I Am a Fish in the Sky

creative writing by middle school studentsof the North East Independent School District

in partnership with the Writers in Communities programof Gemini Ink

literary arts and ideas

Fall 2005“I am a fish in thesky.I don’t know where I am.I am a leaf falling into anunknown ground.”

Cover illustration byMark Anthony Lopez

©2006 Gemini Ink

—”Question”by Samantha Marin6th gradeDriscoll Middle School

I Am a Fish in the Sky

Students’ work has been edited as lightly as possible in order to most closely honor the original voices.

James Michener once said, “I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotion.” This publication represents writing from students involved in the third year of the North East ISD-Gemini Ink Writing Project for Middle School Students. During the fall of 2005, once a week for twelve weeks, Gemini Ink writers worked with selected students in our North East ISD middle schools. During these sessions, students became writers, expressing their imaginings, their wonderings, their whimsies, their reflections on paper. In this publication, we are so fortunate to feature the work of those students whose courage allowed them to share their most personal and unique “swirl and swing of words.”

Virginia GuerreroNEISD English Language Arts Program Coordinator

Thanks to the following for their support of this project:

NEISDAssociate Superintendent for Instruction: Alicia ThomasExecutive Director for Curriculum Compliance: Don DaltonExecutive Director for School Improvement: Carol HarleDirector for School Improvement: Paul GarroCoordinator for English/Language Arts: Virginia GuerreroSecondary Literacy Specialists: Nancy Gregory, Honor Moorman, Amy StengelNEISD Middle School English Department ChairpersonsNEISD Middle School Principals and Academic Deans

GEMINI INKExecutive Director: Rosemary CatacalosManaging Director: Rachel ChristillesOperations Manager: Pat WallDirector, University Without Walls: Nancy S. Borris Director, Writers in Communities: Bett ButlerPR Director: Lynn Gosnell Development Coordinator: Kristi JohnsonInterns: Michelle Mitchell, Rene Villanueva, Pilar Martinez

Gemini Ink Writers-in-Residence

Kristi BeallCyra DumitruDave RutschmanTrinidad Sanchez, Jr.Kirk Walsh

Chapter 1Bradley Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Dave Rutschman

I am a fish in the sky • page 6 I am a fish in the sky • page 7

Chapter 1 • Bradley Middle School

Hey, J.J.Hey J.J, have you ever wondered why clouds look so much like other things?

Hey, J.J., have you ever wondered what zero gravity would be like?

Hey, J.J., are you hungry?

Sometimes I wonder if you ever listen, J.J.!

Hey, J.J., why are you the only one I can really talk to?

Hey, J.J., do you do anything other than lay around?

Hey, J.J., I want to eat, are you hungry?

J.J., hey, J.J., have I asked you that already?

Hey, J.J., am I backtracking?

Hey, J.J., where’d you go?

Lacey Barkhurst7th grade

Grandfather Yes, it was my grandfather,Who helped the fire department People knew of him saying: that man is blessed and loved. He helped,Jumping down off the fire truckTo save people’s livesTime and time again. He helped people if there was a flood.Coming home tiredAnd hungry. He loved to clean,But not to cook. Oh, grandfather,Who helped me through rough times. I’m loving like you and sometimes angry, Grandpa, loving and helpful.

Jazmin Alvizo7th grade

SquirrelsFuzzy tails of fur, goingDown the trunk of the tree.You never notice the cute littleDickens, but they’re there.Cute, fuzzy, little dickens,They are squirrels.Brown, blue, black and gray,They are so cute and fuzzy.

Sami Burgess7th grade



Freedom to write . . .Freedom to write

Not freedom to live

But freedom to dream in print.

Closer to freedom to dream,

But farther from freedom to live,

Because we dream about it.

And we realized what we have, and don’t.

Not really freedom, but freedom with borders.

Amy Blanks7th Grade

A Day in His Shoes He woke up not knowing what to do in that brief second your brain turns on. He gets dressed thinking whether he is wearing the right clothes so as to not be made fun of. Then he goes downstairs, pouring a bowl of cereal, not knowing what is in it, trusting what the box says. Then he gets in his mom’s car and heads to school for the long day ahead. He arrives at school getting ready for his first class. Then it happens. Someone runs up to him and knocks his stuff out of his hands and then slams the locker closed. He doesn’t do anything about it because the boy is bigger than him for fear of getting hurt. Then he goes to class knowing that the same boy will do it again. If you were that boy, how would you feel? Most of the time you’re the boy who picks on the little kids just to make yourself feel better. Don’t stand for it. Get some help no matter the cost, it can’t be that bad.

Kean Short7th gradeA tree, like a thought or idea. Seeded, then spreads its soft green leaves.

The bark is the protective resources, carefully beside it. The spirit is the root itself, the foundation in which the thought existed. From its cage of the mind and out into the world. To where it spreads its wings and soars onto paper. Not as a branch but as a whole. A whole that will forever be, once rooted in the rich, dark, loamy soil of the brain.

Samantha Guz7th grade



MemoriesAs a child in Lytle, TX, I remember my summers were hot and my winters were very cold.Having birthday parties that lasted for hours under the oak trees with my big family.On the other hand, school was interminable and a little on the boring side.Staying up late was exciting.Getting up early to go to school or shopping in San Antonio was a tough task.Playing on the monkey bars and swing sets was enjoyable at the age of seven, now at the age of twelve it isn’t very fun.Having friends had its advantages because some were always there and some were rude.When my mom gave birth to my brother, I had a difficult time accepting him because I always thought I was going to be the only one.

Jazmin Alvizo7th grade

Sounds of the Tree I know the sound of the tree as it brushes against my window. Tap, tap, tap goes the tree. It’s dark outside and it seems like the tree is wanting to come inside my warm, cozy house. I can’t help but wonder if the tree is lonely. The night is nippy, and I’m asking myself if trees get cold. I get out of bed and peek out of the corner of my curtains. The tree is wearing a sad, droopy face like it really is lonely and cold. It starts scraping against the window, and then starts tap, tap, tapping once again.

Julia Case7th Grade



Hope and JoyIn the cool breeze you’ll feel it . . .The hope in your heart, the joy on yourFace, overtaking your space.Leaving no placeFor trouble, or sorrow.

Trashed

Like a river it flows,Like a river it grows.Like a leaf it can be blown away.Like a smile it can be given away.Like paper, it can be shredded.It’s my friendship and you trashed it.

Frowning

It’s nice to see you smiling,You know,Laughing and not crying.It’s nice to hear you knowingYou’ll always be all right.

Annisa Cervantes7th grade

Enjoyment

when you think of Death you would never think of Spring,

but they both bring showers,

either of tears or of rain.

when you think of Spring, you would never think of Death,

but they both bring a new beginning,

either of life or of the year.

Spring and Death are so alike,

just maybe not in your mind.

Faryn Ptasnik7th Grade

Memories Memories. The mind is a wondrous thing. It controls everything you do. It also records everything you do, touch, see, hear, taste, and what you feel inside. These recordings are called memories. Our whole lives are recorded in our brain. People think that the older your memories, the more you can’t recall until you completely forget them. But it’s not true; some memories are deep in your mind just waiting to be uncovered once again.

Kat Dominguez7th grade


Grandpa,

As I leave your empty driveway

I look back to wave good-bye.

You aren’t standing there;

I peer through the window at your empty blue chair.

Where are you? Of that I am not sure.

I walk around your house, into your shed.

It’s quiet as a mouse.

Why are you not there?

You’re not gardening or picking off your fruit.

I can’t find you anywhere.

You’re not building or creating or inventing.

I am feeling so very empty.

I look into the sky.

Now I’m able to say good-bye.

I have found you once again,

This whole time you were in heaven.

Though I’m not able to kiss your face,

I know you’re in a much better place.

Sierra Weber7th Grade


My pen you are magic.

You fly across my paper with a mind of your own.

I cannot stop you or slow you down.

Your ballpoint tip is rolling and rolling,

Creating these symbols that our minds turn into words.

You are connected to my brain with an invisible force

That moves my hand automatically.

Some of the greatest pieces of work started with you,

And a piece of paper.

You help me express my thoughts and feelings

Without being self-conscious,

And who would have thought a simple invention could be so magical?

It seems you have a never-ending flow of ink that can show the world

How I feel.

You spill everything I know or can imagine onto paper,

And for that I thank you.

Ataly Asher7th grade


As she sits by the window,

Alone looking outside,

She writes in her notebook.

Is it the truth?

Is it a lie?

As she writes about her visual descriptions, no one knows why.

She looks outside like

She saw a cloud fall out of place,

But there is no expression on her face.

She comes back to her desk

To revise and edit her writing.

Her story is about two football players fighting.

The bell rings,

It’s time to go.

She screams and says, oh no!

It was her time finishing

Her football player writing.

She said it’s time to go.

I’m glad I got my idea

By looking out the window!

Bebe Jones7th grade

What’s going on? Lots of things are changing. I don’t know why. What’s going on? People and friends are moving every day. I don’t let my emotions show, though, I keep them at bay. What’s going on? The ozone hole is getting bigger, Tivo and the Ipod are the next big thing, what’s going on? What happened to the simple pleasures of life? Like going to the park to swing or making your own Halloween costume? Everyone and everything is going digital, what’s going on? Time is flying by way too fast that the start of this story is now in the past. Everyone’s rushing to do something. What’s going on? Nothing is the way it was. Mario, ??, Pacman, and Digdug have changed. Classics are becoming renewed. What’s going on? People are walking billboards for just about anything, plain shirts are now on a compost heap. What’s going on? The world is changing. It’s not going to last forever. What’s going on?

Jesse Wolfe7th Grade


Chapter 2Bush Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Kristi Beall


Chapter 2 • Bush Middle School

My DogMy dog is yellowShe is a friendly fellowShe is a fattyHer belly is really flabby

Chris Payne7th grade

Most Richly BlessedI asked for strength, that I might achieveI was made weak, that I might humbly learn to obeyI asked for health, that I might do greater thingsI was given infirmity, that I might do better thingsI asked for riches, that I might be happyI was given poverty, that I might be wiseI asked for power, that I might have the praise of manI was given weakness, that I might feel the need of GodI asked for all things, that I might enjoy lifeI was given life, that I might enjoy all things.I got nothing I asked for—But everything that I had hoped for.Almost despite myself, my Unspoken prayers were answeredI am, among all, Most richly blessed.

Felicia Alofaituli7th grade

Let GoYou walked by me with no intentionOf loving me

But what you didn’t realize was that I would always be thereAlways in your dream, andAlways in the back of your mind

You never wanted to love meBut you couldn’t hold back

You began to trust me,Trust me with your feelingsTrusting me to help you up When you fell

But then you let go,You let go of me

With one last breathThen you left

Elizabeth Mills7th grade



The EndAs he looked at meI haven’t seen him in 10 yearsHe cried his heart outAs I stared at himNot knowing what to doI saidWhen you gave me up,That was the endI grew up and have made my choiceThis is nowThe end

Ashley Vargas7th grade

Lost in Keys to InspirationOne key to life is inspiration

Open the first door and you assume you have inspirationBut there comes inspiration again and again

So until there is inspiration in your heartMoving you forward through life,

There’s the key to inspiration coming again and again

Amber Howard7th grade

My Hyper DogGolden LabHyper MaxChasing after the race carPressing the button on the remoteRunning as fast as a cheetah

Golden LabHyper MaxChasing after meDown the hallwayRunning as fast as the wind

Always by my side

Moiz Ratani7th grade

WindThe wind is in my faceWith my dog right beside meThe wind is in his faceWith his tongue hanging downThe wind is in my face

Brian Harvey7th grade



I started to wish that I had stopped beforeOne failure was enough.I’m no good as a player now. Why get up and try run?But in the booing crowd I sawOnce more my parents’ faceSo anxious to get those points and finally win the gameI had 2 strikes, but also knew I only had 1 chanceTo hit the ball over that fence and make my parents dance.As the pitcher pitched the ball, I knew my only fateThe ball was to hit me now, right in my ribcage.I lay right there on the ground silently, as tears dropped from my eyes.There is no sense in running anymore, three strikes, I’m out, Why try?The strength to rise was gone and my hope had flown awaySo far behind, so error-prone, a loser all the way

The thought of my parents that I would soon have to face Suddenly flashed through my face.Then an echo sounded, Get Up and Win that Game!You were not meant for failure; you are not a disgrace.So please, please, please get up and win that game.For winning is no more than this, to rise each time you fallSo with borrowed will, I stood up once more and walked to take my base.As I then looked to the crowd, I firmly stood my base.Still holding my wounded spot, I said, “Win or Lose, who cares?”The important thing is I didn’t quit and I thought that was fair.As the pitcher pitched the ball and the batter had to hit,I ran to Second, then to Third, then to Home Plate I slid.

The look, the love, the lessonAs I walked onto the field with gleeI knew something was going to stop meI got up there, ready to batI thought I was good and I wanted to show them thatBat to my right shoulder, feet on the base, I was ready to hit the ball over First BaseAs the pitcher came to lift his arm--Strike One, Strike Two. Man, was I wrong.

Walking back with my head in shame,I saw some of the crowd laughing at me.I had failed! I had missed! I let my team down.Why do I have to be such a big clown?I’m a loser, a fraud. I can’t hit a thing.I’m on the path to failure, you see.Quit! Give up! That’s what I said.There’s just too much against me.

My parents in the crowd, you see,To watch me reach my destiny.When they stood up, I saw their face and just to me it clearly said, “Get Up and Win That Game!”As they called my name again I went up to bat again and try my luck.My hands went faster with my mind, And man, I missed again on that dime.



As my wounded soul crossed the plate, the crowd gave me the roar.3 times I had fallen, 3 times I had risen, too far beyond hope to win.As I saw my parents’ face, I said, “I didn’t do too well.” My parents looked into my eyes and said, “Jordan, you rose each time you fell, And to me that’s the spirit you needed to win. I could tell. So really to me, you won the game and never really failed.

When things seem dark and hard and difficult to face, the memory of that little game helps me on my way. For all of life is like that game with ups and downs and all. And all you have to do to win, is rise each time you fall. They still shout in my face today the things they did before, but another voice in me says, Get Up and Win Your Game.So every time I fall now and think I have no will, I will hear that voice again to keep on to win my game.

Jordan Anguiano7th grade

LifeLifeLife is what makes me tickLife Life is everything to meWithout life, I wouldn’t be aliveLifeLife is my immortal soulLifeWithout that I would be no oneLifeLife is what I care aboutLife I take care of my lifeLifeI do that by not doing drugsLifeLife is what some people don’t care aboutLifeBecause they do drugs all their life.

Life is what makes me tick.

Chris Bannister7th grade

TruthReveal your true form,The path leads to achievement,All of the honor,Passed to the greatest of all,Until we are there again.

Evan Tan7th grade

The Fatal FlawA broken landUnhindered by timeA twisted landWith unimaginable grace and furyA motionless landPaused by a broken realityAn accidental landBy curiosity was causedA doomed landThe work of the fatal flaw

Chris Wilson7th grade

I am a fish in the sky • page 18


The UnexpectedLove is like a doveIt unexpectedly splatsOn your head

Just like everything That happens in your life

Like the look on your mom’s faceAfter you told her that you were smoking

Or maybe when your little brother walks Through the front door and half of his face is goneBecause he fell off his bike

Whatever happens, something is always going to SURPRISE you…

Erick Vilches7th grade

a reign of chaosa barrage in the futurecities decimated instantlypeople falling down in secondsbuildings are collapsingdragons flying overheada line of graves in a cemeterya reign of chaos established

Austin Parsons7th grade

SpringThey look deep into me.Past my eyes, across my face,All the way to my soul,Warming the winter within.

Hannah Erb7th grade

MaybeMiraculously we’re placed togetherAmazingly I see you…InsideSometimes I think you see meOnly to go into a sea of doubtNow I wait, I wait for the time When we truly meet.

Kassie Soza7th grade


Chapter 3Driscoll Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Cyra Dumitru


Chapter 3 • Driscoll Middle School

StoneClear, with a mixture of purple and green,rough yet smoothI toss it in the airit comes down heavy in my palmA crack down the sideas if it’s been through a lot

So pretty,as if God made it by handas if it was blessed by an angelas if they sent it in the oceanand it floated to a bayand ended here

When I hold itit seems as if it is a prayerfor all those soldiersout there fightingfor Americafrom sea to shining sea

Alexis Doerr6th grade

Nevada NightsA cool and beautiful time my eyes are set on one goalMust see the horses those beautiful wild horsesI look up and see a beautiful herd right in front of meMy eyes dazzling as they gracefully runTheir coats are gleaming and tails are flying all through the Nevada terrainI watch every step, movement, sound they makeThen one second, they are goneAll that’s left is dust I’m speechless speechless for wild horses.

Alyssa Lester6th grade

Flames of LoveFlames burn withinthe depth of my heartas they do in yours.Water is nearyet not near enough.Flames break out of thin airwithin our souls,resembling anger, rage, sadnesswatching something dear falland crumble to the earth,break down within a mysteriouspath of love.

Raven Rodriguez6th grade

Treestrees everywhere bursting into flames,

fire, fire that now imitateswhat my life once used to be, colorful but scary.

Tara Cox6th grade


Shell

Bumps all in a rowwith a shape that reminds you ofsomething that your mind justcan’t place. Rough and smoothall at once. A contrast that’shard to understand. Colors thathave no name. Colors no humancan copy.

Like an ungrown cornfield,all seeds just freshly planted, only thesebumps never grow. When put in the seawhere it belongs, the water – a gentle hammer –will slowly wear away the rock,taking its time. The colors lookblue, but then they should be gray.The green isn’t there. It seemsto be but with a trick of light,it’s gone, seemingly not wantingto be there.

Oh to watch it slowlydisappear, watching the waterunmercifully take a rock apart,until it is all over the world. Thankthe sea for letting it travel the worldall at once. Thank the seafor letting it do what I can’t.

Aida R. Guhlin6th grade

Middle School Stew

This stew reminds me of middle schoolbecause there are paper clips. Paper clipsremind me that there is a chain forming,getting longer and longer as my life in middle school is getting shorter and shorter.

This stew also has puzzle pieces that remind me of my life because every day is like finding a piece to the puzzle. Every day is a different day. When I say every day is a different day,I mean every day we learn new things andgo home to our families. Life is shortbut if you think about it, it’s a puzzle waiting to be finished.

Helen Downs6th grade


Dizziness

Why does this bead strike my interest so? The misty purplecolor floating in place, randomlyswirling about. I look hard

and realize what confusionthere must be inside. I remember once, walking downa hallway, my eyes glued on

my shoes, studying them forthe 50th time as peoplewildly pass me. Someunknown force drove me

to look up. I saw so many faces, so many shirts, shoes, pants, earrings and necklaces. Dizzily, I

looked from one to another, unable to move. I forcedmyself to return my gaze to the floor, once again

gaining control and walkingaway.

Connor Plasters6th grade


Fire of Emotions

A burst of flames.A blend of oranges, yellows and redstogether light up the skylike a torch.

We stare in astonishment.It’s heat reflecting on us.The flames crackle,spitting sparks in the air.

The wood and bricksfeed the fire’s hunger.We feel the fire’s anger,hunger and joy.

We now feel the sadnessas the flames die downleaving thick black smoketwirling in the air like ghosts.

Alexa Rogers6th grade


Fall?It looks like fire:the orange, red and yellow simply beautiful. The river flowing and the trees in the breeze.Is it fall already?

Listening to the beauty of orange, red and yellow,the leaves falling and the birds chirping.

All this is music to my ears.Oh the joy of being outdoors.

This joy should be held with your family,The people for whom you should really be thankful.

Kaitlyn Denton6th grade Fire

Red, yellow and orange flames seenfrom miles away. A houseis burning minute by minute.A family tragedy of goods.Fire trucks and ambulances rush to the scene.After hours pass, the flames finally die out.Surprisingly nobody is hurt.Left in the woods of Arizona,the family has to find a new home.

Tyler Krueger6th grade


Chapter 3 • Driscoll Middle SchoolIn the BeginningWithin the day,like three differentworlds standing

at the same points.Different senses comingfrom the same heart.

Created by a circleof immense piecesleading into the

centerfield likean empty baseballfield, with no

feelings to cry for.Clear turtles at the two ends,watching over the entire universe.

Soon they will vanishand our bright green earthwill become like two eyes

beginning to forma face of truth.With the two eyes like hands on a steering wheel,turning our earth into a flower which will attract

beautiful creaturesto begin our trueplanet again.

Danette Gonzalez6th grade

My Life is Like A Messy RoomMy life is like amessy room.Everything everywhere.

The puzzle pieces onthe floor remind meof my different friendswho I have been making.

In my messy roomcrayons are on the floorthat have been snapped in half.

I think about my friendsbecause we have brokenapart from each other.

I sit in my room and think,think, and think.

Karen Snider6th grade

River of DreamTransparent shellsmooth sides like angel wingstaste of a clear springfresh fragrance of new pinequiet and coldas if dead.

Angel gives him the giftsoft as eagle featherfalling from the sky. It glides,drops to the river of dreamnot wanting to leave,it turns clear like air.

Maya Grant6th grade


Collage StewButtons, paper clips, beads,puzzle pieces.

What do these objectsremind me of the most?

Middle school; the glossywhite buttons down my

shirt. Paper clips snugglingmany papers together

as the stacks pile upon the teacher’s desk.

Shiny, sparkling,smooth beads are what

catches my eyes. The beadshave colors of the ocean;

blue, sparkly gold and dark clear.It is as if I am there.

Chapter 3 • Driscoll Middle SchoolReflections Upon a Rock

The smooth inside gently runningacross my fingers. Rough andjagged edges all aroundthe sharp curves that followthe rock through and through,lightness as it flutters throughmy fingers.

It seems like a piece of the rock was broken off,maybe it came from the oceanor it might have belonged tosome type of animal orjust from a bigger rockthan it.It seems like it waspart of a flower plasteredand preserved like a seashell shape.

It makes me think ofgoing to a tropical islandor a jungle safari.Cutting down tall grass andthick vines, I feel aquiver run up and downmy spine. It takes me to a place that I’venever felt before.

Shanice Shipp6th grade

The many puzzle pieces in this steware so similar to middle school.

I start to compare.Getting puzzled on my

work or puzzled about who’s my friend

and who’s not. I could go on and on but

eating this stewis what I am going

to work on while itis not too hot.

Preslie Olson6th grade



The Poems of Middle SchoolBeads weavetogether to makeyou and find outwho you areand what you want to be.

The paper clipis a friend whoholds you together so youwon’t fall apart.

Crayons draw whoyou are, what youwant to act like,what you want to be,your dreams, hopes,style and love.

The puzzle piecesare the personyou are, yourfriends, grades,favorites. Theywill all fit togetherto become you.

Natalie Fyffe6th grade

Shell

I feel the smooth texture of the shell.It is hard but looks easy to break.It looks shiny and bright like heaven,yet it tastes like nothing. It remindsme of the past, of beautiful peoplewho I know and once knew.

It reminds me of summers on the beachwith the graceful and shiny oceanthat I saw from the condo room.The few cracks remind me ofthe holes on the beach. The rough parts remind me of seaweed.

The other side makes me think of mebeing in the deep ocean surrounded by vicious sharks!Aaahhhh! This shell is beautiful.

George English6th grade

LifeMy life is like a necklace.It has many different beads,as it grows longerit has more beads.

My life is likea puzzle piece.one piece waitingfor another to be founduntil the puzzleis complete.

My life is like a paper clipwith many turnsmany possibilities.

My life is sometimeslike a broken crayon.It is broken, sad, alonewaiting to beonce again reconnected.

Antoinette Pho6th grade


Flames of Love

Flames burn withinthe depth of my heartas they do in yours.Water is nearyet not near enough.Flames break out of thin airwithin our souls,resembling anger, rage, sadnesswatching something dear falland crumble to the earth,break down within a mysteriouspath of love.

Raven Rodriguez6th grade

Looking at a Photograph

I see flamesblowing in the wind.Water flowing like fishswimming. A building goingdown. Bricks nearly hangingon. It makes me feel sosad. Opening doors to seelight. Closing windows to keepaway.

Allison Adams6th grade


A Face Full of FlamesAs the flamesrise higher I beginto see a face, a faceas if it wants tolook at me.

It begins to wander,the face looks down,around and then allover the place, andthen stares at meagain.

I get scaredand start to thinka big scary monsteris staring at me.

Emmalea Wells6th grade


Eternity Mirror

A pot filled with watercan look like a mirror

but when filled withpebbles it looks like it goes

on and on. When you lookhard, the water can paint pictures

for you.

Derion Young6th grade


While Feeling a Shell

While feeling a shellI wonder where it has been.By feeling ityou know the texture,but what would you doto know where it has been?

This shell reminds me ofa time when Iwas in Spain collecting shellswith my loving family.

Some of the timewhen I am in school,I wish I was on the beachagain seeking hidden shells.

Danny Dyjak6th grade

Middle School StewAs I walk in the hallwayI look into room 2010 to seepieces of a soul laying on the floorwhile people launch them into the airwith their hands.

Still on my journey to Gemini InkI see girls wearing mini-fish that hang from a fishline around their necks,beads that try to sayhello on a wristand I see fall hanging from their ears.

As I pass by room 2021two boys are fighting over a utensil.It breaks into twolike it keeps reborning.

The bell rings asteens bring departuresto their non-moving trains.As I enter the roomthe teacher says tardy.

Joaquin Kray6th grade

PiecesRearranging these letters to say “free man.”This says loudly, “You’re not a small childguarded carefully, you’re a FREE MAN.”

Joelle Kemp6th grade



NicenessI look up at the bigblue sky, all is peaceful.

Until . . . I hear ascream, I look around

seeing where it camefrom. Then I spot a

little girl crying. I runtowards her as fast as

I could. She asks if I canhelp her ride her bike. I say

yes. Fastly her frown turns intoa big smile. All around I

could sense and feel herhappiness and joy. I

know I have donegood.

Yvonne Valdez6th grade

Fire and WaterFireburninglike anger.So hot it just doesn’t seemrealistic.Unstoppable,it destroys everythingin its path.The flames go on forever,neverending.

Waterclearlike calmness.Rocks fall to the bottom.Heals.Brings life.Puts out the fireof anger.

Tony Richmond6th grade

A Woodsy FeelingI feel the smooth surfaceand the rough top.It lays in my handas light as a feather.So smalllike a young mouse.Look at its presence,feel the forest all around.

I feel the strong windas I hike down the trail.I see a squirrel pick up the acornand take it to its burrow.

I wonder:where did the acorn come from,how long did it layon the ground?But I will soon find outon my journeythrough the woodsy forest.

Rachel Perez6th grade


The WavesRound and round I turn the beadjust like the waves of the ocean.

I step out into the cold, beautiful water of Waikiki Beachin Oahu, Hawaii. You can see right through the

clean water. Fish swim around my feet. Mytoes wiggle from the tickling gills. I

feel so at home in the blue bluewater. Waves come back crashing into

my legs, knocking me off my feet.Onto the sandy beach where I see a

red kayak. My sister and I jump in and goout to sea. Suddenly we have gone out entirely

too far. The waves knock the kayak back andforth. We are heading for the great abyss not

knowing how to turn back.We begin to yell for help. A scuba


diver comes near and guides us back toour dad. We give the scuba diver thanks

and he swims away. I look at the beadmy veiny hand is holding. It is almost

pressed against my face I’m examining itso closely. I give it a big smile as it

will always remind me of my trip soHawaii and our kayak adventure.

Meghan McCarthy6th grade

The MomentI rememberthe moment on that

beautiful day,the sun shiningin my face like

a giant flashlight.As I walk downthat road I

hear birds chirpingin the distance andI smell fresh baked

apple pie sittingin the window sill,it felt perfect, no

noise. Just peace,peace and quiet isall I need.

CJ Starling6th grade



Good EvilThere is no such thingas the evil that walksupon us

but we are the bricksthat can hold up onlyso much of this evil

even today theremay be more explosionsin the deepest partof our hearts

that can only be stoppedwith our souls.

Taylor Bazajou6th grade

DreamsLight stretches like a riverover a black sea of dark thoughts,but from the middle, a big yellowlight shines above me.

I jump to touch it then Iget a warm feeling throughoutmy body. My feet touch thesea. I jump again and landin a room

filled with happy thoughtsfrom all the people who dream.I go from thought to thoughtfeeling good for the kids who hopeof fulfilling their dreams.

Chris Lee6th grade

HawaiiThe wind gently flowingthrough my silky hair,

wonderful sounds lingeraround me, the sound of

the ocean echoing softly,the smell of happiness,

staring at the cloudless bluesky, and the thought of wonder is there in my mind.

Hailey Sindelar6th grade


QuestionI am a fish in thesky.I don’t know where I am.I am a leaf falling into anunknown ground.

Samantha Marin6th grade

Smooth and SlickSmooth and slick as water,as if being pulled straight from a river.So small it could be an eyefor seeing into another dimension,a dimension of soft relaxationwhere you run wild and free.A place of hills and valleys filledwith flowers,a place like home.

Skylar Bluebird6th grade


Dancing ButterfliesThe butterflies are doinga fast dance that is redlike an apple in a tree, black like the night sky,orange like an orangeand green bracelet on my wrist,blue and white like a sweater,garnet like my grandma’sbirthstone,

yellow like a bananaand violet like my jeweled purse.

Dancing on the air and on a flower or in the emptinessflying one by one after anotherin the distance.

Rebecca Neal6th grade

Discovering a Shell

The pointy edges poke myfingers as I feel every part.With its smooth base, how I lovethe texture. Its curvy endsmake the tips of my fingersmove in a half-way circle.

The smoky color remindsme of the smoke over awarm camp fire on a starrynight. As I toss it in the air,I catch it in the palm of one of my own two hands, anddiscover that it feelsas if it weighs almostnothing.

Audrie Abdallah6th grade



Plane RideI nervously stand in the big airportlooking at the airplane’s blue round surface.Each step I take makes me thing aboutwhat might happen in South Dakota.The ride here was so bumpyit felt like I was being shook up by someone.

I step off the small plane with long strides,and feel the snowy weather tingling down my spine.Mounds of snow and fields of iceare everywhere. Watching my feetsink into cloud-colored snow, I notice this is what it will look like all winter.Step after step, I can feelits cold wetness seeping into the tiny holes in my shoes.

South Dakota is made up of mostly highways and crop fields.As eagles and hawks land in the soft snow,their heads bob up and downand side to side.

Taylor Barragan6th grade

What I FindPieces of puzzles broken up asour life is when we add new people

to it. Beads rolling around incircles like when we do in

a Ferris wheel. Fish beads inthe stew remind me of going

fishing with my dad. A leaf beadreminds me of fall when

the leaves fall or blow away. A purplebead is shaped like a rock as when I

go hunting. Beads with letterson them trying to spell something

as we did when we first learnedhow to write. A paper clip reminds

me of school when teachers collectpapers and put a paper clip on them.

Sarah Greiner6th grade

Sunset SeashellA seashell that lookslike a wide open and empty sea.

A sunset setting on theempty sea.

Waves of blue, light blueand a very light blue!

Christy Garcia6th grade


Middle School StewMiddle schoolis a puzzle.Doesn’t makesense untilit’s all put together.

My middle schoolstew is like being in a classroom.You have your preps,nerds, teacher’s pet,popular kids, the peopleno one knows, oddballs,and the class clown.

In the stew you havecrayons, puzzle piecesand beads. They allget joined together.Everyone is different.No one has the exactsame style, just likea pile of beads


with different designs,none alike.Some trying tobe like others,yet not even close.

Everyone is like a fishgoing to the newbig, deep, blue sea andnothing you have seen before.In a big place, youare so small,having other thingsswallow you whole.

Samantha Lozano6th grade

Rock ClimbingThis rock is square with rough edges.It is light red, white and clear andhas no smell.It reminds me of when I rock climbed.I can feel the rough edges on my hands,the loose rocks slipping under my feet.My hands slipping offslippery rocks.

Amy Veilleux6th grade

Lava RockThe rock looks like a bunchof rocks together. Itis boiling in thick lava inhot, hot temperatures. It isthe hot stone of a volcano.

I wish I could explore the insideof a volcano and see dozens of rocks.First I go in and the lava is boilinginside. The lava rising barely touchesme, it feels like a hot summer.

I try to get some lavafor a close look.The cup melts before my eyes.

Forrest Lockhart6th grade


Important Things!The things that are importantto me are my family, friendsand my skateboard. My familyis important because if I didn’t

have a family I wouldn’t have ahouse, food, clothes or anything else.And my friends are important to mebecause I wouldn’t have anybody

to talk to or play with and doall kinds of stuff that people do.And my skateboard is very, very, veryimportant because that is what

I do everyday and that is whatI want to do when I grow up,so if I didn’t have my family,friends and my skateboard, I would die.

Zachary Saenz6th grade


The Jumping PoemWe were jumping over andover again in a gardenoutside of a restaurant. My friendand I were jumping overa rock to get to another rock.There was a small pondin between the rocks. We could only jump one way but I wanted to try to jump fromthe little rock to the big rock.I kept on trying butI couldn’t get off of the small rock.I felt that I had to! So I said,“Here I go!” I jumped and fell into the pond and hit my kneeon the rock.

Emma Edwards6th grade

Middle School StewSo many points and cornersjust like life, but there are

curves too. Like oopses. Thereare homework passes. But

as the days go by it feelsmore like a puzzle. One by

one, day by day. Crayonsremind me of elementary

school when things wereeasy. Butterflies fly every-

where. What a beautiful day!

Sabree Webster6th grade


Chapter 3 • Driscoll Middle SchoolThe Plate of ConfusionOnce you first look at it . . . it really makes you wonder.

But insidethis plate ofwonder there

are thingslike puzzle piecesand letters. The

puzzle piecesremind me ofmy middle school

life, because schoolis like a puzzleand you want

to do yourhardest to pieceit together.

Then there are beadswith letters on them.It reminds me

of my English class. Japanese letterscan remind you of

social studies whenyou are payingattention to your teacher.

There are letter beadsthat remind me of the letter “J”for “Jalexa”, my name.

Jalexa Goggins6th grade

The Rock I ChoseThe rock I chose has a differentmeaning.

It flows with lines of color,like nightfall.

When I put it to my ear I hearthe sound of wind in the trees.

The rock flows with the feelingof happiness but then lonely.

Amber Hicks6th grade

Chapter 4Eisenhower Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Sheila Kirk Walsh


Chapter 4 • Eisenhower Middle School

The Missing KidsI dreamed that I was swimming in a pool at a hotel with my brothers and mom. And I went down into the pool and saw the grudge and she was waving at me and smiled and was coming towards me. I got up from the pool and I saw a plug. My mom said it was time to go to the hotel and I started to talk about Molly who was the missing girl at the hotel and she was not the only kid missing at the hotel. The next day, my mom and brother and I went to the pool, and I forgot about the grudge and went into the pool and saw her again and she was waving and smiling at me and was coming toward me and almost got me, and I told everyone to get out of the pool and pulled the plug and she was gone and the kid was found.

Ashley Maldonado7th grade

I Am a StoneI am a stone. I sitalong the river bed andwatch the turtles anddead fish swim by.

I’ve been thrown aroundmany places and I haveyet to find a comfortablespot.

I rot away andparts of me hasbecome sedimentbut I keep ontraveling and rottinguntil I turn into manypieces.

Inside me is a beautifulgolden wonderfor my insidesare made of gold.

But that is a part of me that is untold. for my outside isof a ugly brownand I’m a weirdshape of round.

I am a stone. I sit by the riverbed and watch theturtles and dead fishswim by.

Nigel Slaughter7th grade



HurtI am angry people do not care. They throw us, step on us, and sometimes that hurts.

Sometimes I think that peopleneed to think. They need to think… if theywere a stone would they likepeople to step on them?

Inside me it is beautiful. Bright yellow animals are everywhere. And when they step on me, it islike a tornado tearing through the town.

The only place where I think that I would be safe from being hurtis across the river.

Over there it is beautiful withno trees. Just land.

And over across the riverthe sun always shinesto where on my side it is like a dark gloomy dungeon.

My side is filled withtrees and people and meananimals are everywhere.

Sometimes it hurts to be a stone.

Ashley Hensley7th grade

RainDrip, drip, drip. The sound of the rain slowly hittingmy roof in an unknown rhythm. I ran outside, pure exhilaration. I anticipated the feel of cool watercascading down my face like awaterfall.

Other kids from the same streethave also come out of the houses. They hollered and screamed, some even got a bucket, filled itup with rainwater and dumped iton himself.

The rain seemed to laughwith us by the sound of itwhen it rained harder.

Lu Liu7th grade



StoneI am a stone. I am gray, butinside I ama green poppingjelly bean. Everynight I invitetickle me pink overto play withthe lime-orange monkey ball. Then a kid wouldcome and throwus in the waterfor a swim. Itook my bath in the waterwith no soap.

Laura Foss7th grade

MoonbeamsHow does the moon shine?

It reflects off of the sun.But does it really?

On the other side, are there aliens who have

big, shiny, bright spaceships?

Or are there giantflashlights that shine on the moon?

Making it glow bright?

Or maybe there areLots of little glowworms in-

side the moon? Could be.

You can’t be too sure. One good thing you know of, they

are always moonbeams.

Annalise Kohrs7th grade

My Old HouseFirst there was my room. It looks like a garden.

Then, there was my grandmother’sroom with a big antique bed.

Here’s where the living room was With our grand piano.

There’s our four yards whichI loved to tend to.

Behind my house there was theBay High Tiger Football Field.

There was our shedwhere my Aunt Amy and I liked to work.

My aunt’s room looked like a jungle.

Finally, there was our kitchen. It has copper pans allaround on the walls.

Stephanie Malcolm7th grade

(This piece was written by a student who lost her home during Hurricane Katrina.)


Chapter 4 • Eisenhower Middle SchoolDo You See What I See? Do you see what I see, a deer in the white winter snow as ifa spider in an old man’s beard.

Do you see what I see, cotton candy on a stick as ifmuscles stretched taut over bone.

Do you see what I see, dice rolled out of a cup onto a table as if a stampede of bulls.

Do you see what I see, oars on a boat rowed as if candy canes swooshing away.

Do you see what I see, a sunflower surrounded by bluebonnetsas ifa noticed cat surrounded by dogs.

Do you see what I see, headlights on a car as ifa bobcat’s eyes staring into thenight’s moon.

Did you see what I saw?

Megan Darrin7th grade

A Child and a ColtA child in the backyard is like a colt in a field.As the child runs around with his moma colt is thundering through the field in a race.The child laughs.The colt whinnies. The child dirties his colorful clothesbut the colt keeps its shiny coal black coat. When the day dies the child goes inside and lies down on a comfortable bedwhile the colt finds a patch of grass to gently lay his head. They have both had a fun dayAnd tomorrow it will be the same way.

Tyler Holland7th grade I Saw

I saw a big white doorthat was white as snow.

I saw a doorknob coldas ice in my hand.

I saw a room full of picturesthat reminded me of the past.

I saw my parents’ bedbig as the room.

Lesslye Moya7th grade



Perfect DreamOnce I had a dream, I was a wolf. In our pack there were about 30 other wolves. Wolves of all shapes and sizes. Brown wolves, white wolves, grey wolves, even pink and blue wolves. I was a black wolf. My mother and father were the pack leaders. They were the brown wolves.

We lived in a beautiful place. There were crystal clear waterfalls that ran into the river. There were smooth brown mountains and fresh green grass. There were big rocks, as grey as a cloud on a rainy day. Only here it never rained. It was always shining and the sky was baby blue like my eyes were.

Everybody was always happy. Nothing bad ever happened. It was paradise. Everything was great, then I opened my eyes: It was all a dream. Although it was many years ago, I will always remember it. It was my perfect dream.

Marissa Elizondo7th grade

My Favorite Place in My HouseMy favorite place in my house is my bedroom. I like it because it has my computer in there. I love to talk on AIM. I also love to listen to my iPod. It is awesome. I never feel alone in my room because I am always talking on the computer phone or listening to music. My kitten that is brown, black, and white always plays in my room. Her name is Mable. My room is lime green and bright, bright pink. And that is why my bedroom is my favorite place!!!

Brittany Handy7th grade

StoneI’m happy to be a stone.You may think I’m gray and boring. You may think I’m hard and ugly, But I’m not. I’m a carnival of fun. I have fireworks bursting inside. Tickle me pink, Elmo red, cloud white, jelly bean greenare my colors that burst inside of me. I’m my own eighth wonder of my worldYou may think I’m gray and boring. You may think I’m hard and ugly. But I’m not. I’m just me.

Taylor Allam7th grade



The Kitchen I Grew Up InI got splashed by the dripof my sink’s faucet in the small white kitchen.

I saw the refrigerator with dirty doorsalmost falling off.

I saw the small oven that was still on from the last time we used it.

I was the rugs underneath withstains all over them.

I was pots and pans withcolorful spiders in them.

I saw the small white kitchenI grew up in.

I looked at the tiny kitchen windowat the big ugly “for sell” sign.

I felt the cold doorknob in myhands as I opened the doornever to come back again.

Christi Neumayer7th grade

Do Fish Hear the Rain?“Pit pat pit pat on I hate the rain,” said Jim. “I wish it was always sunny!”

“Now, now, Jim, just think about it—the rain is not that bad. It is much worse on the surface.”

“How would you know, Marianne, you have never set fin up there and if you have you would be dead right now!”

“But I have heard stories. Up there when it rains, tiny drops of water fall from the sky and get everything all wet…

“Like down here.”

“No, no, no, Jim. That is called a fluid.”

“Oh, well, no one knows everything.”

“So when it does rain, people can not go outside or swim or anything else. For us, down here, it is just an annoying sound that we have to live with.”

“Well, I guess you’re right, Marianne, but that sound gives me quite the headache.”

“I know, Jim, I know.”

“Well Marianne, would you like to join me for a spot of tea?”

“Of course, Jim, that would be delightful.”

Victoria Gautreaux7th grade

Chapter 5Garner Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Dave Rutschman


Chapter 5 • Garner Middle School

Want to feel their

Footsteps as

They walk my

Streets. Hear

Their voices as

They conversate.

Hello, my name is

New Orleans. Come

And talk to me, I have

More to tell you.

Bian Hines8th grade

Hello

My name is

New Orleans.

Come and

Talk to me.

Ask me some

Questions.

Ask me

Where people

Go and have

Fun. Ask

Me did the people

Who used to stay in me

Love or hate me.

Ask me did I ever

Have to worry about

Hurricanes besides Betsy.

Ask me was I prepared

For Hurricane Katrina

Or were my people, houses,

Streets, and buildings

Ready too!

As me do I want

To get well. Do I

Want to be alive.

Up and running again.

Ask me do I wish

I could go back in time

Before Katrina. Ask

Me do I want my

People back.



How to See My Imaginary FriendsMake your in your out.

Go into public and see something silly.

You’ll start to see their feet.

Go watch Pooh Bear with your little cousin, ten times.

Wow! Here come the hands and legs.

Draw a liger or some other kind of cool creature.

Make a funny face.

Hair, eyes, nose, and mouth.

Invent a new phrase.

Now which of my friends do you see?

Hey, wait, that one’s not mine!

Eileen Bentley8th Grade

LifeLife: It’s a crazy little thing You can’t run and hide from it

You can’t yell and hit itYou can’t see it or hear itYou can’t know itYou can’t stop it

But . . . You can know about it You can have it

And, You can love every minute of it.

But just remember it doesn’t last forever, so don’t waste your time alone with it.

Eileen Bentley8th grade

Handicap SignExhausted and worn,A lost and forgotten soul,Left to rustIn the junkyard of life.

Grant S.8th grade



HandymanSounds of machinery fill the air.

Bright lights come from the aisles.

The smell of oak fills the air.

The cold gray floor stares up at me.

“Help needed in the gardening department.”

I am always here,

Either for a bolt to

Fix our picnic table,

Or a lightbulb to brighten

Up my room.

I love coming here

With the handyman . . .

My dad.

Kirsten Avery8th grade

No EscapeThe throbbing in my head,The aching of my heart,

It’s all so much pain,My world is now dark.

The screams never fade,The faces always stay,

Of all the people I saw,On my very last day.

Without even a warning,I fled into the night,

Sighing, crying, screaming,Running for my life.

It was all creeping up on me,And I couldn’t escape,

Tripping, falling, bleeding,My heart slowly breaks.

I fall off my bed,The nightmare has passed,Crying I realize the truth:

You can’t escape your past.

Briana Perez8th grade

Every night,

I sit in bed,

Thinking about

The story I just heard.

Then I doze off to sleep,

Still thinking

About that story.

Alison Moncravie8th grade



WishesSitting down near the window pane

While drops of clear glass diamond run down

Thump, thump go the drops of tears

Bomb, bomb goes the constant drum

Clash, clash goes the vibrating tampering

Down near the river the ducks are quacking

Up in the sky the clouds are rumbling

Close to home I hear someone crying

Curdled is the roar of a lion

Evaporated in a stream of speeding cars

But none of that matters because

The things I did today are enough to make me happy

My wishes came true

And all that I wanted I got

Thanks to you

Elizabeth Gutierrez8th grade

MonterreyMountains as far as the eye sees

People everywhere, crowded streets,

MP’s with automatics on each corner

Streets filled with horns, screaming and blood

The smell of markets, what a horrible smell

Children all alone, the crowds thick as concrete

Still nowhere I’d rather be

Family, friends and cabrito, goat meat

The meat, goat, beef, chicken, whatever

It’s all good in my book

Then we leave, I say goodbye to

Mexico, the streets, corners, and goat meat.

Zachary Rubiola8th grade



TurtlesI see those tiny shells lying in the sand,

And I think of how the turtles come to land.

Their mother from the ocean brought them here,

And she left them proudly with a tear.

As they hatch and crawl out of their sandy hole,

The world around them will for once and all show.

More than half of the babies will survive,

And go on to live their lives.

They will make it to the water.

Looking, I see their quarter-sized feet

Trying to swim with a pitter-patter.

The others will try,

But will unfortunately die.

Of their sibling’s life, know they never will

For I see that tiny shell lying so still.

Ashley Costello8th grade

Dreams; the limits are brokenI can only see

What’s in front of me

I can only touchWhat I see.

I can only hear,What’s meant for my ears.

But I can see the rim of the galaxyWhen I dream.

I can feel the brilliance of a newborn starWhen I dream.

I can hear the sighing of an old planetWhen I dream.

In this world I’m limited by small-mindednessAnd walls that enclose me.

But in my dreams I can reach infinityAnd not be stopped.

Debbie8th grade



FootballAt a young age you played for the experience,But in middle school you played to make friends.In high school you played to try to get into college.In college you play to make the NFL,But once you make the NFL and make millions of dollars,You play because it’s a game.

Campbell Wallace8th grade

My RoomIn my room,

It’s quiet as can be.No one can hurt me,Or so it may seem.

In my room,I feel safe.

Safer than at school.My room is where I’m comfy.Also my room is really cool.

In my room,I can be invisible,

So no one knows I’m there.Because I know no one really

Cares.My room is the place,The place I’d rather be.

The place where I am safe,And where I

Can beMe.

Rachael Alvarado8th grade

In My Closet The tiny space between my shoes and hats is this little capsule of thoughts. Whether I’m filled with anger or joy, I just sit and think. I feel my thoughts surrounding me and bouncing off my head and realize the cause or reason for my feelings. It works as if it were magic, all problems find a solution, and all solutions find a cause. When most kids are in trouble, they might be sent to a time-out chair or a small corner, but as for me and my parents, we all know my little thinking square is in my closet. When I get in trouble and am sent to “think about it” I find it quite a pleasure. I just close my eyes, breathe, open my eyes and count and there is no longer a problem. I think it just might be like a magic corner to me. In such a small space, as I think that my life is falling apart, the carefully painted green walls will catch me and pull it all together.

Ana Meraz Guerrero8th grade

FlightA small speck inThe midst of whiteIt’s beauty hardlyNoticed.

Cassie Lerette8th grade


Tell Me WhenSomebody tell me when,When will prejudice stop?When will slavery end?When will the people of America come together as oneBefore we are hunted like foxTrapped like dogs,And treated like ratsTo understand the quality of unity,Living and building together?Please, tell me when.

Somebody tell me when,When will people stop killing their own kind?When will the criminals come to their senses?When will the people who think that it’s overRealized that there had to be a beginning in order to come to an end?Please tell me when.

Somebody tell me when,When will I die?When will I know how to deal withThe mountain in the road.When will I conclude that life itself doesHave a true meaning, but only one who Has a possibility of what it may be can answer me?

Please, tell me when.

Ivoris Lee8th grade


The House I Call My HomeKnowing what I know,

Seeing what I have seen,You would fall back dead.

At the outside you mightOnly see bricks and color

Of white paint,But beyond these walls

Lies my home.

One I will always loveAnd cherish. Once

Upon a time,I assume I was happy

In there

In the house I call my home,In the house I hid my soul.

Alexandra Notzon8th grade



Ode to a ClockClock, oh how your big handMoves slightly faster60 times before your little handHour by hour, minute by minuteYou talk to me in yourOwn mysterious silent way.Speak, speak, Mr. Clock,A minute has passed,An hour, and I know thisBecause you have told me so.

Jay Nash8th grade

PoemPoem, Poem, Poem, Poem.

That is what I’m writing.

Poem, Poem, Poem, Poem.

This is what I do.


This is how I write it.


Now my poem is through.

Nick8th grade

The TreeThe tall, dark tree

Standing still, leaves rufflingAnd then the first falls.

Jeannie Blackmon8th grade

We’ll Get Over ItThe world’s at war with itself,

We’ll get over it.Starvation, shelter, finances,

AIDS, just a few of the problems our society has.We’ll get over it.

Eviction notice, beatings,Shootings, a few of

The things I’ve witnessed.We’ll get over it.

Penguins, sea lions, llamasKoalas, some of the abandoned animals.

We’ll get over it.

Speed bumps, blockades,All the other things I mentioned,

We’ll get over them.Just another tree in the woodsThat will soon be cut down.

We’ll get over it.

Briana Franklin8th grade

Chapter 6Jackson Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.


On the Question of RaceThey ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

Inside this body my mom who looks like me, she cooks delicious chocolate chip cookies, and she warms my heart up with happiness.

There are voices going all around the house, my dog barking at the birds, my dad screaming at the television when a football game is on. I have my dancing shoes on and dance all over the place, a volleyball bouncing off the wall, me swimming in the cool blue water inside this body.

There are dreams of going to college, to be a famous dancer, to get married to a kind man inside this body.

They ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

Inside this body my hometown is Chicago, The city that never sleeps, the bright lights shine in your face at night.

There are sizzling hot pizzas from Naples, delicious fat juicy burgers from Lucky Burger, rich chocolate malts from Sonic.

Inside my heart there is a smell of a vanilla candle in my home,there is also the smell of hot chocolate on an icy cold day, inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . German.

Amanda Burmeister 7th grade

Chapter 6 • Jackson Middle School

To Daddy

Daddy

My big strict teddy bear.

I had him all to myself.

Sleepless nights wondering . . .

Will he love the baby more?

Will he still love me?

He’s mine and

I don’t want to share.

My big strict teddy bear.

I trip and cut my knee.

I run to my daddy

I don’t want to let him go.

His tear soaked pants

smell like his cologne.

The baby is here.

he loves us both

just the same

no more, no less

I do want to share!

my big strict Teddy Bear.

Danielle Aguirre7th grade




Inside this body, I have my father’s brains and my mother’s personality.

Inside this body I have the beautiful sight of Colorado’s snowy mountains and the scent of Cedar trees inside this body.

Inside this body I dream to go to college and become a successful surgeon.

Inside this body, I have my mom and dad telling me what to do and giving me advise about things I’m confused about.

But I stop and simply write down . . . Italian.

Haley Caldarola7th grade

A Father Named Clarence

My father’s name is Clarence.

No, not Clearance!

He is a preacher when

he shouts like a preacher

when he talks.

He is a joker, when he says

“Mama” jokes

He is over protective when it comes

to B-O-Y-S or the talk!

He is big like a dark brown balloon.

Six feet to be exact, but don’t

Let the gray hair fool you!

Yes! My father name is Clarence

No! Not Clearence!

Angela Littlefield 7th grade

(Poems entitled “On a Question of Race” were inspired by Michele Banks’s poem by that name.)



I have chicken Alfredo cooked to perfection smothered in Alfredo sauce inside this body.

I have my mom Rose who is my second mom loving and caring, my brother and the death of my dad flowing in my veins giving me new life inside this body.

There are dreams to go to college and become a doctor inside this body.


There are dreams to be the best Volleyball player and the sound of the bouncing of the ball inside this body.

I have the sound of my violin playing softly and rock loud yet peaceful inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . Confused Hispanic

Felicia Cantu 7th grade


Father Poem For my dad Roger Mims

Dad you are marvelous. You are

the greatest dad any girl

would want. I really love your

personality. You are such a

joker. I know you love me

and I love you too. That’s

why I’m glad I have a

father like you.

Tamara Clay 7th grade

My FatherFor my dad John Barnes IV

My dad,

I could never be more proud of him

he’s always a good man

his personality is happy and great

he’s very tall

he’s loving toward his family

he’s caring toward my mom and I

he’s a hard worker

I love him so much

I can never let him go.

Evan Barnes 7th grade




Within this body there is a cross and a Star of David from my mother and father.

There is love and sadness with a hint of curiosity from my cousins all over the world from Alaska to Columbia.

I have the language, which has not yet found its voice inside this body.

My brother and I have everything we could ask for from love to sadness inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . . Hispanic

Rose Cantu7th grade

My FatherA serious man was in the military Came home with love and comfort looked at everyone big and scary,yet worked hard every day growing old, I turned his hair gray.

My Father, someone you can trust,when you are down you go to him. as big and hard as the earths crust. The light around seemed quickly to dim. When he speaks his tone a deep sound. When angry you want to creep, Around, out. You hear him with a large shout. I love my father once you get to know him You won’t even bother Not the negativity in him, But the father inside. You’ll get to love him, just as soon as I let him go.

Rudy Deleon 7th grade


Chapter 6 • Jackson Middle School On the Question of RaceThey ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

There are Sonic Oreo blasts, Dr. Pepper, hundreds of McDonalds items inside this body.

There is the smell of smoke, Christmas time cookies, the smell of my daddy’sOld Spice Cologne, and vanilla candles inside this body.

The voices of my mother telling me what to do and father telling me to always be smart inside this body.

I have dreams of going to college and getting married. I have the sound of dogs barking and rain falling from the sky inside this body.


There is the sight of my grandfather who died two years ago. The shadows of my father who I choose to be like when I’m his age inside this body.

Playing poker with my family and loving each minute I spend with them, playing volleyball with my best girl friends are inside this body.

There are the sounds of millions of Spanish words, my sister acting like Brittany Spears in the shower, and my puppy growling at me for food.

I have the memories of the Bahamas from my dad getting married and the pesky ticks from Missouri always haunting me in my dreams.

But I stop and simply write down . . . German

Crystal Cardwell7th grade

Michael/FatherM onkey

I nsane

C ool

H appy

A ll over weird

E nvading

L oving.

F unny

A wesome

T rusting

H andy

E xclamatory

R ock and Roll

Christa Halvorsen7th grade




I have Papa John’s delicious pizza inside this body.

There is the Old Spice that my cousin wears inside this body.

I have the sounds of my clarinet and my piano inside this body.

Mostly I have my mom, my dad, my sisters and my brother inside this body.


I have punk rock music inside this body.

My sisters, Amber, Angel and Andrea as well as the voices of my friends and family are inside this body.

I have Colorado, New Mexico Georgia and South Padre Island inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . Hispanic.

Amanda Elizondo 7th grade

To My Father (Read italicized font all the way down

then regular font all the down.)

My father has always been

with you! He treats everyone

magical. He is extremely

A different way and makes

hard working and very

You feel like and individual

independent. He knows

not a crowd. He may not

how to take you to the

always have time for you

Stars when you are below

but when he does he will

the roots. He treats you a

treat you like a princess!

special way like he has

A princess that has her own land

a certain part in his heart for you

and a princess that is the specialest!

that no one can take away

A princes that has her own

he is a little over protective

Crown, with Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires,

but he will also try new things

and amethyst stones!

Kaitlyn Garcia 7th grade




The taste of warm flavored Parmesan food of the Italians, the frosty cold taste of New York style cheesecake tingles inside this body.

The sweet smell of the perfume “Fonsy and the sweet sensation that briny our noise. Incense of coca butter and the wet smell of baseball field that bring our nose pleasure inside this body.

The feeling of walking onto a new place, it feels like your heart won’tstop many different feelings rushing and 1000 emotions inside this body.


There is the full moon that I go to when I’m yellow. The night sky, the soundsof the wind gently brushing up against the fall oak trees inside this body.

I have the smells of an old pipe made from red wood and engraved Arthur Guerra around it and the smell of the pipes smoke, as the man pipes away, inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . European.

Art Guerra7th grade

To Sandra

When you feel like running

into the dark.

Count all the stars in the

peaceful sky.

It is the times . . . your

memories come back,

since the day . . . she said

“Good-Bye.”

When the moon comes

into your sight,

or you feel the

touch of the calm wind.

ASK the white sphere in

the sky,

or the breeze in the air

for her kiss.

If you fear the storm in

the brink, or the high wind

in the night . . . It is grandma

who took a break and wanted to hug you tight.

Benjamin Gutierrez7th grade

Inspired by poem by Trinidad V. Sánchez




There are the sounds of trains passing me in the middle of the night. The sound of raindrops falling on my window telling methat someone is crying inside this body.

I have the smells of cologne from my dad after a hard day’s work inside this body.

I have the dreams to travel the world and get a college degree for teaching inside this body.

But most of all I have the voices of my family or always talking around me inside this body.


There is the taste of sesame chicken (Chinese food) from Asian Buffet after a long days work inside this body

The house of my grandma, her voice always telling me how much she loves me and her kisses on my face are inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . Italian.

Tara Morton 7th grade

DaddyLike a mirror you reflect on me

your thick hair and faithfulness you can

See in me. Determined and goofy you follow your dreams. Your calm

and caring which anyone can see. So that’s why I want people to see you in me.

For Eden Benevidez

Lorrayna Benevidez7th grade


Chapter 6 • Jackson Middle School On the Question of RaceThey ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

I have the voices of my family speaking Spanish, people speaking English from Britain, my pet’s barking/meowing, and my parents talking inside this body.

I have these dreams of going to college, becoming a veterinarian, traveling the world and buying a nice big house inside this body.

I have places of going to Italy, for their pizzas, England, Alaska, Spain and France. I want to visit Mexico, California (my birthplace) inside this body.

I have these games that are video games, car-racing games Monopoly, and my favorite physical game twister inside this body.


There is rock music and some classical music when I sleep and rock music in my computer and radio inside this body.

I have the sound of my clarinet notes when I’m practicing and I have the sound of the violin that I used to play inside this body.

I have the sights of the mall in Hollywood, the Santa Barbara beach and the Santa Anita Mall in California and playing in the snow at the Sequoia National Park when I was eight years old inside this body.

My memories of fracturing my elbow, getting hit by a car and getting my first dog and two cats and making my first ‘snowman’ inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . Mexican American or Hispanic.

Lorena Rodriguez7th grade



I have another woman inside of me; she is always by my side and never give up, and this woman is my mom inside this body.

I have the smell of cigarettes inside of me that reminds me of many people my dad and my grandpa and uncle Brad who I love so dearly inside this body.

I have dreams of becoming an actress, traveling to beautiful places, such as Paris and Australia to capture the beautiful sights inside this body.

I have sounds of the bat pounding the ball into the outfield past the fence – Homerun inside this body.


I have many foods inside of me, Italian, Mexican, salads, tons of every kind and the moist chocolate cake that tingles your taste buds with every bite inside this body.

I have the smell of my mothers Paloma Picaso that makes me smile when the scent tingles my nose, because it reminds me of the never-ending love I have for her inside this body.

I have sounds inside my body like when the crowd is cheering because you just won the championship game inside this body.

But I stop and simply write down . . . German Indian.

Taylor SmithJ7th grade


Poppy

For Ted

Poppy, Oh Poppy mirror of me Oh how can it be so wise but not me. Father to me brother to me Chaplin at jail father a make Guidance you bring and joy to be you. We fight at night but rejoice at day. Poppy, Oh Poppy.

Britt White 7th grade



There is the presence of my grandfather’s pipe smoke, and my grandmother’s art. My domain is filled with my parent’s love and my Big Dad’s will inside this body.

There are presently, the sounds of my dog’s snoring, and my horse’s whinnies. The words of songs are engraved in my open mind inside this body.

Here are the smells of cedar wood burning and my grandpa’s cigar smoke. I myself am engulfed by the scent of clean hay, spread on the barn’s floor inside this body.

Ever present is the voice of my father telling me to never give up. The voice of my grandmother praising my art and hugging me is inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . . I don’t know.

David Brewster 7th grade





I have football running through my veins and I have the Philadelphia Eagles inside this body.

I have the many sounds of loves honks and screeches of the cars in the early morning traffic trying to get Jackson Middle School inside this body.

I have the games that I play, making lay-ups in basketball, forcing a fumble in football and hitting homeruns in baseball inside this body.

I have the Mexican heritage the mariachi music, the empanadas and the fiestas inside this body.



Christian Garza 7th grade



Father Poem

You are N I ce and thoughtful and you always have new ideas. You’re L oving, and warm like the sun shining down You’re a Good j O ker and you always make me laugh

I’ V always loved the way you’ve been there for me.

You’re a gr E at hair stylist,

Y our strong and you almost have a 6 pack,

Y O u’re the best. You’re a very U plifting person.

You your own In D ividual

Th A nk you for everything

D ad I love you very much with all my heart!

Decembra Cervantes 7th grade

Father PoemTen years go by as you pass me by, it’s been so long since you’ve seen through my eyes, tell me one more time why you can’t come, because you say you have to work, even though I know you’re lying, I sit in my room crying. I tell myself just one more chance, I’ll give you one more chance you didn’t call me on my birthday, I had to call you.You didn’t call at Christmas, Thanksgiving or any other special holiday. I hope you can see, what you really mean to me. You say you’ll be here, though you’re never near. I wish I had a loving dad, who’s always there to care to love and share those happy moments I never had with you. I know I probably never will get those times back from you but that gives me more time to find the true who in you.

Jessica Acosta7th grade


Chapter 7Krueger Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Dave Rutschman


Chapter 7 • Krueger Middle School

Why UniformWhy . . .Why . . .Uniform, Why . . . Why?Yellow . . .Why a yellow uniform . . . Why?Yellow collared shirt and khaki pants,It is so vibrant, and ugly,So despising, and I don’t understandThe concept of uniform.It is like being trapped in a locked Room, or being in the nut house, becauseWe can’t express ourselves.The only way we can express ourselvesIs in hair, belts, shoes, and accessories,But not the big part, CLOTHES.Why can’t we live, why can’t we breathe,Why can’t we wear the lovely newClothes we bought last week, whyMust we look the same and Can’t express our individuality,My question is why . . .Why uniform?

Sereena Kalin6th grade

A Day at the Beach As Jacob and I swam out into the open beach, we felt something swim between us. Then again, once again, and again. We stayed as still as can be, but we didn’t know what was swimming between us, but whatever it was it was big! Then out of nowhere, a giant sea monster jumps right over our heads and its tail falls on both of us and pushes us all the way down to the bottom of the ocean. We swim up as fast as we can and try to catch our breath without getting eaten. After we catch our breath, we swim back to shore as fast as we can. We were so tired we couldn’t take one more step before resting. Then I woke up to my dog licking my face. Thank God it was just a dream, I said getting out of bed.

Adrian Estrada6th grade

The best thing to do when you are sad, bored, or have no friends is to sit down or lie down and listen to music. Some songs you may relate to, make you feel like they’re talking about you. When I’m listening to music, I think about my family and friends. My family has a different melody from other families. You always worry about what will happen. So you should listen to a song and calm yourself down. Songs may get you more angry or sad or happy. Like my family will always change tempo never knowing what will happen. Every time I listen to music, I lay on my full-size bed with my two dog stuffed animals. My family and friends are like music always changing. Happy, sad, mad???

Kimberly Vu6th grade



Once a bird saw a Mexican parade. He knew that he wanted to be a dancing cockroach. Although he didn’t know about the terrible things that happen to cockroaches. The bird got a job as a dancing cockroach but it wasn’t the same. He wanted to be a real dancing cockroach. Next he tried to find a magician who would turn him into one. So it happened. Little did the bird know that he was going to be small! Later he said, “I wanted to be big, not small. This is not right.” The little cockroach could not change the magician’s mind, so I’m sorry to say that this story ends in a SPLAT.

Elaine Gonzalez6th grade

When I listen to music, I sometimes can relate or know what she/he is feeling because there’s my friends showing how they may have the same feelings, and me too. Me and my friends say I wish I was them living the life of riches and stuff. But will it ever happen? Just like Britney, Mari, Raven, etc. Well, thinking into the future but for now it’s just at school dreaming of how it could be but in the end sometimes we feel just like a book thrown to the floor that nobody wants to pay attention to.

Elizabeth Colon6th grade



How to Make a DifferenceThere are many things to doSo you can make a difference.

Help someone,Compliment someone,Conserve something,Recycle something.

Stand up and be counted.There are many things to doSo you can make a difference.

Cameron Blount6th grade

LacyLacy thinks you are herBrother or sisterLacy barks like a thunderStorm, she whines likeThe baby birds, she lovesYou and meShe runs like the windShe is my baby and then She comes back to be myLoving dog Lacy.

Dalea Kamberling6th grade

Sugar Rush(Based on a true story at Krueger Middle School)

Candy candy candy! Sugar sugar sugar! I’m in 6th period, listening to Mr. Fisher say to me, “Get the teacher’s attention! To the left of the clock!” Which I’ve already memorized. I am having a sugar rush. As I’m going crazy in the need for something sweet, I start hearing Mr. Fisher say something but all I hear is blah blah blah. Ring! goes the bell. Mr. Fisher holds me back and starts telling me something, but the sugar rush is getting higher. The next thing you know I take off running after people with candy, I take it, eat it, the next thing you know . . . well, guess. I served three days of BMC and that is what happened to me with the sugar rush.

Alejandro Lopez6th grade


Chapter 8Nimitz Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Trinidad Sanchez Jr.


Chapter 8 • Nimitz Middle School

(Poems entitled “On a Question of Race” were inspired by Michele Banks’s poem by that name.)

On a Question of RaceThey ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

San Luis Potosi, Mexico is where I was born, with that I know all aboutthe years in Mexico with my family inside this body.

Every morning waken from my alarm clock, I forget about my dreams, but with the smell of tamales I feel I’m back in Mexico with my grandmother inside this body.

As now I’m older I remember my dreams, friends, and crushes I had when I was young, remembered I feel cold as if I’m in Chicago now snowing inside this body.

Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and New York is what it started, my friends, smells, dreams and more inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . . I’m pure Mexican

Monica Pescina 7th grade

MY FATHER makes me

My father makes me . . .

feel unloved as if he doesn’t care.


feel as if I am unable to do things right.


wish I could have gotten hit by that big red truck.


wish I hadn’t been born.


go outrageously crazy when he yells at my mother.


feel like there’s no hope in the world for me


want to give up and just die.


wish he were a better person because

I love him dearly with all my heart even

though he can make me feel these ways.

DrumNerd1077th grade




I have some memory about my great grandfather funeral all the tears inside this body.

I have a dream of having a great career not having to be supported by a husband inside this body.

I have a specific taste of my grandma’s arroz con pollo and Chinese foodfrom Beijing Express inside this body.

I have Reggeton music by Pitt Bull and Dacy Yankee sounds of baby’s crying and baby’s laughter inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . . it doesn’t matter what race I am,I am who I want to be.

Evelyn Lopez 7th grade

My Grandfather For John W. Adams (my grandfather)

When I was only three weeks old

my grandfather gave me coffee.

My grandfather has always

been there just like a dad. He

has no idea how to speak

Spanish. When my grades are

low he helps me. If I don’t

get my homework surprisingly

he does. When I get into trouble

He’s there to help me out. Some

times he can be mean, surprising and

unpredictable, but most of the time

my grandfather is nice and encouraging.

My Grandfather.

Crystal Rios7th grade




I have the great video of Ciara and Bow Wow’s song “Like You” and I have Eminem’s funny song “Lose It” inside this body.

I have the loud radio my sister plays when I wake up andthe smell of peanut butter cookies fresh from the oven inside this body.

I have the voice of my mom saying, “With those bad grades you’re not going to get anywhere in life!”


I have someone in my head tell me to do the right thing, when I know that I’m going to do the wrong thing.

I have good and bad memories of my Tía Helen which makes me laugh and cry.


Ashley Cruz7th grade

My Mother

Mama, mama

You are so bright,

Mama, mama

You always hug me tight

You are like an eagle

Who brings me joy

And a hawk that protects

Me with love.

Mama, mama

Will you stay with me

Tonight

Mama, mama

Now I want to hold

You tight.

Lynda Williams 7th grade




There is spicy chicken burger 50 enchiladas, 100 eggs and there is rap rock and R & B inside this body.

The sound or death as a cat dies the sound of a dog barking and birds chirping, the smell of dogs, smoke and Pine Sol are inside this body.

The voice of my mom telling me to clean my room, or Lincoln Park. My first slap from my mom is inside this body.

The dreams are nightmares, night after night. My places are my dad’sfuneral when I first met him is inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . . Mexican

Daniel Esquivel 7th grade

My Father For my father

You have been honest for fifty

summers. Your kind words make

people happy. You are funny as a clown.

You are more caring than anyone I have

ever known. Whenever I see you it

makes me proud that you are my dad

and it’s nice to know that you’ll be

here for me every step I take. I

am very glad that I see you

everywhere I go. You are very

giving that I can see, you are my

wonderful dad!

H.D.7th grade



Mi Papi

Mi papi me hace sonreír

He also makes me laugh

I love to see him dance around.

Aveces mi papi es serio.

Mi papí es inteligente.

He shows me new things.

Aveces mi Papi se enoja.

Pero, casi todas las veces son

por mi culpa.

My papi can get pretty LOUD

when he speaks.

but I still love him!

DZ

7th grade

I Dare You I dare you to love meI dare you to cry I dare you to be happy and never say good-bye.

I dare you to care I dare you to laugh I dare you never to give-up and say “It will last.”

I dare you to smile, I dare you to have fun, I dare you to say sorry and just run and run

I dare you to forgive I dare you to forget. I dare you to liveyour life to the fullest. I never say: “I regret.”

I dare you to trust me I dare you to take a chance I dare you to be yourself and do a little dance.

I dare myself to put away the blade I dare myself to stop I dare myself to take a look around and see what loving, caring people that I have

Vincent Casares

7th grade




I have delicious caldo de rice in my stomach that flows through like soda in my mouth, it taste good inside this body!

I hear voices in my head that when I get home my mom says, “Clean your room or do your chores” inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . .

Leslie Rosales 7th grade

My Father For my father

To me

I have two fathers.

I have a two-for-one deal.

One of them is God and the

Other father is my real father.

Ever since I was born, they

Would always love and take care

Of me. They would always

take me to school, or to the clinic,

or even through my teenage life.

The one thing that I want to learn

from them is to be loving and honest.

But I know that they

Will always love and take

Care of me. And I know

I will take care of them, too.

Whitney Santos7th grade




I have a simple time when I have to be regular. A simple time when to be free and escape from my chains inside this body.

I have an invisible person who tells me what to do. It has a way with slowing me down inside this body.


But I stop and simply write down . . .

Billy Rubio7th grade

My Father

My father

Can jab left to right and

Do 50 push-ups with one

hand. He can walk up stairs

And down while doing a

Handstand. He could lift

me up over his head. He can

be exiting or adventurous.

But what he wasn’t good

At was controlling his anger.

He would come out a beast,

His voice roaring like a

Lion, but never roared at

Me. He controls it a lot

Better now. But the most

Coolest thing he can do

Is use his heart to love

Me.

Lauren Gutierrez 7th grade


Father PoemMy mother is cool

hey love is smooth as wool

my father wants the best.

He won’t give up or rest

my sister really small

she really

my brother like you tight

they don’t pull nail or bite

my cousins are small

she smallest of them all.

Matthew Tellez 7th grade

On the Question of Race They ask me to write down my race and I think and think very seriously and consider writing down the truth and have my answer read.

I love the taste of pizza and the cereal, eggs in the morning and candy during the day inside my body.

I am a rocker, I love metal and the classics, but outside people see me as liking RAP, R& B like the song “Kim” and Texans inside this body.

Hear the sounds of via busses run day through night, dogs barking, my alarm clock awakes me each morning, hearing yelling and screaming in my house inside this body.

I’m missing the smell of paint from my father, the candle scent reminds me or my mother the yellow cake on each of our birthday are inside this body


But I stop and simply write down . . . I am ugly complicated trying to fit in society.

Stephanie Trujillo 7th grade


Chapter 9Tejeda Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Kristi Beall


Chapter 9 • Tejeda Middle School

ArtPaintings and sketches, creations of wretchesA piece of art, a piece of heart, Capturing the flow, the movement, and the lifeAll of it, with the precision of a knife.

Priyanka Thupili7th grade

OblivionSpace, a marvelous wonder, a never-ending oblivion,for there was never a beginning.Traveling through the infinite stars,is such a wonder, one can only dream ofThis dream will live foreverbecause there are too many starsfor one person to count.

Derrick Bender Link7th grade

FriendsFriends are forever(Even though they may fight)But when you stumble upon a best friendEverything seems right

You can talk on the phoneOr go to the mallBecause your best friend will alwaysHelp you up when you fall

You can have a sleepoverOr both bake a cakeSpending time in the fall leavesAnd winter snowflakes

Yes, friends are forever(Even though they may fight)because friends will always love youwith all of their might

Catherine White7th grade

Soul for infinity. our souls soar only last for so long, Physical BodiesAlthough our

Josh Taliaferro7th grade



FriendsThrough times of blueThick and thin,They’re with you.

In the hardest of timesWhen you need adviceThey never leave your side.

Elizabeth Bachle7th grade

Big BlueThere was a great blue whale swimmin’ in the sea.And then all of a sudden he started lookin’ at me.I didn’t think they existed; I thought they were too big.

But of course I thought the same thing about those smelly pigs.Oh shmazzley snap? I fell into the sea.Then that big blue whale decided to eat me.

I’m writing this poem to try and better my mood,Trying to get my mind off this already chewed food.

Pavan Dhesi7th grade

MikaylaMet in 6th gradeWhat a wonderful year

We’ve been friends ever sinceGoing on our second year

A friendship so true and filled with joy

But there was crying too at the movieRaise your voice

We’re so much alike It freaks people out

We call each other twinWhile we prance about

No matter what we doIt’s Max and Em

Swimming and singingAnd jumping around

Making up songs On our clarinets

Having such fun In second period band

Our friendship will lastForever and always

And I just can’t wait For our road trip before college

Emily Daniels7th grade



2 PeopleThere’s two people in this worldwho I deeply care for,

Only because I love them so much,

It’s not my mom. It’s not my dad,

But it’s two people who are barely Even in my life,

She’s my role model, and he is, too,

She has raised me from day oneAnd he has cared about me for a long time,

How do I know?

I don’t.

Love is too strong for words.

Sarah Baker7th grade

Mixed FeelingsHappy, sad, mad, upset

We laugh, we cry, we yell, we scream, But no one knows how we actually feel inside.

You look, you see, you ask, you hear,But that feeling that you feel is not there.

You tell, you speak, then you knowWhat you feel deep inside:Mixed feelings.

Jorden Smith7th grade

Slow DownSlow down,Take a minute to thinkWhat am I missingAs I rush back and forthNever stopping to listenNever stopping to share

Erin Kelley7th grade

A WomanA woman with heartA mother with loveA friend with adviceA co-worker with helpA role model with examplesA sister who cares

My mom

Hannah Benoit7th grade



The PeopleThe people you meet in heavenAre the people you already knowThey helped you on your journeyThat ended awhile ago

They had a hand in everythingLike the ring on your fingerAnd all things in between

They are a part of an old chapter in your lifeThat will help you start anewSo trust these people through pain and strifeAnd eternal happiness will come to you

Stacie Rydell7th grade

Bits and PiecesBits and pieces that fit togetherTiny pieces that go any which wayThe ones that formed meThe same ones that still do Ever stacking Ever piecingTo form the person who’s always me

Franklin Olumba7th grade

Perfect VaseTrying to leave this world of hate, Trying to find a peaceful gate, With no violence or any sin, Where everybody is welcome in, The perfect place for you and me, Where love runs deeper than the sea, Fields of hope and skies of trust, Where there is no reason to lust, We are all equal in this perfect place, Where we are all as beautiful as a perfect vase.

Cody Parker7th grade

A BookA book is your friend,A companion to read,Understood is it,But understand it cannot,A friend that does not judge you.

Joshua Parker7th grade



He’ll Be ThereWhen you feel aloneAnd you got no friends on the phoneAnd you’ve reached an all-time lowHe’ll be thereHe’ll be the one to pick you upAnd the one to tear you downWhen you’re sitting by yourselfHe’ll be the one who is aroundNo matter where you areIn your room or in your carHe’ll be thereHe’ll be your light and your friendHe’s the one there ‘til the endHe’ll be there to hold your handAnd be the one to help you standWhoever you areHe will be your shining star

Emily A. Kolb7th grade

ReadingA gateway into a different realmA cryptic message within textThat can only be decoded by me and no otherA message only I can seeA message that is a portrait of me

Ben Thomas7th grade

Starbucks!Would you like a frappuccino?Chocolate latte cappuccino?Starbucks is the place to goFor your coffee obsession to grow

At Starbucks, people are laughing and talking

I get Starbucks gift cards In my Christmas stocking

It’s where I go for a caffeine highThe extra sugar makes me jump to the sky

So next time you want a little coffee,Hot chocolate or even some English Toffee

Forget H-E-B and go to Starbucks!

Emily Jose7th grade

Connected The chain that holds us togetherIs the one that can break us apartIf turned the wrong wayIt might break a heartAll connected we stayUntil someone breaks away

Becca Zwart7th grade


Why I Hate UYou say you don’t want to Hurt meOoops…too late

They say give him timeTo see

Now I’m too tired to waitI thought I could depend On you

You just made me cryThat’s why I hate you

Ashley Burke7th grade


C.O. ColoradoSnowing, cold, hot chocolateWe used to skiThe winters were funSnowdays were the bestFireplaces, family, snowboarding Colorado

Brooke Griffith7th grade

LostTrapped under rocks, orTrapped at heart,Either way you’re trapped.

Lost at sea, orLost in misery,Either way you’re lost.

Austin Schell7th grade

LifeLife is like a glass of waterIt can be half-filled or half-empty

It depends on which way You look at life

If you look at life In a negative way,The glass is half-empty

If you look at lifeIn a positive way,The glass is half-filled

The way I look at it,The glass is always half-filled

Allison Bakutis7th grade



The BarnyardThe lowing of cowsThe bleating of sheepSerenade me softlyAs I fall asleep

the clucking of chickensA sun that is weakKeep me awake On a day that looks bleak

I say farewellTo my rustic homeAs I set off Into the unknown

Connie Wang7th grade

Soldier or DadSoldier or DadBOOM!There goes another oneBut he won’t leave Not until he buys his little girlA birthday card

Soldier or DadEveryone’s running homeBut he wants that cardNo one listens to him

Three days laterIt happens againHe found another perfect cardBut no one let him buy itOnce the bombs go off

Soldier or DadMy dad is both

Kiyra Crooks7th grade

In this Big Empty SpaceFriends are important in this big empty spaceEven if you do something wrong, they’ll tell you face-to-faceYou two will be different and not the sameEven though you two might have the same nameThey’ll also help you with homework that you don’t getAnd they’ll hold you to your word even in a betSo if you’re down and feeling blueThey’ll treat you real good and make you feel like newNow if you’re bored and want to playThey’ll stay by your side for the whole daySo in this big empty space you’ll need a friendA good friend who will stay by your side till the end

Trenton Blanchette7th grade


Chapter 10White Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Sheila Kirk Walsh


Chapter 10 • White Middle School

People Like UsHi, my name is Natalie. Me and my mom work at a corner store in New York. We get over 500 customers each day. You imagine that. My family is not wealthy so my mom and my dad have to work. And you want to know something, I have to work, too! It is very hard coming home from school and getting ready for work. Instead of going home and doing homework I go to the store and work for about 5 hours. I get home from school at 2:45 and I get off of work at 7:45. The good thing is that my mom is with me the whole time. After work I go home, take a shower, then do my homework, and then go to sleep. You think that you have it bad doing chores when you want to take a nap? Well, I have a job and I am only 10 years old. And in the bad times I still have to work.

Christina Flores6th grade

Jumping on CloudsOne day I was at the Empire State Building and I was looking at the clouds. So, I thought to myself “These clouds are great for jumping!” So, I took a step to see if it was safe and it was. All the clouds were close together so I went jumping and had the best time! I did that for about four hours. Then, I took a break to eat. While I was eating I called my friend so I could ask her to come to the Empire State Building and she said yes. So when she got there, she saw me waiting for her by the edge of the building. When she came over I asked her “Do you want to jump on some clouds?” She thought I was joking, but I wasn’t. She said that that was all right. I went first so I got on and went to the next cloud. She got on and was a little scared but when she started to jump she did not want to get off! We went on for about five hours and then we went home. She asked “Do you want to go tomorrow?” I said “Sure!” So every day we went. Well, every day we could!

Kelsey Shumate6th grade

Once Upon a StoneOnce upon a time there was a stone named Shaquida. She lived in a tropical rain forest. “It is very beautiful,” said Shaquida. She lived in a tree at the right of the coconut tree. Shaquida had long reddish brown hair. Inside her hole is beautiful. She has pictures of her twin daughters, Arquisha and Marquesha. They are both 11 turning 12 in June. To be exact, June 27th. They are rich. Their hole is four stories high. They each have their own floor and kitchen. On each floor, there is five rooms. They have friends named Shaday and Justen. They lived next door and go to the mall. They each have a credit card with $2,000,000 on them. I wish I had that much money. They bought hats, clothes, and shoes. Their dad is a hip-hop rapper named Bow wow. They will go on the road with their dad. He is going to San Diego. They are packing right now. “Have fun,” said Shaquida.

Arquisha Thompson6th grade


Chapter 10 • White Middle SchoolTornadoes“Where do tornadoes come from?” asked my little brother Charlie. “I don’t know. Maybe from the raw anger in the heart of a man.” Or maybe a tornado forms in the mind of a child,thoughts swirling, ideas spinning. Could a tornado be what makes us feel angry or could it be what makes us scared?Maybe a tornado is just another person like you and I. A person who takes from others, a person who doesn’t care. Or possibly a person who comes from a place of unhappiness, where it feels it has to take away from others. “I don’t know Charlie. I don’t know.”

Paris Singleton6th grade

The Black Flame CandleI see a yellow light under a door. I open the door very slowly. I see a bright candle.

There’s another light in the kitchen.I go downstairs taking it step by step. I find another candle.

There appears to be one last candle. It’s in the restroom, but this candle is different. This candle has a black flame.

Manuel Rosario6th grade

Some Bacon in the RoomSome crispy baconis on a plate on a soft bed.

A red bowl of spaghetti ison the green couch.

Some chocolate chip cookies are in the new fridge.

There are little crazy monkeysin the dark attic. They are screaming like a snowman on fire.

Alex Pitula6th grade



SkeeterIt all started when I got my dog. It was a week after I got him, he started to sleep-walk. On Mondays and Fridays, he wouldn’t stop sleep-walking. So, I took him to the vet, and the vet gave him medicine to stop it, and it worked on Mondays, but not on Fridays. So I took him back to the vet. There was nothing she could do about it, so he still sleepwalks. He goes into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator door and eats all of the canned dog food. Then, I will go and get him and pop him on the nose and say “No!”

Miranda Sheppard6th grade

Home Sweet HomeLong vacation to somewhere new. New bed, new scenery, and different people. Gone for a long time, I want to go home. This just isn’t the place I know.

Back home, three months later. Things aren’t the same. I know soon it will all be perfect.

My mom is finally going to make a home-cooked meal. It feels like normal again. I missed my dog, cat, and my bed.

I run to my room. My bed is nicely unmade, waiting for me to dive onto that fluff of cotton.

I go back to school and see my friends. By the end of the day, I can only say “Home sweet home!”

Kathryn Riggs6th grade



When I’m 64When I’m 64 I’ll raid the senior buffet with ardor. My pants will be so high up, I’ll give myself a weggie. My skin will be so baggy that when I look out the window, I’ll look like a hound dog.My legs will hurt so bad that I have an elevator instead of stairs. I’ll get on my bike out on the road. I’ll put my helmet on to cover my big glasses that will like a window of bullet-proof glass.When I arrive at bingo mart, I play some bingoand win against Mr. Stewart.

Keaton Bohrmann6th grade

HomesickI am rock. I live in a shoe, but not any shoe. A red shoe (that’s cool, right?) and it stinks really bad. I can’t handle it! Really horrible smell, kind of like rotten eggs mixed with that skunk smell.

When will she take me out of this shoe! According to her laziness, I’ll be in here for another seven months. I cannot wait that long!

But, wait, who will take care of me! I’ll be smashed in a million pieces! Or I’ll be thrown in a filthy green river or probably into the sewers! Oh man, I need to stop complaining or I’ll be out of here soon!

Monica Lara6th Grade

On MarsThere I was sitting in a restaurant on Mars’ I think it was called The Shnizmar Joint. I was there all alone looking pathetic when my waiter came to my table to take my order. He said, “Ticky tacky cobtono.” I politely said back, “Excuse me?” Then he repeated himself. I didn’t think of it much and ordered. “Can I get a burger and some fries?” The weird looking man walked away so I assumed he was going to get my food. I waited for about ten minutes until the same man came back with a shiny silver platter. Then he handed it to me and said some weird words and walked off. I took the top off the platter and saw a delicious looking burger. I slowly took my first bite, and it tasted unusual. So, I called my waiter and said “This burger tastes like flowers!” Then, he said some weird words and walked so I just ate it anyway.

Tatiana Larson6th grade



SK8 BoardingMy name is Jesus. I love to sk8.Sk8ing has always been my life.

Every time I skate the vibrationfrom the board feels good. It feels like you’re at a spa getting a foot massage.

The wind that goes in your facewhile you ridefeels like a sunny day at the beach on the shore.

The bearings inside the wheels,you can hear them rattle asyou sk8. It sounds like a rattlesnake rattling its tail.

That’s why skating has been my life.

Jesus Gonzalez6th grade


Chapter 11Wood Middle SchoolWriter-in-Residence: Sheila Kirk Walsh


Chapter 11 • Wood Middle School

Special RockYou would be surprised what lies inside a rock. Go deep into the rock beyond the edgesand you’ll find my pet fish Josie. Her room is turquoise blue with a round purple bedthat has a sky blue canopy with rainbow sequins. She has a red oak desk in the corner of her room. On top of her desk is a desk calendar, pencil holder, pink laptop, and a purple desk lamp. In the middle of her room she has a big screen t.v. By her bed, there is a rainbow rug. So next time you think about smashing a rock, Think about what may lie inside a rock.

Samantha Jones6th grade

The Other Body“E=mc2!! The sum over the kinetic π=2.”

“What? Where am I? What am I?”

I looked down, and I had four paws and a tail. I looked around and noticed the beautiful landscape that I stood on. There was a meadow that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. There was a patch of sun yellow sunflowers in the meadow. A pond laid aside the patch of sunflowers. The pond was as blue as the sky. I could smell the fresh flowers scent and hear the bees buzzing around to collect pollen. There was a big rock that looked like a mountain in the winter. I climbed to the very top and suddenly realized I could never climb that high. Awesome, I have become an animal that I’ve always wanted to be. I heard footsteps all of sudden. I saw a gigantic shadow looming over me. Someone or something was behind me. I finally reached the courage that was hiding inside of me and ran like the wind. Okay, you don’t have to call courage. More like fear. First, I ran into the patch of flowers. I knew that the flowers could hide my scent. I could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer. Gotcha! As soon as I heard that word I sprang and ran into the lake. I hoped that he couldn’t swim.

I thought I was safe, but I was horribly mistaken. All of the sudden, a shark came and snapped his big shiny teeth at me. We both raced on in the lake. I heard the shark talk, but I couldn’t make out the words because they were in Spanish. (Weird, huh?) I jumped out of the lake, shook the water off me, and continued to run. I heard footsteps again, and I stumbled and fell. I turned around (finally) and saw my reflection in the mirror. I was a fox!

Spencer Hudak 7th grade



Song of My CursePeople say everyone has a gift,But my gift is more like a curse.It’s not the kind that you can just lift,Because if you try it will become much worse.

They all think that I’m wrong,And what they say is true,Until I start to sing a song,One that is sad and blue.

Someone starts to shed a tear,For this song is of my curse,They start to think of what they hear,While I continue to rehearse.

As I finish the last verse,I see how the people act,Because this song is of my curse,And it, they now know, is fact.

Jessica Stevens 8th grade

A Shrouded CelebrationMy ancestral line is shrouded in a celestial mist from friend and group. I feel as though the grains of sand in an hourglass are falling into a sinkhole. I fear that I may never recover artifacts from caves and mountains of time. Never do I reveal these findings to my mysteries.My heart inundates with guilt as of seeing strangers able to speak the tongue of my ancestors while I cannothope is what I have and continue to have. I celebrate this heritage of mine, but do not speak of it.I feel compelled to learn my verse but cannot. I want to shout what tribe I hail from but do not for I am Still having a shrouded celebration.

William McCoy8th grade



The Horror OutsideThe sun was as bright as ever on that day, years ago… I remember it distinctly. I was watching a play called, “Super Hero Man” when someone in the back row suggested to someone else, “This guy seems crazy, should we shoot him?” Apparently they were murderers, because the pandemonium in the crowd immediately stopped when an arrow hit “Super Hero Man” in the chest. He lay there, dead, as the crowd was screaming and running away. Among this crowd was none other than a fellow named Glenn. Now, Glenn was a courageous man, not afraid of… most things. On this day, he wore a dark green T-shirt, with horizontal light green stripes. Anyway, while this “courageous” man ran in fear, he tripped and knocked over none other than, the very man who shot “Super Hero Man” Glenn got up faster than him, and ran like heck faster than he was before.

Because he had tripped, Glenn was behind the crowd, and didn’t know where they went, so, he started running until he heard a voice call, “Hey! You! Over here!” Glenn looked around to see where his voice was coming from, and it turned out to be from a man holding open the door of his house. Glenn instantly ran inside the house, the murders not far behind.

After he ran inside, he followed the man who let him in, he lead Glenn into a room, where another man was already sitting down. “Come in! Have a seat!” The man told Glenn, “While I go and get some food for you fellers” Glenn did what he was told, and sat down. Glenn and the other man waited a second, and the man who let him in came in with some food. I can’t remember what kind of food it was, but Glenn ate it right up!

The man asked, “So, what’s your name, boy? ‘Cause I hates them city folks”

“My name is Glenn,” Glenn replied.

“So, you are one of them city folks, hunh?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Hmph! You suck!”

“Hey!”

At that exact moment in time, the murderer’s car just pulled up in front of the man’s house. Another man got out of the car, his name was Josh. After Josh got out, the murderers got in, and abandoned Josh. Glenn was arguing with the other 2 men about a more used name: Bob, or Jeff.



They heard the crashing of the glass front door, and rushed over to see what caused it. When they got there, Josh was underneath the door, badly injured. They heard running footsteps, getting fainter, and fainter, and fainter…

They knew that the murderers broke in, and started panicking. The man who let them in was trying to help Josh; blood was all over his hands. Just then, out of nowhere, a GIGANTIC, mutant, spider fell down from the ceiling, grabbed him, and took him away. The other man suggested that Glenn should get some items to help Josh, while he stayed there and kept watch. Glenn, once again, did as he was told, and started looking for a first-aid kit.

A half-hour later, Glenn returned with a First-aid kit, and only to find that the spider dug a hole in the ground, and Josh was nowhere to be found. The man was as bloody as ever, laying there.

Glenn asked him, “Was it the spider that did this to you?”

The man replied, “No, *Cough* it was…it was… the mur…ur…murderer!”

Glenn then noticed that the other murderer just ran out the door. Glenn passed out. A few hours passed, and Glenn awoke to find the man appearing to be eaten by the spider, instead, the spider licked him, washing away the blood, and crawled away when the murderer, the man right behind him, ran in from nowhere, and shot Glenn in the leg. The man started to strangle the murderer to save Glenn, as Glenn ran toward a gun that he found lying on the floor. The murderer turned, and shot the man in the head. Glenn limped back, he yelled with the ferocity of a bear, “You son of a…” BANG!!! Glenn shot the murderer right in the lung, but this did not kill him, so he pulled out his crossbow. Using his last shot, Glenn shot the murderer again, right between the eyes. The murderer has fallen, dead. Glenn started walking home. He was out in the street, that’s when it happened. The other murderer, wielding a lance, and riding on horse back, had the man who let Glenn in under the icy grip of death. Josh was not far behind, but was too slow. Glenn couldn’t run with his leg, and started limping as fast as he could. The other murderer was two inches away from Glenn when the spider jumped out of the ground, and knocked the other murderer down to the ground. The murderer stabbed him repeatedly, but the spider bit off his head. A few moments later, it was the spider’s time to go, and it went to a better place… afterwards, Josh walked over, and told Glenn,”You know what’s funny? We are scared of things that where actually trying to help us, but we still run away in fear.”

“Yeah…I wonder why…”

Charles “The Yellow Dart” Blake7th grade



The RoomsA little dark colored fan hangsabove the dirty rug where mydear companion sleeps.

The dishrag lies next tothe old sink as if dead.

The dusty piano keys are lonelyfrom not being touched.

You see the room’s radiant glowwhen the moon shines through thevine-covered window.

You feel the tension of thesmall machines doing their work.

The darkness surrounds you inthe crowded garage and youknow you’re all alone.

Marissa Cain8th grade

I Wonder WhyI wonder why the snow is white and I wonder whythe lightning strikes why fire burns and ice melts why love hurts if it can’t touch or why revenge is sweet if you can’t taste it? Does ice melt because it isdepressed, or does fire burn because it’s angry? If revenge is sweet, does it taste like candy and doeslove hurt like a broken leg? Wonders in the world, some no one can explain, like how the stars shine bright or why some people are impolite.

Wonders, wonders, a million questions, only one hundred answers. Colors, shapes, and numbers, all still questions with now answers as more and more come less and less are answered. Fire, water, earth, and air elements are a mystery. I wonder why theearth is ground. I wonder why the water freezes orwhy air is cooled.

Scientists wonder. Even Albert Einsteinwondered and asked questions. Why tigers pounce and why do weask questions.

So love still hurts and revenge is still sweet and firewill always burn and we will always have questionsto ask and to answer.

Joshua Stines6th grade



TrappedI saw the blue dim lightflickering on and off repeatedly.

I saw lightning strike fast and with a “boom” hard to the ground and it alsosmelled like spicy chicken….

I saw the curtains of an old messy roommove ghostly and really scary. It was also cold.

I saw a tall old oak tree ready to be cut down just standing there staringat me….

I finally saw the gate of the cornerof my eye over the oak tree.“Sheesh,” I said “What a long trip…”I told myself.

Alan Valenzuela 6th grade

Nothing Is Ever What It SeemsA bird flies backward past window. Pigs fly toward the horizon. Cats and dogs get along as if they were two of a kind.

Silently, beneath the earth’s crust, Hell freezes over. And high above the clouds, angels lose their wings. The line between reality and insanity disappears completely.

“This must be a fake,” you may say, but I assure you it’s not a dream. Sure all these may seem impossible, but who cares?After all, that is what we thought ofspace travel and how the world is round.

Sure, it might seem impossible that it’s beyond our reach, but keep this one line in mind, “Nothing is ever what it seems.”

Jennifer Stevens8th grade



No No No (okay maybe)I stand scaredunable to cry. The oars on the boat rowedas if running on air.

I saw a spideron an old man’s beard. I thought ofan egg in a bird’s nest, waiting, picking its way out.

I feel sorry for the birdunable to breath.No matter how hard he trieshe can’t get out.

I felt like a gray piratewalking up the satin plankas if a cat about to get in the water!

But kept telling myself it’s just a test!

Emily Torres6th grade

Tell MeThe waves hum a soft melody. The birds sing as loud as a loft giant.The sun is mad. It tells me with how firy it is shining in my face. The clouds tell a story all of their own.

They tell me life is hard, but I can comfort you.

The moon has a soft light tonight. Someone is in morning. The stars a dimly light. They are afraid. The sky tall buildings tell a story.

They say, When you can’t seethe clouds, I will take youback to this point and time.

Kelsey Hare6th grade



Safeness of My Own Space I smelled the warm, crisp apple pieOn the edge of the counter slowly drifting toward my nose. It was soft yet chewy, sweet yet tart.

I smelled the fresh clean striped sheet’s edgetheir way around the corner mattress. I smelled the safeness of my own space.

I smelled the fresh green grassgrowing up the side white picket fence. I smelled the warm summer breeze and could tellsome one was having their Sunday barbecue.

I smelled the old, calm bubbles pop assome one got in. I smelled the lavender soap wash of his face and down the drain.

I smelled chocolate wood cover the floor. I smelled the rich red candle waxdrip on the beige brick on the fireplace.

I smelled the wet sticky mud on my tires after a long weary bike ride. I smelled the opennessof being with my own thoughts.

Katelyn Czarnecki6th grade

My Own PrisonThe window was shut tightly. I want to be let out. All escapes are locked.

I wander desolate halls. Their inscriptions make me ponder. Hope is now a distant dream.

I hold my life in my hands like a porcelain figure. So delicate, so fragile. And I drop it to hear it shatter as my heart has done.

My love is to open sky as my loathing to murky waters. The place I’ll fall into so calmly. This watery grave has set me free.

Stephanie Terrell8th grade


I See, I Hear, I Smell, I Feel, I Taste!I see children playing all around me. I see adults paying late credit card bills. I see dogs in the backyard chasing a cat. I see cats chasing mice through a foggy window. I see freshly fallen snow scattered on the ground. I see everything before it even happens. I see their world. I am their world, a rock.

I hear the faint laughter of children from down the block. I hear the frustration in the adults’ voices saying “$375 dollars.”I hear the dog panting from running around. I hear the cries of the cat and the squeaks of mouse. I hear the snow trickling down from the sky beneath me. I hear everything before anybody does. I hear their world. I am their world, a rock.

I smell the overwhelming smell of candy from children. I smell the food that the adults are preparing pot roast, mmm….I smell the odor of the dog and the musk of the cat. I smell the catnip of the cat and the cheese of the mouse. I smell the freshest smell you can smell…uhh….oh yeah, snow!I smell everything before the smell is even made.I smell their world. I am their world, a rock.

I feel the children brush up beside me… is that a cotton sweater!I feel the pot roast gliding down my throat. I feel the breeze of the dog run by me. I feel the cat also run past me. I feel the snow gently falling on my tongue…mmm….water flavor. I feel everything before everybody. I feel their world. I am their world, a rock.

I taste the children throw snowballs at me.I taste the pot roast gliding down my throat. I taste the fur that feel off the dog…eww…dog flavor. I taste the cat’s catnip. Hey, this is not peanut butter. I taste everything before everybody. I taste their world. I am their world, a rock!

Janelle Outterson7th grade




CirclesWhy do we walk in circles when we’re lost?Is it because when we don’thave the presence of an internal compass andit’s the only direction possible for our wandering bodies to go?

Is it that we smell our scents when we wanderwithout knowing it’s yours, andyou simply think it’s the smell of the way home?

Could it be the optical illusion aroundus manipulating our eyes to convince ourbrains that a particular directionis the right way to go?

Do we listen to that imaginary friendeach and everyone of us has buried in the back of our mind to tell us the right way to go?

Can we taste the right direction in some weird almost impossible to experience?

Can we feel the footsteps of a persongoing in circles butwe misjudge them very wronglyand think it’s the right direction?

Or is going in circles when you’re lostjust mean you’re almost through the cycle of lifeand your death is soon to come?

Or more basically are we just pacingbecause we want to pace in circleswhile we are lost in our thoughts, thinking about another shape to pace in?

Mercedes Banks 6th grade



A Bird’s NestThere is a nest in our attic! It’s not any old attic, it’s our attic. And it’s not any old nest; it’s a bird’s nest!My favorite animal.

“Oh Mom, please let me take care of it,” I said. “No way,” my mom said.“Even though there are baby birds?”“Well, maybe, but I have to talk to your dad.” “Okay.”

Well, during the night I thought all about taking care of the birds. Questions went through my head. Will I be able to care for the babies or will I fail?

Chris Shoemaker6th grade

I Am PoemI am my own friend who loves to laugh. I wonder why I’m my own friend.I hear myself laughing for no real reason. I see myself in a two-way mirror. I want other friends beside myself. I am my own friend who loves to laugh.

I pretend to have other friends. I feel my tears dripping down my face full of warmness. I touch the unknown that no one else knows of. I worry I’m the only I’ve got. I cry cause I have no friends, but me. I am my own friend who loves to laugh.

I understand I have no friends but the one in the mirror. I say I do, but I don’t. I dream I would have more friends than I do now. I try making friends, but I can’t. I hope one day I’ll have a real friend to talk to. I am my own friend who loves to laugh.

Caitlin Bentley7th grade


Am I in Love? I realizewhen I look in your eyesI see my life in slow motion and I see your devotion. I often wonder how this be, when someone as perfect as you found me. I wonder what to say to you. I wonder what to do. Do I laugh or smile?Or do I stay calm for a while? I look out the window to see if you’re there.If you’re there to run your finger through my hair. I try hard to keep my sight. I seem to think of you day and night.I have a feeling that I can’t describe. It’s an unrecognizable vibe. You don’t seem to careWhat I wear or how I do my hair. Would you be sweet and useful?Would you be caring and truthful? Will you hold me in your arms when I cry?Would you be heartbroken if I were to die? When your lips get close to mine, my feelings get all mixed up and entwined. I feel my heart skip a beat. Blood is rushing to my head to my feet.

I feel butterflies all around, but then I get nervous and stare to the ground. But then I get scared. Will I be prepared?Will you break my heart?Will you rip my love a part? I’ve never met someone like you, who makes me tremble and not know what to do. I’ve never said this before, so I don’t know what to do, but I know I am in love with you.

Mercedes Luna7th grade




The DemonAs I ran down the deserted hallway in the hospital, I heard an echoing screech somewhere in the vastness behind me.

I stopped dead, and listened. The screech sounded again, closer this time. I didn’t dare take the risk of death, so I continued down the hallway at a run.

The soles of my worn shoes slapped against the marble floor as I ran, full throttle, to the end of the hallway. The hallway seemed to get longer as I ran, preventing my escape from the approaching creature.

I chanced a glance behind me, expecting the worst. The worst is what I saw.

A colossal demon chasing me. It had piercing red eyes, horn-tipped wings, and a body that was all black. This only scared me more.

My fear turned to speed as I finally rounded the corner of the hall. A flight of steps leading to the lower level was not too far ahead, so I bolted toward them. I descended three steps at a time in my haste, and ended up falling. As I got up I realized that the demon had vanished. I didn’t know whether to be worried or relieved.

As I walked down the hall, I soon heard a noise like sharp steel scraping across a metal platform above me. I looked up, and my worst fear was confirmed. A ventilation shaft was directly above me.

I completely lost power over my legs as the scraping grew louder. I had no choice but to stand and watch as the shaft burst open. The demon began to emerge, and my brain clicked. Once again, the race was on.

I could feel the hot breath of the demon upon my neck as I desperately searched for the exit. I soon grew tired, but I had no time to stop and rest. I kept running, now thinking all was lost.



Just as I was about to accept my fate, the exit came into view. Hope and faith now mixed with my fear, allowing me to run faster than I ever could have before. I was going to make it out okay, I thought. But I didn’t.

At the exact moment I opened the door, the demon finally managed to take hold of me. Its claws tore into my flesh as I struggled to free myself. It seemed futile, but I kept trying. Soon enough, I was free.

I burst into the outside world, bleeding and exhausted. “What kind of hospital is this?” I asked to no one in particular. “Letting demons run around freely when there are patients.” I started walking home. Then I started running.

Joshua Alejandro7th grade

GEMINI INK is the only community-based center for literary arts and ideas in San Antonio and South Texas. We now serve annually more than 4500 readers, writers, and literary performance-goers representing a diverse sampling of our community’s population. Four programs currently serve our mission:

•Each spring and fall, the Autograph Series presents writers of national and international stature in a community-wide public program. Previous Autograph Series writers have included Annie Proulx, Margaret Atwood, Grace Paley, Tim O’Brien and Phil Levine.

•The University Without Walls (UWW) offers three semesters of workshops, classes, readings, and events led by recognized professional writers, as well as artists and scholars whose work relates to writing.

•Dramatic Reader’s Theater (DRT) features professional actors interpreting literary works in a reading format, often accompanied by original music.

•Writers in Communities(WIC) sends professional writers with specialized teaching experience into a wide range of community settings to work alongside students of all ages, needs, interests and abilities. WIC writing workshops have been offered in schools, justice settings, neighborhood community centers, and healthcare facilities, among many other venues. While in residence, WIC writers help students create dynamic writing projects, often reflecting their own lives, that challenge, celebrate, inspire and enlighten. Most WIC residencies culminate in the publication of an anthology of participants’ work and a celebratory public reading.

For more information, visit www.geminiink.org;or call 210.734-WORD (9673). Toll-free: 877.734-WORD (9673)

Date post:	20-Feb-2016
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I Am a Fish in the Sky

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