate each otherbecause they are from different neighborhoods.
I’m glad that Rosa Parks and Dr. King took a stand for us black people
so that we could have freedom,but some people don’t appreciate that we are free.
The world wasn’t made for us to desire and imagine:
You need to focus and get an education
To love is mystery.
Markela Izlar

Life as a GameMy gaze sees life as a gameAnd you have to play it right.
It is my custom never to takeDirection and hang with the wrong crowd.
I am very good at playing sports andKeeping up the honor roll report card;
I am capable of being one of the smartest kids in America.
I believe in the saying “What goes around comes around.”The world wasn’t made for killingand other unnecessary violence.
If I speak of the world, it’s not that I don’t enjoy it.
To love is to work forward,
To get what you love if you don’t already have it.
Franzel Willoby

8

Transparent

Markus Johnson

My gaze is fresh, pure, and new
Like a brand new day
And a new sunset
I desire the right to worship
I’m a window(I don’t exist)
I am transparent
I am soul and sky
Shambriel MettsMy Philosophy
My gaze is always offensive, because I’m not scared of anything or anyone
and if I have to be offensive just to prove that, then I will.
It is my custom to be very silly, because I think
being silly at the right time is fun
It is not a secret to anyone who knows me.
And I’m very good at double-dutch because I play it every day
and it overwhelms me just to play double-dutch
It is a good sport and it keeps me active.
I’m capable of doing anything I put my mind to,and I worship whatever I’m capable of doing
one hundred percent.
I believe in myself forever and always
because if I don’t think big, then I won’t be big
The world wasn’t made to be destroyed, but to be put together.
I speak of myself and only me
because when I speak of myself then I will be free
I’m on a mission, I’m on the riseso to all you ignoramuses, you better recognize.
Regina Abraham

9

Don’t Let Go
My gaze is thunder, like lightning striking a tree,
like a hot boil of water hitting an egg for the ﬁrst time,
immediately turning it into a boiled egg.
It’s my custom to be courteous and nice, and greet everyone I meet.
I’m capable of being me.
I believe in freedom and compassion,
I believe in self control, and self respect,and I believe in you, too.
The world wasn’t made for us to hate each other;
the world was made for us to get along and share.
If I speak of anger, it’s not because I’m mad,but if I speak of anger it means that I’m sad.
To love is structure that you hold onto,and if you let it go, it would let go of you.
Jasmine Murray

I Live in an Apartment
I live in a house that is cleanand shakes when me and my brother jump
The door is noisy, it makes a squeaking noises
and when I go down the stairs
I hear squeaking and cracking noise
Sometimes my dead heart is broken in partsand my house is made of bricks.
It is red, my windows are glass,but when they are broken, I see skeletons in my windows,
and when I saw my cousin, he was in a cofﬁn.
I cried and cried my tears out
but I hope he is safe in heaven.
We have a secret together
but my memory has come back to him.
Rakeeah Thompson

10

My House
I live happily and go somewhere
and my house is as still as a brick;
Open the door and you see the hallthat echoes when you talk.
Happy-hearted, this house was built
by human hands and the bricks are inside
You ﬁnd bricks that really hurt.
This house is still standing, and still
the door won’t stay ﬁxed
Knock and enter happily—Your shadow is following you
Come closer and see this beautiful place.

l-r: James Tindle, Aaron Brooks

Rise and you will see that you will make a lovely day.
In a corner with mercy covering me,
my life is a fortune, like yours
Danielle Blake

Duration of Childhood
The blood reﬂects on my wall from a dead cat.
The person inside me is very crazy.
I burn so deep down inside that it makes my head spin.
When I try to think about things that make me happy
all it does is give me invisible tears.
On Halloween night, I cover myself with blood and ﬂour;
I scare little children and make them run home.
Renita Williams

Everything Is Possible
I live in secret and go anywhere that is coolSome people have dead hearts
but mine is rigid and still going
Mystery is like fortune; it comes at you any time
My tenant is safe in my houseand in its vastness I am strong and smart
My eyes are like broken beams that will never be ﬁxed
My cofﬁn will be cold and dark and everyone will miss me
But to me, everything is possible
Terry Bennett

11

My Name
Myself: my name smells like new growing trees in a forest
My name sounds like a very small beginning and a very loud end
If you were to taste my name, you would taste
a romantic evening on the grass after sunset
You could see my name on a billboard chart or an open businessand you could feel my namelike a soft body just getting out of a warm bathShamia House

I Believe
My gaze is clear like a glass of cold water
And it is my custom to drink it.
I have freedom and intelligence to go along with it,
And I’m very good at knowing
When to do this and not do that.
I know I’m one in a million that’s
Going to make it.
I’m capable of changing my life, and also the world
I believe in myself.
Kiauna Hamilton

To love
My gaze is thunder
It is my custom to bite my nails
And I’m very good at keeping a secret
I’m capable of being silent
I believe in hidden windows
The world wasn’t made to be unattainable, and
If I speak of freedom, it’s not because we didn’t have it
To love is shades of green
Ashley Stevenson

12Secrets
My gaze is secret, it’s mine to keep forever
It is my custom to keep secrets
I have the key to lock them all awayor unlock them should I choose
Secrets, I mean,
Secrets are my specialty and I know many
but I won’t tell you
They’re locked away forever
Nichell Kee

l-r: Nichell Kee, Marché Shields

Hail My Name
My name means truth, meaning what I say it true
It means you better believe me or else you’ll perish
I’m mighty, meaning I fought every terrible monster there is
My face is beautiful, it has emeralds ﬂoating around it
You will gaze upon my cloud, which I lie on,
As my cloud carries me away, you’ll wish you were me
When you sleep, you will dream about me
Every time a cool breeze comes by, it will quietly but quickly
Say my name, so you’ll worship me even more
When falling leaves come down, they will have my name on them
Nichell Kee

Angry
I know the meaning of anger:
This morning, I realized my homework was not ﬁnished.
I know I have problems with mean people
Meanness has lost its meaning
Sometimes I forget the good things my family doesto get the anger out of me
For weeks, I never stopped writing poems for relaxation
I still know my family, my poem, will always love me
I understand my life and the anger inside me.
Renita Williams

13

Better Than You
I have more money, cars, friends, houses and clothes than you
My life is better than yours, I rule you
Listen to me,
The mirror only reﬂects me
I ﬂoat on clouds, you drown in water
You drown in leaves, I walk over you
I am taller than you, smarter than you,prettier than you
but the point is,that I am better than you
Tierra Thornton

Me
I have the power to love
They see me as a ﬂower that gives love and strength
I’m free to move about and shake about
I have freedom
I’m not held up
My uniqueness is so powerful
Everyone knows my joyful smile is brightEveryone sees that fantasy is not the thing for me
Reality is good, it shows who I really am
I am so brilliant, I am smarter than me
Tierra Thornton

Reality
Reality is a life check that
I need now
Reality is a little girl out on the street with no siblings
Reality is a woman who feeds birds
Reality is pen on paper writing a song
Reality is a note to every song I play on my clarinet
Shamá Better

14

Coming Home to D.C.
A nice day
It’s hot, cars zoom past
The water from the ﬁre hydrant goes splash
The people go boom
Bums on the corner
Electric cords, Pepco lines
The trees are dark
Leaves are everywhere
Music is playing, people are hanging
A child waves, I look
You smell the smoke from the grills
People eating, playing and dancing

l-r: Cherish Gaines, Tierra Thornton

Tierra Thornton

I am soI am so strong I can move the solar system
I am so brilliant I can outsmart a genius
I am so beautiful people stare at me when I walkI am so timeless I don’t have time to waste
I am so tall I can step over the mountains
I am so mighty, I am so immovable
I am so rich I own the landscape for miles around me
I am so precious, diamonds sparkle when I walk past
I am so fragile I can’t be touched
I am so like a cloud I can ﬂoat over everyone
Shamá Better

At the back of progress
My midnight mazes through curtained cries
Harvest hollow screams like such a sad song
Dream distant dreams that ﬁll your soulDon’t let dark reﬂected dreams get in your way of life
Descending silence is like a shallow space
Velvet students are like the royal family
This poem is like the altered words in my mind
Markus Johnson

15Winter
I have frozen breath
Human pouring ﬁre in the river
Smoke the color of the city
A red shirt is the color of the eyes of a child
The winter turns the child’s tears to ice
The showers recall the wonders of the winter breath
The breath I take, the move I make, through the ice of winter.
The city is ice
Human breath, new air of ice
Wonder of all wonders, hold the fearthat the child has through the winterThe child’s breath turns to ice
The ice turns to water
The water turns to winter.
Winter is a wonderful thing to be in
Cold, like the pool water
And cold as the freezer
The human body freezes through the cold of the winterWheels of the cars and trucks stop
The shoes of humans won’t move
The shirt on the human’s body won’t come off,
The jeans won’t come off, the childneeds help taking off her clothes.
The winter is snow, ice, and frozen breath
It is so cold I can’t feel myself writing
I am so cold, I can’t feel myself moving
I feel silence and fear
My vision is bleary
The word write can’t ever be broken up
The life of the winter is helpful
The frozenness of boys is making me very happy
The season is winter!
Shamá Better

16

Kisses and Hugs
Kisses and Hugs are things I love
they to me are like baby dovesthese are the things I put above
hugs are like shaking hands
in a different way
it’s like saying hello or hey
you can give me hugs anytime
you want because Kisses and Hugs
are things I love.
Keyonna Plowden

Blindness
Born into the world with no vision
No identity and no decision
Magical midnight moon
Distant disturbance will be coming soon
Invisible man, drowsy well
Forbidden luck, shallow tale
Descending messages, hollow harmony
Juxtaposition, and women’s intuition
Lisa Walker

Wooden HeartI sit in this rainbow darkness
thinking gray memories
as my velvet soul speaks

Bruce Brown

Descending happinessas I struggle through the glassed doorway
riding forbidden greetings
I feel as if I’m invisible
I’m walking through sudden trees
not being able to be seen
it seems that I’m in a dark
unlit room, trapped as my soul resurrects
throughout shallow darkness
Somaiya Blakney

Another Monday
Today I was standing at a drowsy bus stop.
As I was getting on the bus,
I saw a dormant mouse
I saw a man and a woman
who had a love resurrection.
On the bus, I rode pasta shallow house with a violent doorway.
I saw a lady with velvet eyes.
When I saw her eyes I thought
about my sunny memory.
Now my Monday is all overjust waiting for another Monday
Yasmin Jones

17

The Gladiator Story
When I drew black and red on a piece of paper
it turned into a tiger
it started running after me
so I climbed a tree
it jumped, so I started throwing rocks
then it went away.
I was playing with my friends;
it was dark and the moon looked like a triangle
and we looked at the stars
they looked like Ds and I said
it is niceand cried in tears
Ronnard Williams

CircleI am a circle on the tree that birds can come in
I believe that people should not be sad, they should always be happy
It’s not my fault that trumpets are loudI wonder,does everybody go to church because everyone needs God?
When I am in Northeast,
I see a lot of ghetto people walking around
There is no way that I could live in England,because I wouldn’t understand them
Why are people like frozen ice?
I hope that unknown people can live a good life
I want to be remembered as a good person
I am afraid of God, but not of other people
If you want to understand me,
you must think about what I wrote down,
and you will know that this is a circle.
Tamekica Heckstall18

DramaMy favorite colors are red and blue
I am supposed to be going up to Ballou
My favorite letter is D,
but doesn’t anyone like me?
My sign is Leo, which makes the lion my favorite animal
and I am not surprised that it’s a mammal
I love drumming, playing, and marchingand I also love talking
I used to go to the poolbut some swimmers are fools
They are square and I am a circle
The bee inside of me is telling me to ﬂy,but how can I if everyone is dying?
It’s not safe, it’s all black
the spaceship of light has just left
Now I must wait for the light to comeMy life is great, but good God, I need a break.
Demetrius Gibbs

The life of people
The colors red and black,lilies that roll into a waterbug,
ladies talking in the streets,
S that represents my name,cute men walking as the women keep stalking
everyone’s swimming circles in a square poolpeople running like a cheetah, like someone got shot
Shanice Parker

l-r: Bruce Brown, Jamila Wade

Black Out
When I turn, I see red devils
that turn into dead sharks
kids crying in the dark
shadows that turn to crawling spiders
that spit at you
then turn to killer roses thatburn into blowing ashes,to jumping people thatthrow chrome bullets at you
and all of a sudden
black out
Chris Willis

19

Coming Home to D.C.
Coming home to D.C.
to see my family
to see what the world will look like again
Coming home to D.C.
I see people planting their gardens
I feel welcome in this world
Coming home to D.C.
I see the birds ﬂying above
My eyes see trees growing from the ground
Coming home to D.C.
I see people walking forward
colors coming from the sky

Shades of Green
shades of green are all around me
sometimes hidden and sometimes not
sometimes I just sit under a lightgreen leaved tree and think aboutshades of green. I look at a ﬂower
just a ﬂower and I always think about
all the different shades of green that I loveso much.
Crishauna Gay

Coming home to D.C.
I see a smiley face smiling at me
I wonder what D.C. does with the world
Antoinette BetterKnow
I know the square root of 144
I know how to count backwards from 100
I know how to make poems
I know how to help people
I don’t know philosophy
I lost the meaning of blues
Sometimes I try to reach the stars
I know I have a kind heart
Sometimes I forget that I can write to the stars
I realized this morning that I am a poet
I know I have the life of a God
I understand the meaning of love
I know I am a powerful writer
Bruce Brown

20Perfect
Talking grey and pink
sunﬂowers that rise
Monkeys swinging into circles
P, walking proudly
A rectangular stream
running until it ends

l-r: Marché Shields, Renita Williams

A beautiful birdrolling into the nest to eat

Addiction

Squares shaped so perfectly,
a spider web in each cornerand on the ﬂoor is a piece of hair
LaJean Pratt

Go
relax
talk
sit
pick
up
up
no, no, no
put
you
it
have
down
to
chat
clean
talk
cook
gossipwash
spreadnorumorsnolisten
no
laugh
go
enjoy
go
go
stay
pick
away
up
get
the phoneaway
Ay, yi, yi
Go go goGo!
Quanice Walters

Relax
Relax, relax, relax, relax
Relax, relax, relax, relax
Don’t do any work at all
I mean, don’t do anything
Nothing, nada, zip, ﬁnito
Zilch, zed, nothing at all
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t, don’t do anything
People say today is your day
Every day will be your day
Relax, relax, relax, relax
Relax, relax, relax, relax
Say no, no, no to drugs
and no, no, no to work
Johnathan Richardson

21

Scars on my Body
Take away the pain I call my paradise
Take away the eyes that constantly bleed tears at night
Take away the darkness that overspreads the sky
And get rid of the scars on my bodyBring me makeup and a costume
To hide all my broken wounds
Never bring light to show me my way
Because I’ll never walk and I’ll never talk
The scars on my body are an invisible beauty to me
But they’re tearing my life apart
I feel like a broken chain
Broken and thrown away like a toy
But don’t feel sorry for me; feel sorry for yourself
You laugh at the scars on my body because they’re different
But the scars on my body laugh because you’re ugly
In order for me to feel betterAs if the goodbye to my life takes forever
Mariah Cooper

SilenceDaughters and Mothers
Mother and daughter become close
when daughter becomes mother andmother becomes grandmother.
Stanisha Gaskins

22

I like silence when I’m mad
I like silence when I’m sad
When I’m happy silence is my thing
Some people like to singI just like silence.
Davon Rawlings

Sadly Depressed
Every morning, the curtain rises and shows me the shining sun
and the very violent village in its beautiful darkness
Each time I look, my morning starts out on the wrong footI get up and walk through the jumping doorway
enter the hallway to get prepared
I go outside to experience the altered rainthat messes up my clothes
Soon I get a breaking memory of going back to school
Entering the building, smelling the forbidden air of education
Suddenly you can hear the crazy piano, the descending computer
and the dormant ﬂoors the students walk on
Gratefully, I can ﬁnally leave
I walk home on the rusty reﬂected road the rain dropped on for hours
At the back of progress I think of all the unﬁnished business
There were a hundred things I could have thought about to make me happy
but all of them were unresolved burdens
I look in the alley to see the stray pride of curly curtained cats,
their moods are the same as mine
Sad and depressed, ﬁguring out how to end their problems
They all sit in a round circle in the rain like fully fallen fools,
like they all lost hopeand I join in with them, like I lost hope too
It’s not like having something to do, but
this is much better than enduring pain by myself
I’ll be in a clique where I won’t feel alone
I feel a little better.
Me and the pride stare at the rain, like a Monday midnight movie
After I leave, I feel bliss, preparing for another Monday
Going to sleep to get a taste of tomorrowand hopefully the day will get better
Maryum Abudullah

23

l-r: Taylor Peterson, Jerahmeel Shields

Coming Home 2 D.C.
Coming home 2 D.C. is a tragedy
You see the same nothing people
Singing their shoulda’s and their coulda’s and their woulda’s.
You see more killings
And you see more teen pregnancy
But what you don’t see is peace.
What is happening to our National Capital?
I’ll tell you, half of D.C. is living with AIDS
More fathers neglecting their children
It doesn’t make any sense.
Coming home 2 D.C. is the worst.
But let’s get to the positive side of D.C.:
The sky is beautiful
The homes are wonderful
The girls have style
The boys have class
The trees are tall
And the school has really great teachers.
So don’t ask me why I wrote thisAsk your mother.
Mariah Cooper

Sugar
Get the sugar sweet
Get the bubble gum
Get the cookie
Get the ice cream
Get it, get it
You have to have it
Get the lollipop
Get the chocolate cupcake
Get the strawberry shortcake
Get the jawbreaker
You have to munch it
chew it, crunch it
lick it, bite into all kinds of sugar
Remember we are best friends
ever since the age of two
I made you the sugar kingYou have to have it,
you must have it, you will have it
Get it, get it, get it, get it
Now don’t you feel great?
Sugar rush!
Bruce Brown

24

In Praise of the Apple Treethe apple tree is so tall
I just stand and lookat it, it’s the best tree
and I love apples so much
I could eat apples for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.
Hi Apple are you having
fun? Do you want to play
today? Maybe you cancome outside and playwith me today, you lookgood enough to eat, pleaseapple tree and I will always
take care of you.
Angelo Martin

l-r: Mercede Monroe, Shavon Osbourne

Rainy Season
One day during the rainy season I saw a narrow roadso I walked down that narrow road, on the groundI saw some burnt orange leaves, a whole path of themahead there was a ﬁre and I did nothing but look.
Adrian Williams

I am
I am a brilliant, beautiful species
I am luminous, I dazzle like sparkling glitter
I am very humble inside
I am fragile; I’m supposed to be handled with care
I am an emerald, admired by everybody
I am a fountain of glowing diamonds
I am like a spring breeze or like a smooth wind when I approach
I am everyone’s dream
I illuminate people with my grace
I am an African queen; I’m supposed to be worshipped
I am like wonderful landscapes, my appearance is photogenic
I am the freedom of all people
I am genial, I am a help
I am the best thing on this Earth
And no one can beat that
Maryum Abdullah25

A Nice Place
I have a memory of a hidden place, it is freshand I feel the freedom of the silence as I watch
the sun setting. There are moments when I am unsureof whether it is real, I thought it was a dream
but it feels real and good just like it should.
In the distance of the sunset I felt compassion
within, a desire to have this memory of where I go
to the water and I see bubbles there and somehow I
know I have to worship and protect my universe
to keep it a secret from everyone.
Anthony Sterling

D.C.
A summer Sunday is a day near the sun in space
People lose their vision
like an eagle poking a snake’s eyes
We have a failure of keeping our air clean
and the Anacostia is dirty water
We see killing on the streets
but we really don’t do anything about it
We declared freedom, but
are we really free from this slave train?
People can be independent,
but not have independence in this world
People fear, just to be feared by no one
I thought when I was young
That I was not uniqueuntil school changed
not just my life, but everyone else’s life too
Bruce Brown

26

To See The Rainit is a rainy day outside today
there is no one to play with
I just look out at the coolblue rain and think thatsomeone is crying or upset
so it rains and rains and rains
I love the sun and when it rains
I really get upset because I love
to be outside
Stanisha Gaskins

Marché Shields

In Praise of the Daisy
I praise the daisy
the daisy blooms in the spring
the petals are white like the wingsof an angel and the center is yellow
like the sun. The daisy is pretty
and my favorite ﬂower and theystand tall like towers, I praise the daisy
as I always say I love daisies
in a special way
Simone Craig

The Season TreeI have a tree that I worship for her special ability
she survives the cold snow and the hot sun
a pine tree sits in my front yard
we take care of her and give her love
I treat our tree like she’s part of my family
when she gets old and before she falls down
I will pluck a leaf from her so that I neverforget the fun days we had.
A new tree will grow and I will have more
fun and it will never be done until I’ma hundred and one.
Crishauna Gay

27

My day out
I went to shoe city for dance season
as I left the store a red leaf fell froma tree and hit me on the kneeas the sun went down, the mooncame up so I rode the bus, as I rodethe bus time ﬂew by just like someone
standing high, I got off the bus, the worst
thing happened at the top of the hill,
my shoe snapped off like someone
clapping, I looked up at the sky andthought what a bad day, but I still got myshoes hey, he, hey.
Quanika Jackson

It’s All Too Much
I went downtown to buy a moonbike
I saw a girl her name was Mike
I sat on a burnt bench, it had a little stench
I saw red blood and rolled in the mud
I went to school and had to dance alone
I ate a sandwich and got feet damage
She will never forget what I said
And now it’s time for me to go to bed.
Davon Rawlings

About Me
Yesterday was amazing I saw daisy lights
they were so bright as I rode the bus
I saw orange clouds and I was surprised
but smiled then I looked on the groundand saw a crawling dog and when I got
home I danced alone in front of the window
it was a rainy winter season so I wore myleaf colored suit and I looked so cuteI heard sounds of the ocean and when I lookedin the mirror everything was shining down on me.
Daisha Martin28

I Believe
I believe in the mysteries of the universe
I believe that ﬁsh cannot swim out of water
I believe that there are no dinosaurs left on our planet
I believe that penguins cannot ﬂy
I believe that lions do not eat apples
And I believe that children don’t drive.
Jasper Hicks

SilenceI heard an old saying that silence is goldenWith silence I’m thinking of vehicles that I rode inWith silence you can use exaggeration
And anything else that helps your imagination
So use silence whenever you can and please
Remember that old saying.
Lance Slaughter
Steven Brown

Life
Time is like a never ending water fallthat controls your movements as the days goes by
the moon arrives so blue and bright like a clear rain
as I go to sleep
for the day is overI see a candle so red and ﬁery like a red leaf in fall
the moon ﬁnally disappears from the sky and I see not the moon but the sun
the sun is so yellow it’s goldness keeps us all happy
No person knows when they are going to leaveand no one knows if there really is a heaven or a hell for us to
go to.
Mark Neal

29

Bomani Armah, Gabrielle Martin & James Saunders

Guest Artists
30
TOP PHOTO, back row- l-r: Gabrielle Martin, Bomani Armah, James Tindle, Luqman Abdullah,
Maryum Abdullah, James Saunders. Front row- l-r: Marché Shields, Brittany Watkins
MIDDLE PHOTO, back row- l-r: Gabrielle Martin, Bomani Armah, James Tindle, Luqman Abdullah,
Maryum Abdullah, James Saunders. Front row- l-r: Brittany Watkins, Marché Shields
BOTTOM PHOTO, l-r: Gabrielle Martin, James Saunders, Bomani ArmahT

he D.C. Creative Writing Workshop’s newest writer-in-residence is Bomani D.
Armah, a musician, artist, spoken word performer, and community activist as well asa published writer. Bomani works with seventh grade classes at Hart Middle Schooland helps supervise after-school programs at Hart. James Saunders, the pioneer poetin our Young Writers-in-Residence program, is a 15 year old sophomore at Ballou HighSchool, a three year veteran of the Workshop’s programs at Hart Middle School, a two-timewinner of the Parkmont Poetry Contest, and a first place winner in the Larry Neal Awards for
Youth Poetry. James works with elementary and middle school students in the Workshop’s
after-school programs. On Monday, December 5, Bomani and James joined Gabrielle
Martin, another veteran Workshop participant who is currently working on the Ballou HighSchool newspaper, for a round-table discussion on the art of writing. Also participatingin the discussion were Luqman Abdullah, Maryum Abdullah, Nichell Kee, Marche Shields,
James Tindle, and Brittany Watkins.

Marché: Why do people write?
Gabrielle: Well, I write because sometimes I feel pain
and it’s better for me to get my pain out on paper.

Bomani: I write because I like being creative. And,honestly, I like the attention. I like being able to tellstories from different angles--that inspires me to write
more.

James Saunders: Writing is something I’m good at,and I like to go towards those things. It’s a way toshow off.

Luqman: Why do people write about certain things intheir life? Is it because they like them or because theyhate them?

Bomani: For a lot of people, writing is therapeutic.
Even if you just write for yourself, when you read

stuff that you wrote, it can help you put it into
perspective. Sometimes when you write somethingand you read it for an audience, even if it’s something
painful for you, it helps you shed that energy, or
whatever it is, from you so it’s not that painful
anymore. It’s something that helps in a way

James S.: You so know that answer to that question
Maryum: Why is there so much grief and emotional
stress in some literature?

Bomani: I think a lot of artists aretroubled souls. That’s kind of aprerequisite for being a writer. But I
know me, personally, I write about a lotof “happy stuff” just because I feel likewriting like that, just to be different. But
since I think many people use writing as
therapy, they need therapy to relieve them31

from that angst, and that’s why it ends up being fullof pain and suffering and sadness.

Gabrielle: Well, that’s basically what I did too. I
began writing because when I started going througha lot of pain, I felt like when I got my pain out on
paper it helped me synthesize my feelings. I got it
off my chest and I got it off my mind. But then I
found out that people were actually interested inwhat I was writing, so I made this something that I
want to do for a career.

Luqman: Can writing express what you see innature? Can it be like an illustration?

Bomani: Painting pictures? Yeah, I think that’s thebest way, when your narrative can be seen visually,
when people automatically end up with a movie
script in their heads because of the way you put
your words together real poetically.

Maryum: Okay, when authors write books, why dothey use pen names instead of their real names?

Bomani: I think that’s a prerequisite for rappers-having pen names, because sometimes the person
you are as a writer is not who you really are.
Mark Twain wasn’t Samuel Clemmons, he was adifferent person. Using another name helps you get
into a different personality when you tell a story.
I’ve used writing names before, both as an M.C.
and as a poet, and sometimes when you think
you’re another person, it helps you think of things
differently. It helps you be a little more creative.

Marché: How long have you been writing?
James S.: I’ve been writing for about ﬁve years now,
since sixth grade.

Gabrielle: I’ve been writing since the fourth grade,
so I’ve been writing for about six, seven years.
I began the Writing Club in sixth grade and it’s32

helped me further my talents into high school.
I was a three year student in the Writing Cluband now I’m currently working on the student
newspaper at Ballou.

James S.: There was this one incident when I
realized that I could write, you know, really write.
I was young, I was in second grade, so I didn’t
really know what writing was. I just thought, youknow, it was the assignment. But in sixth grade, I
think I rekindled it in Writing Club. I was at an age
when I understood more what writing was, and I
was mature enough to actually like something likewriting. So in sixth grade I started back up and I
ran with it, and I’m still writing now.

Bomani: In my English classes when I was younger,
I always liked to write short stories, essays,
whatever. Actually, it was one of the few things I
thought was fun. All the kids in my neighborhood
had our own rap groups and stuff when we wereyounger, so we liked to write like that. But the ﬁrst
poem I really remember being serious about was apoem I wrote called “Sixteen Going On Seventeen.”
And that’s when I really got serious.

Maryum: What got you started in poetry?
Bomani: Maybe just needing a creative outlet, I’ve
always been involved in different things creatively,
whether it be music or acting, and poetry allowed
me to be the most original. And also, here in
Washington, D.C., the poetry scene is so cool, that
it was easy for me to get into. Especially coming
right out of high school into college, I really got
sucked into it pretty deeply. I think that’s probably
the biggest inﬂuence.

Brittany: Who said that poems have to rhyme? A
lot of people say when you write a poem, you haveto rhyme with it.

Bomani: A poem deﬁnitely doesn’t have to rhyme.
I think a poem should have structure; rhyme
doesn’t necessarily have to be that structure, but
it should have some kind of form to it. Rhyming
is sometimes a limitation. But also, if you don’t

usually rhyme, sometimes it’s good as a mental
exercise to make yourself rhyme, to try to be able to
make sense, line after line, while keeping the rhyme
going. It helps you become a better writer when
you’re not rhyming.

James S.: Well, I’m young, I’m still a child, but asa “young” writer I’d say that with the ﬁrst things
I started writing, I loved to rhyme. I had such avague understanding of writing, so it was like,“Poetry is rhyming, you know, it’s always rhyming-da da da da da.” But as I grew, rhyming has become
something that I do very seldom. It really depends
on how I’m feeling. Maybe I’ll rhyme...

Bomani: I think that rhyming has become so cliche.
In order to become a good rhymer, you have to
put in a lot of effort, and you can’t rhyme “bat”
with “cat” and “hat.” You’ve got to really put someeffort into it in order to get away with rhyming
these days.

James Tindle: In writing, what gives you yourwords? After being in Writing Club since sixth
grade, did you ﬁnd your vocabulary increased?
Have you learned a lot of new words?

James S.: In the past, there were good qualities
in me that were subliminal, like I had a knack forEnglish. I learned to use context clues really well.
And that transcended into me being very interested
in vocabulary. I started reading the dictionary, andWriting Club showed me a whole new world thatreally revolved around words. It just showed me somuch. I love words now, I love writing now, and I
would have never gotten it if I hadn’t gone throughthis process. And I’m really thankful for it.

back row- l-r: Gabrielle Martin, Bomani Armah, James
Tindle, Luqman Abdullah, Maryum Abdullah, James
Saunders. Front row- l-r: Marché Shields, Brittany Watkins

Writing Club showed me a whole new world that really revolved
around words ... I love words now, I love writing now, and I would
have never gotten it if I hadn’t gone through this process. And I’mreally thankful for it.
— James Saunders

33

Vacation Bible School
Bomani D. ArmahI
In the darkest
corner of the fairest city
on an orange
hot evening
right before
the sun slippedover the edgea single bullet
leaptfrom the cold concrete.
It quickly
clawed its way
through an eighty
year old
stained glass
windowand into the upperroom.
It hungrily
chewed throughthe backof a wooden
chair where on
MondayReggie sat
and with his small palms
smacked out a go-goon the table
until you could see the redunder his dirty ﬁngernails.
Singing, “Sardines, andPork n Beans!”
Like the fellas did

34

on the hoods of cars on the street
between the liquor store and church
he cranked out his tune
until one of the old mothers said
“You betta quit day mess!”
II
In the darkest cornerof the fairest city on a orange hot evening
right before the sun slippedover the edge,a single bullet leapt
from the cold concrete.
It quickly clawed its way
through an eighty year old
stained glass window
and into the upper room.
It chewed
through the back of awooden chair where
Tuesday
Yolanda sat
tired from smilingblissfully enjoying the ruckus
of children scamperingwith blue and red blobs
on their hands and faces.
She rested, her legs spread wide,
her hands rubbing her full belly,
eyes gleaming,
cheeks sore from grinning.
She whispered quietly,“Lord, please let me keep this one.”
III
In the darkest corner of the fairest city
on an orange hot evening rightbefore the sun slippedover the edge, a single bullet leapt
from the cold concrete.
It clawed its way into an eight year oldstained glass window and into theupper room.
It chewed through the back of awooden chair where on
Wednesday
David satquietly
with milk saucer eyes and a fullheartbasking in the glow,
soaking in one of six days a year
he spends in the “Lord’s House.”
The air conditioning waspleasantly pinching his neck
like the hint of lemon in tea,
while he tongued bits of Oscar Meyer
out of his new front teeth.
He carefully clinched his new jewels
to keep his jaw from dropping
as he watched children
his own age
smiling
beautifully blindto the troubles of his world.
IV
In the darkest corner of the fairest
city on a hot
evening right before the sun slippedover the edge,a single bullet leapt from the concrete.
It clawed its way through an eighty year old
stained glass window and into theupper room.
It chewed through the back of awooden chair where on
Thursday
Tiffany say,ashy elbows on the tablehands under her chinsloppy red ﬁngernails

tapping her rosy cheeks.
The prodigal son story
echoing through her ears
she was busy eyeballingher boyfriend
at the other end of the roomwith the big kids
in the junior high class.
She thought his nameshould have “Ice”
or “Dog” in it somewhere.
He didn’t know he was her
boyfriend.
It didn’t matter.
V
In the darkest corner of the fairest city on a
hot evening right before
the sun slipped over the edge, a
single bullet leapt fromthe concrete. It clawed its way into
stained glass window
and into the upper room. It chewed
through the back of achair where on
FridayLil’ Kenny say
straining to reachthe different colored basinsto dip his tightly knotted t-shirt
with rubber bands
he envisions a beautiful collage
an explosion of red and blue
ﬁreworks
not knowing
he was only making a purple messon his Osh-Kosh.
The shirt was a gift for Kirk
who could barely walk
and was hard to understandexcept for when he sang
“He’s in My Heart.”(continued on the following page)

35

EPILOGUE
On Sunday
Deacon Jones stole away from thejubilationof the Sunday school classas they howled “This is the Day.”He slowly made his way
up a ﬂight of stairs.
Upon looking up he saw a small,deep holewhere the day before
a single bullet had leapt
from the cold concrete.
It had quickly clawed its way
throughan eighty year old
stained glass window
and into the upper room.
It had hungrily chewed throughthe back of a wooden chairand burrowed itself in the ceiling.
Deacon Jones raised his headto the sky
thanking the Lordthat they rested on Saturday

36

top-bottom: Bomani Armah, James
Saunders, Marché Shields, Gabrielle
Martin, Brittany Watkins

To Be in a Songby James Saunders
To be intertwined with the meticulous melody,to ebb and ﬂow with the rhythm,
to know it’s clearly polyphonic;
To equate the color red with the timbre
because the lyrics burn with such powerful emotion,
to feel safe in its warm chorus,
to be equally excited to see
the vamp every time it appears,
to share the vision of the song
to have the same desire to touch the listener,
to be beautiful,to be art,
to be content with myself
andnever want to leave this beautiful placea song.

Non-Conformist
by James Saunders
Call me a gothic mohawk, spiked
and gelled to dark, rebellious
perfection.
Call me a hippie guitar, studded
with icons of peace and unity.
Let me drive my freedom-fueled
punchbuggy through your mind
and soul.
Call me an environmentally aware,bargain shopping, jellybean sandal-wearing,bird feeding, obsessive compulsive
disorder wielding, animal loving vegan.
Call me the girl wearing ﬂower prints
when they are no longer in.
Call me retro in the ‘hood.
Call me the rotten apple that
spoils the bunch.

Expressions of My Prime
by Gabrielle Martin
My gaze is ﬂaming like the color of my rage.
It is my custom to enchant your mind.
And I’m very good at maintaining my secrecy.
I am capable of living in this transparent society,
However, this reality is overwhelming
and I always feel distraught.
I believe in my existence
because everyone is here for a reason.
If I speak of my unattainable desires
my mind receives a break in its pique.
To love is sometimes a false truth
because no one can love you
as much as you do.

37
l-r: James Tindle, Maryum Abdullah,
Luqman Abdullah

My Grandma Old Blossom Rose
It grew in the summer died in the fallgave some good love to my Grandma’s
garden, a rose that ﬂowered and blossomed
Just for her and now I miss my Grandmother
Old Blossom Rose.
I love you Old Blossom Rose andI miss you and I wish you were
here to talk to me.
LaShawn Jackson

The God of Heat
A long long time ago
everyone in the land was freezing
it was below 20 degrees
there was no heat at all
no one had coats to wear
and some owned only sweaters
One day the God of Heatreached up into the sky andreclaimed the sun, he reachedso far you could not see his arm
above his wrist
the people of the land
shouted for him tobring the heat! bring the heat!
he grabbed the sun and brought
it closer to the land
everyone was happy and cheered
and that’s how we got heatthank you God of Heat.
Jasmine Thomas

38

It’s All Too Much
I was outside watching the moonsway back and forth
there are shadows everywhere andthe only lights I see are street lights
shining on benches as cars ride
past and never stopit gets darker
Time moves on
the clouds are all gonestars stretch past the horizon
I stop to smell the daisies
and never turn backIt reminds me of yesterday
when I heard the sounds of the sea
and then it started to rain
I got in my car and drove
As drops of water hit the cars windows.
Larry West

Around HereAround here time never rushes by
Around here we dance alone in the dark
Around here we scream when a car speeds past us
Around here the weather is warm and the sunlight is blinding
Around here the dogs bark as if they are in danger
Ashley Walker

Air
Air is something we breathe in and out
all the time when we’re about
to and eat and then to go and sleep
Air blows through my hair in the summertime
sometimes it gets under your feet
Air is around on rainy days
Air moves the clouds in a cool blue season
Air is a cloud bursting with sweetness
Air is something we breathe that tastes
sweet like water to me.

Jamila Wade

Ceshelle Evans

In Praise of the Tulip
Beauty does not describe my tulip whose pearl red petals rise
like the sun each morning in spring.
My mother keeps a roof over my head year round and my tulip
grows in her heart. In spring my tulip sits on the porch blossomingbrightly, deeply rooted in dirt so moist and rich.
DaShawn Taylor

39Goddess of Diamonds
I am the Goddess of Diamonds
I’m a stone that shines bright like the sun
so bright you won’t believe your eyes
I am used to cut metal, I’m magicalmystical and you can wear me on your ﬁngers
I’m a girl’s best friend
I’m clear and precious so they call me Diamondand mine me all the way from South Africa
and I am very expensive
Diamond Bedney

Red Day
Today I saw a bike dancewith an orange man whose burnt dog
barked ﬁre, I jumped on the busthat felt like an ocean while a red leaf
fell from the sky, the bus rode down anorange street that rained warm red drops
As night came I saw a red moon and got
off the bus and sat on a bench where theburnt dog was eating a red sandwich.
I forgot the daisy sea was warm and I wasalone so I left and got on the bus and went home.
Giovanni Copeland

40

The Singing Castle
There’s a singing castle full of songs
where children sing and sing and singall day longit’s spring all the time thereeach day the ﬂowers bloom
their trumpets blowing music
sweet ﬂowers for every tune
there’s candy ﬂowing everywherechildren dancing, eating and playing
birds chirping and ﬂying
everyone sings at the singing castle
all day long and I want to ask you
to join me and come along
Ricole Brown

Pineapples
Your sweet and sour taste is good
you’re so delicious I could eat you for an hour or two
I really love fruit but you’re the best one
if I get a lot of money
I’ll spend it all on you
then I’ll never be done
eating pineapples
You know I’ll eat you if I’m really
really hungry
I’ll keep eating you forever even if
You stung me
You’re sweet and sour and that’s why
I love you

Nichell Kee

Rico Sanchez

Who Am I?

To A Tree

My gaze is like the silence of the sunset
bright breezy and beautiful
it stills my heart while I listen to nature
it is my custom to walk in freedom and I walk in freedom
when I make my own choices and decisions
I am capable of overwhelming tasks like the God Neptune
who commands the oceans
I command and control my own world and use rivers tosend my messages.
John Brunson

Dear Tree,
You look nice today
Lots of your leaves are off of you
Bless you dear tree
So tell me how are you doing? Have you been cold this winter?
Oh! That’s right trees don’t talk. Thank you for
Shade when it was hot. I watch you from inside
Every day and we all love you so much dear tree
Anthony Bullock

41

In My Head
I picture me coming upstairs
in the hallway talking in my head
I hear everything that is going on around me
yet I’m silent
deep deep in my headjust thinking
thoughts and different stuff
thoughts running like a lost dog
I think about what I hear around me
no one can hear my thoughts
or what I’m thinking about
that’s why I like to listen
to myself and my thoughts
they say lots and no one knows
what’s going on inside
Isiah Jackson

Peace will keep us steady
Perhaps being quiet can teach us to unite.
Let’s not speak about the divine echo of the disturbing riots.
For once, let’s download all of our confessions,and not rush to put a grudge on someone.
No more violence, no more disasters
Being truthful and honest would not harm our souls.
If people put their guns down,
they would not have to dig another hole.
Without weapons, without violence
We would not miss someone getting hurt.
Maybe peace will keep us steady,
Keep us safe
Keep us ready.
Close-minded people might disrupt the atmosphere.
We should open our eyes and talk sense into them.
Parris Robertson

42

My VoiceMy voice hides from people
It tries to surprise you and speaks
as loud as the sun is bright.
When I speak, the whole earth
says it’s cool, when I say hello
it says hello back.
When my words reach your ears
your mind will tell you, this kid is soothing,
this kid is cool.
When I call your namemy voice hides from you.
Damon Kee
Tiona Wade

Keeping Quiet
Let’s not rush to hail and live a terrible life
We should make attempts to better ourselves
What I want should not be mistaken for the devil’s work
Silence is what it is about
Maybe peace will keep us steady, keep us motivated.
With unity and with honesty
We should open our eyes and see the outside world.
Violence will disrupt the peace and freedom
No more wars, no more ﬁghts
Confessions can teach us different things every day
But, let’s not speak about the riots
Let’s not disturb the peace.
Openness will not harm your soulAngels will put down their halos for you.
Shavon Osbourne

V.O.I.C.E.
My voice is kind and powerful.
My voice is courageous.
It can be difﬁcult at times
but is easy to understand.
I make sure that my voice
is heard by so many people.
My voice can do serious
damage if pushed to a certain point.
My V.O.I.C.E. is me.
Diamoniqué A. Campﬁeld

43White Suit with a Gray Face
I will never forget
when my sister went home,
she always had a brightsmile on her face.
I will never forget
the day she left me.
My sister was very goofy,
outgoing and nonchalant.
I remember the white suitand gray face she had on
at her funeral.
I could see her chest shift
as she lay there in her casket,
as if she were letting me know
she was still alive and waiting
for me to come with her into
the gates of heaven.
I will never forget the day
my brother told me she said
for us to be strong.
When he told me that,
I knew I could not cry for her anymore.
Troi Stevenson

My Voice
My voice is medium
My voice is dark
My voice sounds like a big clock
My voice has speed, strength and power
My voice has ball handles
My voice is a swish soundMaxx Johnson

My Voice
My voice is nonchalantlike a doctor’s
when he is about to tell a motherher child has just died.
My voice is casually indifferent,
yet, so tranquil
like a deep blue freshwater stream,
gliding to a huge pond.
My voice can be mean,
when I speak, you can detect my presence
like I have been standing
standing on that same spot
singing and singing as if
there was no one around.
Troi Stevenson

44Within His Spirit
I look down on you
and as an inanimate object
you shouldn’t budge
but in my eyes you stand strong
your life is above mine
you’re tough and strong
you show power above things in the forest
but like a tree you’re bold and cool
if you could stand,I think you would lead
you would be a foundation for people to lean on
you are a tower of hope,a bold, steel tower, immovable,
you could say life itself surrounds you.
You are a lost soul, but your essence
still lives within, within him,
you pull off strong from the groundlike a rocket, you soar highyou are a symbol of power
you live within.

l-r: Steven Brown, Reginald Conway, Bruce Brown

James Tindle

The Teardrop
My day, it had come,no longer could I hide behind a brick wall
it was like I was a glass walland you could see right through me.
Every ﬂashing light, the black and white suits
clapping like blows of thunder
and the faces of angels.
And it came, the rivers and open seasthat were hiding in the backs of my eyes.
And the waterfall ﬂowed,
the sparkling tear fell like a crystal,a sapphire oval hit the ﬂoor,
and it fell through.
It hit my soul.
James Tindle

45

Used in My Own Way
People have unique voices.
When people die,people’s voices cry
so that the pain
can go away.
My voice is everywhereused in my own way.
When someone leaves, it gets real quiet.
When I’m happy, my voice is soft.
When I’m angry, my voice goes madjust like people go away
at the end of the day.
Daniel Gaskins

Home for the Holidays
Back home for the holidays,
no ordinary day.
The trees are bald,
the ground is silky,
the girls still walk freely
as if it’s July.
I walk outside and the sides of buildings
are dirtied with words.
Hear my cry.
The wet smoke ﬁlls my lungs
and I can’t breathe.
The misty fog dampens the air around me,
those little sprays of a stream.
A fantasy of a strong bond is dreamt
but is really broken without struggle.
James Tindle

46

James, the god of war
I walk through ceased valleys
of dead bodies,no one knows silent life exists,
people walk and talk, but some
don’t appreciate life,
some walk with guns and knives
demolishing innocent people’s lives
I walk coming,
letting peace walk through thoseceased valleys and dead bodies.
I bring peace to this world.
I make a difference.
I stand for peace and hope.
I am James, the god of war.
James Tindle

Oblivion
If the world was to end today,
I would do a lot of things,
some might be smart or dumb.
I would throw bricks at moving cars, would you?
I’d take the best car from the Cadillac lot,
maybe I’ll blow it up.
I’d walk around all day
in Snoopy jammies and a tank top.
Hang out with my friends, maybe play some games.
Declare that I am a prince.
Bust my dad out of jail,spend one day with him.
But it really doesn’t matterbecause later I’ll forget him.

In the Distance

Aaron Brooks

My gaze is like a trickle that doesn’t lose aim.
It is my custom to play basketball,just going like there’s no tomorrow.
And I’m very good at thinking and putting it on paper.
I’m capable of destroying my world and yours.
But, I’m nice so I might not do that.
I always feel like I’m stuck
and my soul can’t get to heaven,as every day goes by
I’m getting closer to hell.
Aaron Brooks

47

James Saunders

The City
The city is like a battleﬁeld
People can be hostile and cocky
But nice and calm
From morning to night, it’s a blur
Because of this night madness in the blind
In the morning, you usually expect good things to happen
But when bad things come through, it strikes with a blinding blow
When you stop to think about what just happened
You encounter the worst thing
Something that is just dull and mean
You’ve seen an enemy
They strike with a mighty blow
Now the opponent is winningBecause their blows are like razors
Sharp and on point
The power in your eyes and mind rises highSo you charge with power
The city is like a battleﬁeld
But you will win the battle
Ashley Cooper

My voice is true
My voice is funny
But my voice also changes
My voice is attracting
let’s not forget deep
My voice is outstanding and bold
My voice uplifts
And your gears might shift
My voice may be a surprise
Make you open your eyes
My voice is true
And may commit crimes
Don’t worry if a tear comes out of your eye
My voice is a lot and I’m not scared
My voice loves the spotlight, now I have shared
Chris Beckham

48

Gods of Happiness and Madness
If there was a god of happiness and a god of madness,they’d be at each other’s throats.
The god of happiness would try to keep the peace,
while the god of madness would do the opposite.
Sometimes when it comes down to it,
you’ll have to do things wrong.
But, if you don’t have to,then why would you?
When something is going wrong,look on the bright side.
Never provoke things,
get on the good side.
Happiness is like running through a ﬁeld of ﬂowers,
like winning money and putting it to good use.
Madness is like hell,
no one wants to go.
It’s like the devil,
no one likes him or wants to be like him.
Madness is the bad behavior
that some people show.
But when happiness steps inthat madness ‘gots to go.
J.C. Morrow

My Route
When I was young
all I could think of
was football.
I couldn’t catch a passbut I loved the sportwith my heart.
One day something sparked,
I caught the ballon the most important downof my life.
That encouraged me
to continue the route.
Chris Beckham

l-r: Reginald Conway, Bruce Brown

How Strong My Voice Is
My voice is strong
It is strong like it lifts weights
Strong enough to lift a three-ton elephant
My voice is like an all out blitz coming through the offensive line
It’s tackling the quarterback and hurting the players
Putting them on the stretcher
That’s how strong my voice isLarry Pinkard

49

Silence will keep us safe
Let’s not speak about allof these new disasters.
We should make attempts to stopthe vocal crossﬁres.
Maybe no noise will keep us steady.
For once, shut up.
Your constant screams
are disturbing the peace.
What I want should not be mistaken for nonsense.
Perhaps silence can teach us unity.
Killers will put down
their deadly instruments of mass destruction.
No more riots, no more noise
without ignorance, without speech.
Not talking would not harm anyone.
We are likely to miss the Lord’s call.
We should open our eyesand close our mouths.
Silence will keep us safe
as a sacred gift of life.
Perhaps if we stop talking
we won’t take our last breaths
so early.

The sound of my voice
My voice is attractive
it speaks loudly
My voice is worthy
it deserves a lot
My voice is positive
it cannot be controlled
My voice is lovely
My voice is attractive
Genise Johnson

Mercedé Monroe

the District of Columbia
The fright of D.C. is a shock to me.
Downtown all around are people making paper –drug dealers wear baggy clothes
businessmen wear suits, carrying briefcases with important negotiations
working girls walk the line of lust, andschools deteriorate above students and teachers’ heads.
Maybe for a day, a president will be brave,
not such a coward.
A war represents the District of Columbia.
Brittany Watkins

50

She

l-r: Erica Kyle, Terrence Patterson

Refusing Silence
Refusing silence by knowing my name
I proudly yell out into the world
my name is. . . .
Refusing silence again by knowing my name
I scream, my name is. . . .
Still nothing comes out.
I take a long look into my complicated soul,
my heartbeat puts my answer into simple words:
Don’t refuse silence,embrace it.
Diamond Mitchell

She walks down theroad to her life in fear,
a symphony plays as
her death comes
clear to everyone,
she shocked her audience
to a surprising halt.
She cries in grief
and runs away fromthe light because
she is afraid. Afraid
to die again. Her
memory is killed
by a cursed arrowthrough the heart.
She screams,
and when she cries
her silence is broken
due to her sorrowful lifethat was nothing to no one.
Quietness ﬁlls her world
even though she makes asmuch noise as possible.
No food, no money, no life.
Desperate, she seeks
uniqueness, andshe ﬁnds it. Her eyesstare at the world withbare openings and her
moments shine as her
uniqueness kick starts
her life. She smiles and thinks
what a wonderful world.
Brittany Watkins

51

The Barbershop Chair
As I watched my grandfather
thrive to keep his business up,
he would cut hair.
That was his job.
He used to wear an apron.
He was blessed with cutting hair.
One customer would comeand sit in the chair,
my grandfather would be laughing
and having a good time.

Blueberry Tree

When he had no customers,
he’d sit in the chair, stare and think.
Most of his life was at the barbershop,and most of the action took placein the barbershop chair.

My grandma’s blueberry tree,
so big and green.
As me and my grandma sit by it,
we think of all the good things we did.
Three months later, she passed away,
I was so sad.
Whenever I think of her,
I go to this blueberry tree
and think about what we did,what we talked about.
She was good to me.
One day, there was something
I just had to tell her, but I couldn’t.
But now I canbecause of this blueberry tree.

Brandie Keys

Erika Stephens

When I’d come in,he’d smile and give me a hug
maybe even some money.
I loved him a lot.

Crossing Rivers
Crossing rivers is when you look down
and don’t see water, you see a whole life ahead of you.
Crossing rivers is having fun with your best friend in the pool.
Crossing rivers, like when someone is trying to teach you somethingand you, being the smart one, listen.
Crossing rivers is being a good writer, andtrying to work together as one.
Crossing rivers, being the best person you can be.
Sequinta Millet

52

Sleep with Your Eyes Open
Sleeping with my eyes open
am I scaredto sleep?
Sleeping with my eyes openas I dream to go
deeply asleep.
Sleeping with my eyes open
so nothing bad will
happen to me.
Sleeping with my eyes open
shhh . . . let me be.
I’m trying to close my eyes.
Nicole Diggs

l-r: Nichell Kee, Marché Shields, Renita Williams, Steven Brown,
Bruce Brown

My Traveling VoiceMy voice is strong
My voice travels
My voice brings sun to a dull day
It brings joy to my class
It also motivates and brings courage to people
My voice can be fearful at times
Also nice and calm
My voice is not ordinary
Anthony Cotton

The Complicated Facts of LifeMy two sides of life are camouﬂaged.
My soul is complicated,while I’m trying to reach my goals.
When I am painting a creation – a sense of my own imagination –when I do this painting, I see the power in my eyes.
Other times I visualize and see myself again.
Sometimes I feel like I have a double,
or maybe a double shadow,or someone is following me,
and I feel like night madness.
Monae Smith

53

My Sisters
My sisters, let’s come together
and stand for our families.
My sisters, let’s bring peace
to our world.
My sisters, let’s not crowd
one another, let’s care for one another.
My sisters, if you’re scared,
don’t be. Be strong.
My sisters, let’s help each other,and stand for world peace.
My sisters, my sisters, my better sisters,
we stand because we are free.
Antoinette Better

Sunflower Seeds
OPEN ME UP. Ranch, Cheese, BBQ, HoneyI can be any kind you want me to be.
Just OPEN ME UP.
OPEN ME, OPEN ME, OPEN ME
JUST OPEN ME ALREADY.
What’s wrong with you, you know you want to.
All you have to do is OPEN ME UP AND TAKE ONE OUT
AND THAT’S ALL OR MAYBE EAT THE WHOLE BAG.
It’s like Snap, Crackle, Pop, but instead
it’s Crack, Crunch and Chew.
Read the back of the bag,
EAT, SPIT AND BE HAPPY.
Marché Shields

54

The Home of D.C.
A windy Monday
and the leaves blow off
the trees so quickly
with no sound,
you see people
ﬁghting and hunting
you look without
a sound, you rush
to get in the house
before the sun goes down,
you see drugs on the groundyou don’t make a sound,
you see people screamingfrom somebody dying anda lot of white, blue and red lights,
you put your hands over your ears
so you won’t hear a sound.
Sade Taylor

Big Sister
I always copy off my sister.
I want to be like her, even though
we are a year apart.
I love her pretty light brown skin.
What amazes me is how she canhurt someone and not care about what she did.

Renita Williams

I used to like wearing the same clothes as her,talking like her, and really being like her.
But, now we are all grown up,
and my sister has already forgotten about the past.
Becoming a teen has broken us apart,my big sister doesn’t know how she tore up my heart.
Shaina JonesAll Hail Marche
I was born on the tip of a leafof a royal palm tree.
I walked to the top of Mount Everestand yelled “All Hail Marché!”and of course, everyone heard me.
I made the largest harp out of the strands of my hair.
When I smile, the sun shines even brighter.
I’m so magniﬁcent, every star is named after who else, me.
I am so rich and powerful, I made the Great Wall of China,
and like I said before,
All Hail Marché.
Marché Shields

Split by two worlds
One whose world is ﬁlled withsunlight, moonlight – natural stuff,
while one dreams of a city with industrial
city lights, streaking cars as they whiz by.
Another dreams of ﬁsh swimming bylike stars in the sky, as they carry out their adult lives.
Some day, both of these worlds will collide as one.
As the cars whiz by on the highway,
the bear will ﬁnd his dinner split by two worlds.
Luqman Abdullah

55

Polluted Streets
A winter Monday, the city pouring with naked trees
and polluted rivers.
The night is dark, noisy and cold.
While sleeping the news comes and every night
someone’s dead or injured.
Children turn into thugs, selling drugs.
I’ve seen life.
Bullets ﬂoating, boys getting jumped, girls getting raped,
corner stores getting trashed, ﬁlled with open bags of chips,
candy wrappers and other things I can’t explain.
I can’t change the city,
I don’t think anyone can.
Marché Shields

Freedom

If Fast Were a Color
If fast were a color,it would not be as opinionated as blue.
It wouldn’t be as careful like yellow.
Black is too sophisticated for its ruggedness.
Green and orange are too jolly, andpink is too soft.
If fast were a color,it would be red, as ﬂawless,as rugged as fast is.
Luqman Abdullah

Fluorescent ﬂowers ﬂood the valley ﬂoors
falling freely like the moonlight,
or a bungie jump off the Empire State Building.
I can feel the rain like a nice hot shower,
and that is freedom.
Freedom smells like a fresh piña colada in Jamaica.
Freedom feels like a quiet rain forest nap.
Freedom looks like a new car design,or the start of a new beginning.
It sounds like the ocean waves rocking back and forth.
Luqman Abdullah

56Perfect
I am so perfect
I bring the sun to an end
and create a new one.
I am so amazing a cloud could
become my own planet.
I am so handsome my mirror shines
like ﬁfteen million stars ready to burst.
I’m so great I have the powersof the four elements – Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.
I am as fragile as glass, but as toughas a lion and an elephant.
To other people,
I am the mighty Sphinx.
My sharpness is so good,when I look at a forest,
it cuts down into logs instantly.
My dreams are like nectar to my family,
when I dream, my family drinks.
In the blink of an eye, I dazzle everyone.
I am so perfect, I am like a jewel.

l-r: Steven Brown, Aaron Brooks, Renita Williams,
Nichell Kee, J.C. Morrow

Steven Brown

Forgotten Ones
I came from young to oldthen from poor to richalso from good to evil
lastly, from a young woman who’s ugly
to an old woman who’s pretty.
I am these things because of the people
who made me this way.
I am happy about the money, but not about everything else.
People threaten me like trash and in an instinctive way.
I should be equal.
I don’t know why people treat me this way,and I don’t like it.
I want to be treated like an equal individual.
I hate being treated like scum or gum
on the bottom of someone’s shoe.
Steven Brown

57

Another Monday
I sat at my altered desk,
thinking about a rainy memory.
Then I heard a sudden joy.
I saw a purple piano and a personwith velvet pants.
They had invisible candy.
Then I saw a dormant mouse.
I was sitting in the damp darkness
wearing an unlit cap.
I felt white and weathered.
Then I stepped out and was standing
at a drowsy station.
It was moonlit midnight.
Ashley Stevenson

Palm TreeI like to touch palm fronds.
I jump like a basketball player to reach them,sometimes knocking a coconut
to the ground, ﬂying like wonder woman
as it hits the ground with a hard slap.
I climb the trunk full of diamonds
all the way to the top,
just to reach and touch the ground.
The coconuts have hairy and hard shells.
Ashley Stevenson

58

Meanings
I know the meaning of hate.
I have experienced madness when
I get into trouble.
I don’t understand the meaning of makeup.
Sometimes I think I won’t wake up,
but I thank God.
I understand the meaning of respect.
For years, I have known that my generationis crazy and funny.
I know the meaning of rejoicing.
but I don’t hope.
Cherish Gainesl-r: Terrence Patterson, Steven Brown, James Tindle

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