Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Poems written by the Wesleyan Cardinals

Is it enough?
 by Angel

Is it enough that I get good grades?
Is it enough that I try?
Is it enough that I know half

or maybe more than what you know that I know.
You tell me that you want me to

be better than what she was way back then.
I tell you that I’m trying,

but you are constantly denying,
even though I’m steadily crying,

wondering if you have forgotten that
my mother is dead.

Is it enough that every morning
I get up and tell you that I will
attempt to do better and that I love you?

You tell me to do more
But how much more can I do?
You tell me that you’re sorry
But it sounds like a broken record.

I tell you I’m not her.

I’m me.

But it just doesn’t seem like it’s enough

To me. 


Untitled 
by Demetrius
Some sleep,
but I dream.

I dream in black and white
A colorless world
I have seen the troubled through nightmares,
through a sort of beast or monster lurking
I’ve seen day mysteriously turn to night
It seems in this world
I am blinded
by the colors of a raging war
like old hunters, gripped with a strange frenzy
reenacting the chase in a wild, ancient dance

I am like the black plague
I bring down some
and death to the rest
this illness
leaving me least standing
on this grass,
I claim this my throne
the one you’ve left behind
Another man’s trash is my treasure

I am free from the rules
and structures of civilization and of society
I seek the brute power
you once rejected

This illusion I tried to hide from society
has now become as destructive as the world I shall
wake up to.

Man will always choose
anarchy and hedonism over
law and order

Some sleep,
but I dream
I guess
that way,
dreams are unseen
by a world
filled with color. 

Fireworks
 by Ryan 

My family is a firework
pretty at sight
but this firework
takes a lot of might
to build
this firework
wasn’t a breeze
but the outcome
sure does please

My sister
Muffin’s her name
we’re birds of a feather
Much alike, if not the same
She’s the fuse
keeps you in suspense,
Not knowing what’s going to
happen when the sparkle hits its end.

My mom’s the even powder
works behind the scene
a major role player
and everyone knows it
or so it seems.

God mommy Tomika is the
outside, the box
a sturdy disciplined foundation
to make sure the firework pops.

Little brother Gabe
the match
sparking the firework
that’s so anxious to dispatch.

My sister’s the noise it
makes when it goes up,
so loud and noticed
by the crowd around us.

Match to fuse
Fuse to box
Box to powder
Powder to pops
Pops to noise
so loud and free
And the outcome of that firework
The big explosion
ME…

Two-Faced

I don’t like
How you act one way around me
But different around another
What are you hiding?

I don’t like it
How you can act so hardcore
But I know you’re not
You are nice
Very nice
So why?

You don’t like it
When I confront you
Especially in front of others
Who are you trying to impress?

I know it isn’t me
I know it isn’t her
Is it him,
that boy you talk about?

                       
                        -Giselle Zuniga



Scholar/Athlete
 by Julian 

On the court,
In the class,
Both times I’m working
Off my a**.
Some of the team says they don’t give a s*** about school,
But I do my own thing and keep my cool.

School can be a bore,
Coach can be a pest,
But I still work hard and let my skills do the rest.

The life of a student is hard
The athlete equal,
But I keep going on,
There might even be a sequel.

Some people trip sayin I’m no good
I just show them my skills and tell them
Be quiet
Like they should.

They think it’s a game
All they want is fame
But Ima go higher than that,
And never be the same. 

revolution.
by samantha

Crimson red
is all I see.

Gushing
            from the hands,
the hands of the unclean.

Betrayal is the cause of this
  pain
and
  destruction.

The leader,
he tried,
so hard,
to keep us from the bright light.

We all see it now.

Brighter
than a thousand suns.

Larger
than any galaxy.

Strong enough
to break through
any surface.

Try to understand,
it’s hard
choosing a side. 



Mom
by Dimani

Funny.

Hard working.
Responsible.
Whatever I need,
I just ask,
she gets it.
Clothes, food, supplies.
Her life has been rough
Had me by herself.
At a young age.

Struggling to buy most of what I need
she tells me to do certain things
Like not to go outside
“It’s harsh outside…
being with friend will get you into trouble.”
She wants me to stay out of trouble
She wants the best for me.

Be responsible
If I don’t listen the first tome
or do something wrong in school.

She yells

I am proud of you mom.


Where I’m From
 by Kenora

I’m from I miss you’s
From pigtails
From my grandma’s cooking
I am from the warmth of my mother’s
heart
From hand-me-downs

Where I’m From

I am from
The streets
The dust under the rug
From the high-ways and bi-ways
From fried chicken and
Mac + cheese
The Barbie bookbags
To Tinkerbell lunchboxes

But, where I’m from
I’m the only one

Me.

Just me. 



So Let Me Tell You Something
 by Sandavia

So I’m the little girl now?
And you’re supposed to be a man?
Ha!
You make me laugh.

So let me tell you something:

Men,
Real men know what they want
And will do anything to get it.

But you,
You know what you want
And you just can’t get it.

You’re a reckless driver,
All you can ever do is

Hit and run. 




cigarette.
                (by that dude named Kamal)

that dude a straight fool
            did he really just ask
                        me for a cigarette?

man let me take my black behind
            to school and escape away
                        from dis fool before
i’m unable to make it
            to school.

this isn’t the first time I seen
            this dude follow me
                        to school
what an intoxicated fool.

he needs to back off and not follow me
            like a fool.
man that dude is
            a fool.

[written in reading class]




Poema
by Erika


Del Cielo
              Callo una Rosa
                mi madre
       la Recojio
               se la
puso en la
                   cabeza
               y que Linda
                 Le quedo.



     Love
               You
                         Mom



Me?
by Kevin


I am Somebody
I was Nobody


I hope to succeed
I fear none,
but respect all


I dream to live wealthy
I wish for my children
to become successful


I laugh at dumb stuff
I cry when I'm sad
But  when the tears dry,
life goes on


I was a Follower
I am a Leader
She, Her, Them
by Katy 

The one who gave birth to a smile in me
Imma take you to court
You stole my heart

When I hear your voice or laugh
I feel like I die
Reborn ready to say I love you

She gives me a purpose to walk and run
To catch up with our heartbeats
I’m sorry my heart skips a beat
It’s because I’m in love

Flowers are yellow
My heart is red and pounding
Violets are blue
And an angel is here
for me and for you

                                                                    I Love You! I Love You!




We   
Us    
You  
Me.
by Duanje

Screaming
Crying
Feeling like I’m dying
because I know that tomorrow
we
could be dead.

Smiling
Thinking
Dreaming,
of the things that have lead us to this point in our story
are all true.

But whose reality
is whose?

I thought I was doing what he asked
I guess he thought I was going to up and leave

I thought I could try to explain
but I guess his heart is just too filled with pain

Each of us,
not seeing,
or hearing,
or knowing,
or understanding,
what the other
had said.

I guess I should have explained
I think he should have just listened up
and been a man

I’m beginning to think,                          it is really ending,

due to trust,

but I guess I will never know.