Summer 2008

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Simon SSaayyss

Simon Says$5

L-r: Derick Gray, Corey Davis

Front cover, l-r: Tianna Cotton, Kiara Thomas, Myisha Jackson, Janisha CrumpWelcome to the fourth edition of Simon Says, the Abram
Simon Elementary School literary magazine, written and edited by
the students of Simon Elementary. Simon Says is published througha collaborative effort between the school and the D.C. Creative
Writing Workshop, an independent non-profit working to createa literary renaissance in Southeast Washington. In September
2004, after four years of providing award-winning programming
at Charles Hart Middle School, the D.C. Creative Writing Workshop
expanded to offer similar programs to students at Simon and at
nearby Ballou High School. This year, fifth graders at Simon havedevoted themselves to learning the joy of self expression and thepower of the written word. Simon Says is the result of nearly a yearof workshops with professional writers, giving our young writers
the opportunity to exercise their creative energies, speak theirminds, and be heard by an audience throughout the city.
We have many friends who have helped to make Simon
Says possible, and we would like to express our gratitude tothem. Our sincerest thanks go out to the Morris and Gwendolyn
Cafritz Foundation, Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington,
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, D.C.
Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation Project My Time,John Edward Fowler Foundation, Rita Susswein Gottesman Fundof the Alexandria Community Trust, Harman Family Foundation,
International Monetary Fund, Lucas-Spindletop Foundation, Mattel
Children’s Foundation, Marpat Foundation, Moran Family Fund,
Meyer Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Luther Replogle
Foundation, Spring Creek Foundation, Hattie M. Strong Foundation,
The Tom Lane Fund, Wachovia Foundation, the Washington
Redskins, Wendling Foundation, Weissberg Foundation, The World
Bank, Anonymous, Michael Joy and TSCJoy/Monterey, LLC, Sarah
Booth and Bloomberg L.P., Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Karibu
Books, GO! Creative, LLC, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,the Arena Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth
Theater, McGuire Williams Associates, Joyce Page and Ms. Printing,Tollefson & Gustini Investment Management, our friends atPopeye’s on Malcolm X Avenue, George and Lenore Cohen, Janet andSummer 2008i

James Horgen, LeRoy Eakin III, Fritz Edler, Tom and Carolyn Grey,
Lawrence Hoffman, Mark Hollinger and Kathy McNeil Hollinger,
Frances Horn, Betsy Karel, Gay and Charlie Lord, Kathy Melrod,
Judine Slaughter, Richard Thompson, 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: Ajeenah Amir, MaryAnn Brownlow, Bernie Horn, Kathleen Huston, Michael Joy, Joan
Kennan, Aileen Morse, Bill Newlin, Dr. Pat Papero, Larry Robertson,
Raina Rose Tagle, Nancy Schwalb, and Rosetta Thurman.
We would also like to thank the principal, Dr. Adelaide Flamer
and fifth grade teacher Ms. Sheba Tartt-Walker, who are ourpartners in this endeavor.

Kiara Thomasii

Summer 2008

contents
Stelita Better
My Life......................................................................................................1
My Feeling................................................................................................1
I Love........................................................................................................ 4
My Favorite Thing to Do......................................................................8
The Darkness.........................................................................................12
Love.........................................................................................................14
My Color.................................................................................................19
Class........................................................................................................19
My Eyes...................................................................................................19
It Will Always Be..................................................................................20
My Family..............................................................................................20
Something that is white, a cloud..................................................... 24
Billy Chandler
Dreams..................................................................................................... 5
Tianna Cotton
Poem #1..................................................................................................26
Janisha Crump
The Unknown Dream............................................................................. 9
Winter in my Brain...............................................................................13
The Other Side of Me..........................................................................15
Diamonte Dimery
All I Want................................................................................................. 6
The Game room.....................................................................................21
Jaquan Dunn
Poem #1.................................................................................................. 22
Samone Grant
Get Comcast......................................................................................... 10
The Day Light.......................................................................................26

Summer 2008iii

contents
Derick GrayMy Room................................................................................................21
Myisha JacksonDreaming in the Sky............................................................................. 7
Khalil Jones
World of D.C............................................................................................ 3
Summer in Georgia..............................................................................13
Angry......................................................................................................14
A Cricket.................................................................................................17
Green.......................................................................................................18
Stephon Mingo
Poem #1.................................................................................................. 23
Anthony Simms
Dreams................................................................................................... 25
Keyara Snead
Baltimore................................................................................................. 3
Shoe.......................................................................................................... 5
My Seat....................................................................................................11
Florida.....................................................................................................12
Keyara.....................................................................................................16
Life is Sweet..........................................................................................16
The World Will Stay the Same...........................................................16
Marcus Jamal Watson
My messy bedroom............................................................................. 22
Takeya Whitlow
All Pink and Blue................................................................................... 7
Jasmin Williams
I Dream..................................................................................................... 9
Rain Dance............................................................................................ 23
Fabulous Me.......................................................................................... 25

iv

Summer 2008

SimonSays
Summer 2008

Jasier AlexanderMy Life
My life is the darkness in my house,a royal big tower, thickness like glass.
My life whispers for wisdom and silver-gold,a shadow on the wall, a fountain that has blood coming out of it.
My life is sandpaper that I write on.
My life is not good because my mother and my father
are not together no more.
My life is like popcorn popping in the air,teardrops coming out of people’s eyes.
People’s eyes are bloody because they are sad,but my life is peaceful, dotted with animals.
Stelita Better

My Feeling
My feeling is like celebrating my heart.
My inspiration is my mother and father.
They are crashing in these homely ways.
I laugh at mothers who are marching for better life.
I believe in God because he is my father,and he will always be my father no matter what happens.
I wince at my sister because she is afraid and mad.
I am not afraid of anything,because God told me to not be afraid of anything.
I behold my heart, because it is alive and cracking at the same time.
I know I am smart and a butterfly, and I am free.
Stelita Better

Summer 20081

L-r: Samone Grant, Jasmin Williams, Stelita Better

World of D.C.
Since I was born in D.C., I’ve seen glass on the ground,
Glass broken on somebody’s head;
Some people do not live in D.C.
because they think about violence,
But it might be true.
I’ve seen a man, and somebody exiled himfrom the world of D.C.
And you might know that person.
Khalil Jones

Baltimore
Violence, dramasome house I saw was scarier.
We have fragments of glass all over the ground.
Oh, my cousin is left-handed
and he used it in his fight.
He punched and kicked and he won.
I got exiled out of Baltimore.
Why?
Keyara Snead

Summer 20083

I Love
I love my mouth.
I scream for somebody to help me.
I say my prayers at night
so I can be blessed by angels.
I love my heart
because it is money.
I love my hands
they are crayons
I love when I cry,I will go crazy and my tears are colorful.
I love my backbecause I have feathers.
I love my nameit is a lion in the woods hunting for food.
I love the outside
because it is relaxing and refreshing.
I love beaches
when me and my family are together.
I love my nose
because it helps me smell.
I love my sister and brothereven though we fight, we still love each other.
I love my body
because it is made out of dragons, lions,and one million angels.
Stelita BetterDavid Knight4

Summer 2008

Shoe
Shoe, shoe
if I was a shoe,
if I was walked on, what would I do?
I am yellow, brown, white, and red
the dark closet is my bed.
The other shoes are so lazy,
when I go out, I’m so crazy,
I wash up in the rain,when I walk, I get a stain,
when I trippedover the curb
this happened
when I skipped—
Shoe, shoe
I am a shoe
Now I know what to do.
Keyara Snead

DreamsHe dreams of being a professional baseball player
like Jackie Robinson, hitting
the ball like a rocket flying into spaceand running faster than a rockcoming from a place,thrown by a lefty.
Billy Chandler

Summer 20085All I Want
To go to a mall andshop around like a bee,with my black and whitedress, buying sun
glasses to match.
To go to a picnic withmy family and dance until
it gets dark
and go home and playgames with my two cousins,
it’s going to be sweet.
Have you ever done thesame thing like me?
Kiarra Thomas

Street Racer
To be a street racer,
shifting gears in a muscle car,drifting past turns and curves.
When an open bridge is near
hit the gas and make it across.
Diamonte Dimery

6

Summer 2008

All Pink and BlueTo be a fashion designer wearing all pink
and blue colors.
In a city that looks like a dream
castle with a lot of people.
I want to have models in my designs,
make millions of dollars cause
people love some pink and blue cloth.
I had pink and blue dresses
too short, too long, the shirts are pink
the jeans are blue with pink designs
and shorts and capris and gauchos.
Have you wished you were pink
and blue like me?
Takeya Whitlow

Dreaming in the Sky
To fly in the sky like a pinkeagle. Then to have a video withthe pink eagle.

Jaquan Dunn

I want to see Naomi Campbell
walk down the walkway wearing pink.
And then go to pink university
where they make all pink clothes
for me me me.
I want to be a million pink clothes.
Myisha Jackson

Summer 2008

7

My Favorite Thing to Do
My favorite thing to do isto dream. When I dream,
I dream about myfamily, how they all argue
and that means me too. But
when somebody else dreams
their dream is to follow
somebody else’s dream.
When somebody dreams they
dream about a pencil
getting sharpened and they
are imagining if thetheir parents, but
you know thatthe parents dobelieve them because
it is a pencil and you
know pencils just right.
But when you thinkof it, it is like you

pencil can do what
the people do. So

forget about your life
and what you want
to do in life.

they get some
information aboutthat and they tell

When you thinkof a dream or if
you imagine a
dream than dowhat you want
to do in life.
What is your dream?
Stelita Better

8

Summer 2008

I Dream
I dream about being an only child,
to be daddy’s little girl foreverand be able to go wildeven if under the weather.
To make 6 other siblings disappear.
Angry big sister just because I’m a little
sister too, but I still dream of more
more of me, myself and I, my goals
and my fortune. Do you have any
paper I can borrow?
Jasmin Williams

The Unknown DreamTo fly to space with a four legged monkey
and a nineteen legged spider.
The four legged monkey dies without
oxygen, the nineteen legged spider survives
from blood.
I want to see if the four legged monkey
could come back alive and play
baseball, and hit the smallest planet, Pluto
until the news changed everything.
The news changed everything,
they said it’s not a planet.
Have you ever played baseball on the moon?
Janisha Crump

Summer 20089

Get Comcast
Timmy the turtle has DSL,
which is very slow

Larry slides to the computer
and turns it on

Comcast is a much betterbut he doesn’t think so

Timmy watches while
the day goes along,turtles are slow, people arefast

the computer is slow
because it’s DSL

if only Timmy the turtle will get
ComcastLarry tells Timmy its
going to be forever before
the computer turns on.

Larry the snail,comes to tell Timmy about how
slow he really is
He says to him it’s not good
and they need to straighten out
some business.
Timmy does listen but doesn’t
believe that DSL’s slow
Larry doesn’t give up and says,
no, no, no!

10

Summer 2008

Timmy says too bad, I don’tcare, so be gone.
Larry gives up, he tried
his best.
He leaves and goes totake a rest.
Samone Grant

My Seat
I stick to my seat
I move my feet
I move to the beatI stick to my seat
I stick to the seat
I have cleaned the room
I stick to the seat
With the broom
I love my seat
It is a chair
I stick to my seat
People like to stare
My seat my seat
My seat and me
We sting so hard
We sting like a bee
Keyara Snead

Derick Gray

Summer 200811

Florida
I like Florida, it’s so good.
Should I go back? I should, I should!
It’s so pretty,
it’s like a big city.
The air smells like chicken
Mickey and Minnie sometimes be picking
on people. My hotel room was so nice,the only thing big was the price.
The carpet was cleaneven 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.
Keyara Snead

The Darkness
Darkness made out of needles
Empty rooms that children don’t know about
It is unforgiving walls
Blizzards that scare me.
Loneliness in the darkness
When I blink, there are tornadoes coming toward me
It is untouchable pictures that you cannot see
It is midnight, I can’t see, so you are asleep in the darkness.
Stelita Better

12

Summer 2008

Winter in my Brain
Winter in my brain
doing everything in my mind
Snowing, raining, storming
I can’t concentrate with all this on my mind
All this darkness
It’s an empty room in my mind
Oh my God! I’m seeing things
the darkness is killing me
Winter in my mind
Janisha Crump

Summer in Georgia
Summer in Georgia
sitting in the housesaving myself from the sun
Sitting down in the housemade by my family
it’s made good to the point
where we can survive
But it does not havewhat we need in that state—an air conditioner to save us
from the sunThis is why when I visit
my family
I stay in the house and sleepand come out like a bat and play

Eugene Jones

Khalil Jones

Summer 200813

AngryI am angry now
as my bones are thrown in the flame,Guns going off in my brain.
We think we know how it feels
to be the oldest,If you have brothers or sisters
you’re in for a pain.
They did something and blame it on you
For what? To make you mad.
Khalil Jones

Love
Love is a bright, yellow and crowded heart.
It is an overdrive cop, trying to break you apart.
It is a memory of a song.
It is an animal calling you a lovely white city.
Love is a rainbow that you love.
Love is like money that scares you in the dark.
Love is like a phone ringing in your ear
telling you to get up in the morning.
It is all about love in your bodyto make you proud.
Stelita Better

14

Summer 2008

The Other Side of Me
I may be mean on the outside,
but on the inside, I’m very nice.
In my brain, what am I?
I’m a person of color and a shadow of darkness
I may be goofy
but during work I’m very smart.
Nobody can stop me from doing that.
I may live in a bad hood, but guess what?
My hood is just like yours.
Now I got all this on my mind
It’s making me go crazylike that empty room being
filled up in that little boy’s head
Just like mine.
Oh my, are they bad or good?
Okay, I’m alright—
It’s just my imaginary thinking.
This is not my mouth
it’s a daydreamso all the readers get over it
andI have no other side of me.
Janisha Crump

Stelita Better

Summer 200815

KeyaraHi, my name is Keyara.
My favorite teacher was Ms. Anderson.
She died right in front of the class.
Another thing is, I had a dog
but my mom gave him away
because we were moving to another house.
My heart is frozen shut.
Keyara Snead

Life is Sweet
Today is sunny and I am very happy.
I feel great and today is Monday and Sunday.
I feel extremely radiant, like the sun without burning.
I feel like a daisy without the bee.
In the evening, I feel like fallbecause fall is a very relaxing season.
And when I go to sleep,
I feel like I am lying on the beach in spring.
Life is sweet.
Keyara Snead

The World Will Stay the Same
When it rains or snows
there will be a mess.
But the world will stay the same.
When there is something wrong
the wind will howl.
But the world will stay the same.
When the trees burn down
the world will stay the same.
Keyara Snead

16

Summer 2008

A Cricket
You hear something in your house,so you go see what it is about.
You look on the ground andall aroundAnd still can’t find that noise,
you look on your bathroom
floor and you see a cricket.
Khalil Jones

L-r: Samone Grant, Jasmin Williams, Stelita Better

Summer 200817

GreenAnd you live your life like the green
trees in the sky,brave like a skier going down a slope.
Irish green a bug inthe air, lonely just like a tree.
And brave,		
brave,
		brave as green		cool as green
And I don’t want to be brown likethe dirt off the groundnot even navy blue like a flower on a tree
		
		
		
		

brave,
brave,
brave as green
cool as green

Cause I’m brave means I will
not fall down, but stand tallso don’t disrespect me or the color
green, just be cool.
Khalil Jones

Janisha Crump

18

Summer 2008

My Color
My color burgundy is dark
It is like the moon in the sky
Burgundy is a frosted chocolate ice creamwith a cherry on top
Burgundy is like a dark color from the woods
It is an eggshell buried in the sand
It is a burgundy gun, pointing to you in your face
Burgundy is a color melting over your head.
Stelita BetterClass
A girl in the corner was not happy.
I said, “Are you not happy because you don’t have happiness in your body?”
She said, in the corner dark with shadows, “I just want to be left alone.”
Stelita Better

My Eyes
My eyes are closed.
I see lights that are flashing.
I see candles that are mean and dark.
I see blackberries on the table.
I go outside, I see roses that come out of the ground.
When it comes from out of the ground, it is on fire.
When it rains, the fire goes out and the rose is burnt.
When I open my eyes, it is sunny.
When I open my eyes, I see happiness.
I see butterflies flying through the air.
But I see my family sad when I open my eyes,that is the sad thing.
Stelita Better

Summer 2008

19

It Will Always Be
It will always be learning in school
It will be an iceberg dropping on my head
It will be sun in my face to wake me up in the morning to go toschoolIt will be somebody by my side when I need help
It will be purple laughter all around me
There will always be people helping homeless people out
when they have no food to eat, no home to stay in
Stelita Better

My Family
My family had melted.
There are melted by the heat.
They are frozen in the cold.
They were blue when they were watching TV.
They are guys that are dolls that people play with.
They are dinosaur eggs that will crack in the sun.
When they read a book, they cry every time.
When they go outside, they feel scared like mice.
When they get up in the morning, they always fight.
At midnight, they sleep with a goat on the bed.
They are crazy—when I see them every day.
Stelita Better

L-r: Eugene Jones, Marcus Watson, David Knight20

Summer 2008

The Game room
I have a city make over on the wall.
The black bed is on the right side.
The brown TV is on the left side.
The bed smells bland.
I have a green Nintendo 64.
There is a car collection.
I have covers that smell fresh.
The bed feels soft.
The room is cold in mornings, hot at night.
It is a bumpy bed.
It tastes like chocolate.
Diamonte Dimery

My Room
The fly on the wall in my room
My room is green
With a green floor
And it smells sweet and it sounds peaceful
It is fresh, soft, and pretty
It is the best bedroom in the world
I got a lot of sheets in my closet
and a play station in my room and a flatscreen TV
My bed is green, blue and white.
Derick Gray

Summer 2008

21

My messy bedroom
My room has two beds.
My bed has spider-man covers and my brother has green army covers.
My room has two small TV’s and a carpet.
We also have a lamp.
I have a dresser and two windows. I have two hampers.
My bed has lots of teddy bears and a lot of shirts and pants.
And we have a scary closet filled with clothes and coats.
We have a clock radio.
I have shoes that smell nasty.
The walls are bumpy and hard.
My dresser is hard and brown and made out of woodand some of the drawers are broken.
I have dirty clothes all over the hard floor.
The carpet is bumpy and green.
The floor is wooden and brown.
My door is made out of wood and the lock is broken
and the door knob is jiggley when you open it.
The walls are blue.
We also have a fan, a heater and an air conditioner.
My room is messy.
I have spider-man video games too.
Marcus Jamal Watson

Poem #1
My real name is Jaquan Dunn
Yesterday my name was Tech. O
Today my name is Mysterio
Tomorrow my name will be Jaquan pants Dunnbob
Secretly, I know my name is Invisible man
My name once was PeterMy mom/dad/spouse/friend thinks my name is Patrick
My name means squidward
In my dreams my name is Pressssent
Jaquan Dunn

22

Summer 2008

Poem #1
I wish I get a new house without one mouse
I wish I had a million dollar so I could be in the pop my collar
I wish my neighborhood
I’m so hood
Al the money on men pocket so fat
It don’t make no sense
I want my license
I wish my country
I wish everyone could have a bike
Me and my family could go on a hikeI wish people don’t fall
Why do we have to walk the wall
Stephon Mingo

Rain Dance
Rain is beautiful.
Rain whispers my name.
Rainy days are the best days.
I see a face dancing and singing in the rain.
It sings to me.
Rain is my best friend.
I see rain often.
We dance to the rain song.
When summer comes, rain will move a way
But I will always remember… The Rain Dance

L-r: Tianna Cotton,
Myisha Jackson,
Janisha Crump,
Takeya Whitlow

Jasmin Williams

Summer 200823

Something that is white, a cloud
The cloud is a puffy pillow that is white and feels good.
The cloud is a taste that is a cotton candy.
The cloud is white desert that is beautiful and big.
It is a white treasure made of a dragon’s eye.
It is a white paper that is blank.
The cloud is snow on a white star.
The cloud is a white fog with a little cat foot.
It is a big tornado heading this way with a wildlife wind.
It is white people singing a song while it is swooning rain.
It is something that is white, a cloud.
Stelita Better

L-r: Tianna Cotton, Myisha Jackson, Janisha Crump, Takeya Whitlow

24

Summer 2008

Fabulous Me
My dream is the dream of a lifetime.
Overly excited and full of energy.
Dear to be fabulous is my motto.
Everyone cheers my name as I walk down the runway.
Lovely roses that I get from my fans.
I appreciate this wonderful opportunity.
Never, have I felt this excitement before.
Giving is getting in my world.
Caring and sharing is beauty in my eyes.
A new day in Paris, France for a new show tonight.
Rushing to get dressed and ready to go.
Every night I dream of what to do next.
Excited and nervous, happy and afraid of everything.
Rough as boys and sweet as honey but modeling completes me.
Jasmin Williams

DreamsMy dreams are to be super fast and control fire with my hands.
Wow! That is a call man and my dream is to be rich.
And my last name will be Smith.
So, I know you will get bad and I will be sad.
Do not ask me for money, I knew you were going to ask me, I havetwenty.
Anthony Simms

Summer 2008

25

The Day Light
The sky is a clear blue sky in the day.
At noon the sky turns purple and orange.
At night, the sky is sparkly with stars.
Boom! I hear thunderstorms coming in and the sky turns grey anddark.
When it is over I love to look at the sky and picture myself
wandering on the clouds.
The clouds are fluffy and white.
I tasted it.
It is cotton candy.
To my surprise I found out that I ate all of the cloud that I wasstanding on.
I fell down with a gentle joy.
Samone Grant

Poem #1
I wish…
I wish my family will not be alone.
I wish I will become grown.
My dog wishes she had the sand and bone.
I wish my neighborhood would stop having a war.
I wish my neighbor would stop slamming their door.
I wish my neighborhood would be creative to draw.
I wish my neighborhood would not fight no more.
I wish the country would be free.
I wish the country would agree.
I wish the country could think like me!
I wish the country’s blind people could see.
Tianna Cotton

26

Summer 2008

Janisha CrumpL-r: Jaquan Dunn, Corey Davis,
Anthony Simms, Samone Grant, Jasmin Williams, Stelita Better

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This magazine was made possible by funding from:
Anonymous
Bloomberg L.P.
Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation
John E. Fowler Memorial Foundation
Harman Family Foundation
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Civic Program
Meyer Foundation
Metropolitan Children’s Fund of Greater Washington
Prince Charitable Trust
Luther I. Replogle Foundation
Spring Creek Foundation
Hattie M. Strong Foundation
Weissberg Foundation
Wendling Foundation
The World Bank