In the dark alley
on a rainy stormy night,
is an old white man
wearing a black and yellow striped hat,
a long beard that has not been taken care of,
a blue long coat,
and brown cane.
I have heard this guy’s name somewhere…
I think he is a poet.
He has long fuzzy weird hair.
He has no smile
and is really staring at me with a crazy look.

– Abrar Malik, 14
From the WritersCorps 2012 book “Where the Clouds Keep You Hidden,” by students at Aptos Middle School

Poem of the Month: September 2012

It’s the color of the blazing afternoon sun
The color of freshly squeezed lemonade
The color of an unbruised banana
It’s the sound of fireworks in the evening
The sound of slowing down for the traffic light
The sound of the cars passing by
It’s the taste of sweet juice in the summer time
The taste of sour candy after school
Yellow feels as warm as hugs
It feels as blinding as stage lights
It feels as bright as the stars at night
Yellow can shine radiantly

– Taryn Tieu, 13
From the WritersCorps 2012 book “Where the Clouds Keep You Hidden” by students at Aptos Middle School

Poem of the Month: June 2012

She is a servant of the moon
Dances upon the sandy coast
Whispers her secrets to me in a soft spray
As you listen you can hear crashing
Watch the seaweed twirl among the rocks
And feel her cool breath
Slowly, she climbs closer
She grabs me and pulls me in
I take a step back and once again
She comes closer
With a smirk, I laugh softly
As she fails to capture me once again.

– Violeta Vasquez, age 13
From the WritersCorps anthology “So Loud in the Silent Sky” at Aptos Middle School

Poem of the Month: March 2012

Dreams,
Help me through my days.
Asleep at night, bringing them to life.
Awake in the day, striving for them.
Dreams,
Hide me away in my own world.
Shelter me from the dangers I’m too afraid to face.
Take me away from the hopeless reality I’ve been living in.
Dreams,
Always put a smile on my face.
Let me be who I want to be.
Without being ashamed or embarrassed.
Dreams,
Give me something to fall back on.
Always there when I need them most.
Nothing and no one can stop me from doing what I do best.
Dreaming.

– Jessica Tung, age 13
From the WritersCorps anthology “So Loud in The Silent Sky” at Aptos Middle School

Poem of the Month: February 2012

It is scary being an apple.
Everybody loves to eat apples.
Every moment you feel the pressure of being eaten next.
Whenever you see someone, all the juice inside of you seems to stop flowing
for a second and your core hardens.
It is scary being an apple.
I see a lot of other apples get eaten.
They are eaten in so many horrible ways.
They get cut up in pieces and put in a blender and get shredded to pieces.
And worst of all, they get made into apple sauce or apple pie.
It is scary being an apple.
Some may say that not being eaten is even worse.
It is because you undergo a transformation of pain.
Your skin and flesh turn a rotten brown color and become soggy.
Your juice flows irregularly and your core becomes weak.
After this painful process, you won’t be eaten but thrown away.
It is scary being an apple.

– Raymond Ma, 14

From the 2011 book “So Loud in the Silent Sky,” by WritersCorps students at Aptos Middle School

Poem of the Month: July 2011