Summer 2006

n
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Simon SSaayyss

Simon Says
$5

Briana Luckett

Front cover- l-r: Desja Gant, Danielle Thomas, Whitney Henry, Rickia Wrice, Javian Bryant, Maria Watkins, Derreon
Jones, Shawntay Kent, Devon Hudson, Jacqueline Crawford, Charnice Dunham, Jay Jordan, Cameron Hilliard

WELCOME to the second 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 to them. Our
sincerest thanks go out to the Herb Block Foundation, Morris andGwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Children’s Fund of Metropolitan
Washington, Commonweal Foundation, Community Foundation of
the National Capital Region, Fannie Mae Foundation, John Edward
Fowler Foundation, Philip Graham Fund, Harman Family Foundation,
Hitachi Foundation, International Monetary Fund, Junior Leagueof Washington, Moran Family Fund, Meyer Foundation, Rotary
Club of Washington, Wachovia Foundation, Wendling Foundation,
Weissberg Foundation, the World Bank, an anonymous donor, thefriends and family of Anna Su, Michael Joy and TSCJoy/Monterey,
LLC, Sarah Booth and Bloomberg L.P., Wells Fargo Home Mortgage,
Karibu Books, GO! Creative, 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

Summer 2006iii

Karel, Gay and Charlie Lord, Paul Mandelbaum, Judene Slaughter,
Raina Rose Tagle, friends of 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, Sandra
Hardman, Bernie Horn, Kathleen Huston, Michael Joy, Joan Kennan,
Bill Newlin, Nancy Schwalb, Kirsten Tollefson, and Jamila Wade.
We would also like to thank the principal, Dr. Adelaide Flamer, and ﬁfth
grade teachers Ms. Jenna Mullen, Mr. Michael Smith, and Ms. Sheba
Tartt-Walker, who are our partners in this endeavor.

l-r: Desja Gant, Armani McKinzie, Shatonia Hardy, Maria Watkins

iv

Summer 2006

contents
Javian Bryant • My life as a child ..........................................................7
Ashley Boston • My Life......................................................................... 17
Jacqueline Crawford • I Am Angry Now! ............................................ 13
Breyonna Douglas • Friday .................................................................... 18
Charnice Dunham
Let it Burn ............................................................................................ 10
Summer, Saturday, Evening...............................................................16
The Prisoners .......................................................................................21
Desja Gant
The Prisoners ........................................................................................ 5
Anything .................................................................................................8
Shatonia Hardy
Boring ..................................................................................................... 9
Summer .................................................................................................17
Whitney Henry
Into the New Year ..................................................................................1
Time Is Ticking .....................................................................................14
Cameron Hilliard
If I Were .................................................................................................. 4
Life ...........................................................................................................8
Devon Hudson
My Vision................................................................................................ 3
Lost .........................................................................................................19
Derreon Jones
Cities ....................................................................................................... 7
Favorite Times ......................................................................................19
No Time for Tomorrow ...................................................................... 23
Jay Jordan
My Name .................................................................................................1
My Life As A Child ...............................................................................15

Summer 2006v

contents
Jay Jordan (continued)
Clearwater, Florida...............................................................................16
Traveling Through The Dark ............................................................ 22
Shawntay Kent • Walk Forever ............................................................. 12
Briana Luckett • Life as a child ............................................................. 9
Armani McKinzie
My Life Is Crumbling ..........................................................................12
Looking Into a Face .............................................................................18
Joe Payne • Four Cornered Room ......................................................... 13
Danielle Thomas
If ............................................................................................................... 3
Memories ...............................................................................................11
Time Is Wasting ...................................................................................15
The People Next Door ........................................................................ 22
Maria Watkins
Flying into a New Year......................................................................... 4
Magic ...................................................................................................... 6
Winter ....................................................................................................14
Unlocked ................................................................................................21
Anton WhiteThe rough faced girl ..........................................................................20
Kids Next Door .................................................................................... 23
Danielle Williams
The Pretty Flowers ............................................................................... 6
Summer ..................................................................................................11
Rickia Wrice
No Time for Tomorrow ........................................................................ 5
Shadows .................................................................................................8
Confused ..............................................................................................20vi

Summer 2006

My Name
My name is midnight, because I hang in the shadows.
Yesterday my name was laughter, and I was a clown.
Tomorrow my name will be silence, because I will not make a sound.
My friends call me phantom—they think I’m a ghost.
My parents call me nightmare when I get on their nerves.
But my real name is magic, and I have a thousand emotions.
Jay Jordan

Into the New Year
Spinning the new year:
skipping the world,
dancing for all the boys and girls,
skating the ice,starving the night,
sliding the moon,bouncing at noon,
popping the popcorn,
dragging the horn,
smiling my smile,
winning everything!
Tiptoeing through the house,
racing a mouse,
stomping my ﬂoor,
ﬂying through the door,
slithering under it all,falling the fall,
struggling the most,burning the toast,
gliding the glide,ﬁghting for my pride!
Whitney Henry

Summer 20061

l-r: Devon Hudson, Derreon Jones, Cameron Hilliard, Jay Jordan, Javian Bryant

If
If I were a color, I would be the pink of a ﬂower.
If I were a sound, I would be the sound of a cat purring in its good-night sleep.
If I were a season, I would be winter, so the children could play in the snow.
If I were a shape, I would be the square shape of building blocks.
If I were a holiday, I would be Christmas, and get presents all day.
If I were a verb, I would be singing, and everyone would hear my voice.
If I were a bug, I would be a ladybug, so I could soar, andif I were an adult, I would do anything I want to.
Danielle Thomas

My Vision
On a hill of gold, my eyes began to get drowsy
The shadow rose while I fell asleep
My soul had to be calm
I saw bronze melt
All of those memories
My friends betray me now
I have emeralds and rubies
My vision is gone
It’s crumbling
My fortune, I thought it was everlasting
but it was unbelievable
I cried, I heard my heartbeat
I couldn’t believe it was poison
Devon Hudson

Summer 2006

3

If I Were...
If I were a color, I would be
blue, like the ocean.
If I were a sound, I would be
Ashley Boston
a lion’s growl.
If I were a season, I would besummer, when kids get out of school.
If I were a shape, I would be a pointed sword.
If I were a holiday, I would be Christmas
and spend time with my family.
If I were a verb, I would be running really fast.
If I could be anything,
I would be invincible, and live forever.
Cameron Hilliard

Flying into a New YearI’m ﬂying into a new year;
I go with the wind
and the birds.
I ﬁnally see the new year—
It’s smiling right at me.
I can’t wait to see
all the changes,
but I am goingto stay the same.
Maria Watkins

4

Summer 2006

The Prisoners
I hear an echo
while my heart skips a beat.
You may listen to thedawn people weeping,while you’re walking
down the disguised hallway.
You may hear drowning voices
in a room so lonely andﬁlled with darkness.
But when they get out,
God will shine down on them.
Desja Gant

No Time for Tomorrow
No time for tomorrow,‘cause I’m feeling a little sorrow;
My head is hurting, my fruit is stolen,
and my cat is playing volleyball.
My laughter is unseen,a stranger stole my mirror,
and it rained on my glory.
My shining star has darkened,
my heart is being plunged,
and my afternoon happiness is forgotten.
That’s why I haveno time for tomorrow.
Rickia Wrice

Summer 2006

5

MagicI rise at the moment of glistening rain.
I see a misty fog surrounding me.
I see an illusion of sunlight rising.
I see the earth surrounding me,
sending me a message,
telling me I’m going very smoothly.
I hear the glistening rain howling.
I hear the misty fog all alone.
I hear the illusion of travelingin heavenly silence.
I feel unspoken solitude,
ﬂuttering in the silver mirror.
I feel an illusion ofsplashing wonder,of magic.
Maria Watkins

The Pretty Flowers
Flowers are full of wonder.
They light up like magic,
are pretty like blossoms.
and they sing me to sleep
when I hear their voices.
They glisten like glory,
shine like a shining star,ﬁll me with laughter.
They are precious,
like a golden stone.
Danielle Williams

6

Summer 2006

Cameron Hilliard

My life as a childMy life as a childis on a hill of gold.
My mom is richand my dad is rich,like in rap songs.
My life as a childis when I am asleep:
my soul is still
lit like a candle.
Javian Bryant

CitiesMy life as a child is hard as a betrayal.
All winter we’ll wander
in a red wagon
that is ﬂames.
Black against the fog
and snow and shadow
on a hill of gold, shining on a palace,
I am a temporary citizen that lives on dawn.
I am angry now.
You ate cotton candy.
This is what cities are like in the afternoon.
Derreon Jones

Summer 2006

7

Anything
If I were a color, I’d be pink like a pig.
If I were a sound, I’d be music on the radio.
If I were a season, I’d be winter because I can play in the snow.
If I were a shape, I’d be a heart necklace.
If I were a verb, I would be running so I can beat anyone in a race.
If I could be anything at all, I would be myself.
Desja Gant

Shadows
The room full of shadows is asleep
You don’t want to awake it or your heart will beat
The everlasting shadow sings forever
You would think that the room is very clever
The shadows’ pictures hurt me so
It goes down deep in me, really low
The ocean wouldn’t even wash the pain away
It stays with me like a sudden memory
Rickia WriceLife
My life as a child is about emeralds.
My life as a child is about rubies.
My life as a child is about being a kingand living in a palace of games.
My life as a child is about
unbelievable miracles happening.
My life as a child is about
everlasting strength and forgiveness.
My life as a child is aboutstaying out in the moonlight, playing all night.
Cameron Hilliard

8

Summer 2006

Shawntay Kent

Boring
My life as a childis dull and gruesome
My life as a childis revolting and horrible
My life as a childis miserable and boring
My life as a childis negative, never positive
My life as a childis over
GoodbyeShatonia Hardy

Life as a childMy life as a child is like being in a palacewith glittering walls of diamonds.
My life as a child is like rubies
staring into my eyes.
It makes me forget forever.
My life as a child is like an ocean
ﬁlled with cotton.
Someplace rattling cans are calling me.
My bones are shaking.
My life as a child is a nightmare because
my brother and my sisterare like Hurricane Katrina
ruining my land.
Somewhere there has to be light,
or somewhere there is moonlight.
I wake up
It was just a dreamThat’s my life as a child.
Briana Luckett

Summer 2006

9

Let it Burn
My life as a child is ﬂames.
My heart always bursts into ﬂames.
My softness is too soft.
My heartbeat goes baa-boom, baa-boom.
It’s like people poison me to feel bad.
It’s like a hurricane:everything is ﬂying and tossing together.
Soul music is what keeps me holding on.
I wonder if it will ever change.
My life is like a sad songplaying over and over again.
I need an inspiration to help me.
I am beautiful as a rose,
but the dark shadow keeps coming to keep me blue.
I’ve cried trying to get over it.
My life is wild.
My eyes redden up
when I fear I’m about to fall.
Derreon JonesMy life is unbelievable,
But I’ve got to let it burn.
Charnice Dunham

10

Summer 2006

Summer
I always like summer best
because I can go to the pool and free myself
I can eat a sweet watermelon
I can swim in the ocean
I can be noisy all I want
I can laugh with my friends
and be wild playing outside
I can imagine that I sparkle in the stars
and I am sunlightshining in the summer clouds
I like summer best
Danielle Williams

Memories
In the bright branches of the willow tree
I can see the clouds making memories of me
When my eyes closed, I fell right to sleep
And when I woke up, I saw a baby in the street
I thought I saw a charm from a distance away
But it was just a little rose waiting for me
In the bright branches of the willow tree
I see a cloud making memories of me.
Danielle Thomas

Summer 2006

11

Walk ForeverBlack against the fog and snow
everlasting darkness there
nowhere to go
Somewhere in the distanceit must be sunshine
My mind is crumbling away
no one to talk to, just silence
Something follows me in the shadowsI have no memory of my friends or family
All of my inspiration andhope of getting out is gone
Trying to stay calm is like taking poison
Shawntay Kent

My Life Is Crumbling
My life is like a jet ﬂying overhead
My life is like cotton,
because the good softness heals the pain
When my bones crack
they ﬂy away like a gust of wind
When my eyes go to pain
I forget my visions
My life is wild, like a roaring jungle
with a staircase of nothingness.
Armani McKinzie

Ashley Boston, Danielle Thomas

12

Summer 2006

I Am Angry Now!
I am angry now
as my bones are thrown in the ﬂame.
You think you know how hard it is
to be the oldest.
If you have siblings,
you’re in a world of trouble.
You know, when you are always
blamed for something
your siblings did
and when you tell the things they did,no one believes you.
Say if you go to the pool and your sister
does not know how to swim and you forget.
They try to follow us and jump in the pooland they walk and drop and their eyes turn red.
When we get home, they
say they are hungry and they make
Oodles of Noodles and burn themselves.
You are really angry now, and wild
you tell them to go to sleep
and when they get older
they have memories
I am angry now, and I will always be.
Jacqueline Crawford

Four Cornered Room
In my four cornered room
There are voices in the ﬁrst cornerIn the second corner there are people screaming
In the third corner there is the color red
In the fourth corner is fear
Joe Payne

Summer 2006

13

Winter
Black against the fog and snow
dark clouds are drifting from the distanceThe drowsy clouds clash
The ocean blows the hurricanes away
The snow betrays us with coldness
It feasts on our bones,
freezing them
And then the freezing windblows across my eye unbelievably fast
Maria Watkins

Time Is Ticking
Morning is my favorite
It sparkles so bright
When I look out the window
I can see my shadow in the light
I hate dark time
It just ain’t rightIt’s too noisy
and way too many ﬁghts
Memory erases, it has been 24 hours
I even forgot to turn on the showers
I start to remember, my mind is so sharp
When I turned around I broke the lockNow I’m stuck in the bathroom
and don’t know what to do
I’m clueless, mindless as a stringless shoe
there goes my morning
straight down the tube
Whitney Henry

14

Summer 2006

Desja Gant

My Life As A ChildMy life as a child is in the shadow
Stones hurt my bones
Poison in my heart
Silence in my vision
Clouds of darkness in my heartbeat
Feeling drowsy from my song
A candle of ﬂames burning with sorrow
Jay Jordan

Time Is WastingMorning time is my favorite
It’s just very bright
The sun can’t stay out of my sightSummer is very hot
The sidewalk sometimes burns
Now it’s time to go to schooland you just don’t want to learn
Friday is the best
It’s time to get out of school
At 8:00 it will be time to watch the late night news
It is a bunch of darkness
Not very noisy
When I go to bed, my pillow is so soft
And I refuse to let it go
Danielle Thomas

Summer 200615

Clearwater, Florida
In a world of four different seasonssummer is my favorite
I love spending my summer
in Clearwater, down in Florida
going down to the beachseeing a sparkle in the oceanwith family and friends
seeing the sweet hot and soft sandjust comes back to me as a song
Jay Jordan

Summer, Saturday, Evening
Summer, Saturday, evening
I like to watch the sun go down
I can eat my mother’s Saturday meal
I can listen to the birds chirpingI smell fried chicken and cornbread
I see my mother cooking up a storm
I can go outside and play with my most loyal friends
I can play spades with my brothers and my godsister and Jamella.
Finally, I can go to the movies and spend timewith my family and friends.
Now it’s nighttime, I get in a hot shower
When I get out, it feels like a steam room
Then I eat again and watch TV
and I am the only one awake
Alone in a dark house
Quietly going to a deep, deep sleep
Charnice Dunhaml-r: Jacqueline Crawford,
Charnice Dunham

16

Summer 2006

My Life
My life as a child is on a hill of goldfull of rubies and silencewith ﬂames and emeralds.
My life as a child is a heartbeatwith charm and velvet
in a room full of shadows.
This is my life as a child.
Ashley Boston

SummerI always like summer best
You can play double dutch
and hear the rope go tic-toc, tic-toc, tic-toc
I like to eat the sweet candy
my big bother brings me when he visits
And creeping through the houseto the porch to watch the moon glisten
and the stars at night twinkle
Waking up at 12:00 in the afternoon
cutting on music and starting to dance and singand putting on my sunglasses when I go outside
I love going to the beachputting my feet in the ocean
and feeling the breeze
and the thing I love the mostis settling down, soaking in the memory
Shatonia Hardy

Summer 2006

17

Friday
Friday is the best for me
I can’t wait for some homemade ice cream
and when summer comes
I’ll be at the pool
The water will be so cold and nice
When fall comes,
I’ll be playing in leaves
like a little kid who’s lonely and sweet
and when the moon goes down
I’ll be sparkly like the ocean
and noisy like music
and laughing in the alley
It’s all about Friday
Breyonna Douglas

Looking Into a Face
Looking into the face
I hear voices
Looking into the face
the darkness comes out
Looking into the face
I have nightmares
Looking into the face
I worship the phantom
Looking into the face
I hear the wolves howl
Armani McKinzie

18

Summer 2006

l-r: Whitney He

nry, Danielle Thomas

Favorite Times
My favorite time of the week is Saturday
because it’s quiet
I always like summer best
because it is hot
and I can play and eat sweet ice cream
My favorite time of day is the evening
because I can see my mom and my great grandmotherand I can hear the baby cry and the dinner cooking
I can taste beef soup
Derreon Jones

Lost
If I were a color
it would be red, of the killing blood
If I were a soundI would be a whistle
If I were a season
I would be summer, because I’m so hot
I am the pointy shape of a sword slaying a dragon
I am the Fourth of July, because I spark
If I were anything, I’d be stretchy
because people say I’m so tall
I’d stretch up to the sun
Devon Hudson

Summer 2006

19

The rough faced girlThe rough faced girlwhat a girlI wonder what goes
through her mind
Her sisters are hard-hearted
and mean to her
Her face is roughbut her courage is toughAnton White

Confused
If I were a color, I would be redof a red, beautiful heart
If I were a sound, I would be the soundof an empty beach
If I were a season, I would be spring
because I love to buy new clothes
If I were a shape, I would be the shapeof a beating heart
If I were a holiday, I would be Valentine’s Day
because I love the feeling of love
If I were a verb, I would be skip
because skipping is like joy to me
Rickia Wrice

Breyonna Douglas

20

Summer 2006

Unlocked
In my four cornered room
There is a heart pumping in the ﬁrst cornerIn the second corner there is my great motherIn the third corner there is puppy love
In the fourth corner is sky red
I locked myself in there by accident
I unlocked the door with my happy key
Maria Watkins

The Prisoners
On a private ship, held as a prisoner
I’m in darkness
I want to weep
It’s so empty, I can hear my echo saying this poem
I’m lonely in the darkness
There’s a phantom ﬂowing around
I’m so scared I can hear my heartbeat
This is a nightmare
Somebody get me out of here
I’m turning into a stone
I hear voices with a little howl
Words are unspoken, my voice is croaking
I’m going to be extinct
I can’t even think
I’m begging for mercy
I’m going to be damaged
My life is ruined
I listen to my voice
I am history, I hope to ﬁnd out the mystery.
Charnice Dunham

Summer 200621

Traveling Through The Dark
I was walking around in the forest at midnight.
There was only the moonlight.
The forest had me scared,
with the creepy sounds I feared.
I thought I saw a phantom hiding in the bushes.
I saw a shining silver pearl.
I heard howls all around.
I awoke in the middle of the night.
I was sitting in my room
my eyes afraid of darkness.
Jay Jordan

The People Next Door
The people next door are delicate.
Every time you spot them, they scatter.
Sometimes they might glisten,
and when you are talking, they always listen.
They grow blossoms in their back yard.
I ask them, “Can I have a moment?”
but those people beg like they are homeless.
They like to damage everything,
and when they do it, they sing.
They are ﬁlled with so much sorrow,
I think they will put me in their spell tomorrow.
Danielle Thomas

22

Summer 2006

Jay Jordan

Kids Next Door
When I was asleep, I heard an illusion from the kids next door.
I went out in the distance and knocked on their door.
They said if you don’t look in the mirror, you will die.
One moment please, so they snatched me into the houseand voices just started to come into the community
started to smash everything in the middle of the midnight.
They used their magic to destroy the monster
but they were too big and strong
and he couldn’t answer the unanswered the question.
A stranger came up and answered the question
and killed them.
Anton WhiteNo Time for Tomorrow
Last night I had a golden gun that got lost in the dark valley.
It looked just like a nightmare
I need that gun to kill my nightmare.
One midnight I shot my head when I was asleep.
I heard the echo all night long. I died.
I found my golden gun.
Now the nightmare is a night scare.
I have no time for tomorrow.
Derreon Jones

Summer 200623

l-r: Derreon Jones, Cameron Hilliard

24

Summer 2006

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JacquelineYour contributions help make Simon Says possible!
The D.C. Creative Writing Workshop is a non-proﬁt organization
dedicated to providing quality creative writing instruction to
students in economically underserved areas of Washington D.C.
One hundred percent of every donation goes directly toward ourcreative writing programs at Charles Hart Middle School, Simon
Elementary, and Ballou High School, allowing our students to workwith professional writers-in-residence in the classroom, the Drama
Club, the Writing Club, and the Literary Magazine Club.
Show your support for Simon Says by mailing your taxdeductible contribution to:
The D.C. Creative Writing Workshop
601 Mississippi Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20032
If you have books or equipment to donate, call us at: (202)297-1957
Or check us out on the web at www.dccww.org

This magazine was made possible by funding from:
Anonymous
Banyan Tree Foundation
Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington
Commonweal Foundation
Fannie Mae Foundation
Hitachi Foundation
John Edward Fowler Foundation
Junior League of Washington
Meyer Foundation
Moran Family Fund
Philip Graham FundThe International Monetary Fund
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
The World Bank
Wachovia Foundation
Weissberg Foundation