Love I don’t know how to reject you
When I’m sad you can always comfort me
When I’m happy you make me ecstatic
You stay anywhere
I can find you anytime
Sometimes, you make us lose our reason
I hate you and I appreciate you too
Love, you are candy
You are poison too
I always imagine I can control you, Love
I can control myself
However, that is just my illusion

– Tian Yang (Jessica) Chen, age 18
From the WritersCorps book “Paper Dreams” at International Studies Academy

I will send to my mother
a behaved daughter
that will always make her happy
so she doesn’t need to be mad anymore.

I will send to my stepfather
a money tree
that will always grow money
so he doesn’t need to work for anyone.

I will send to my two little sisters
a forever childhood
that will never end
so they don’t need to worry about anything.

– Elaine Pau, age 15

From the WritersCorps book “Paper Dreams” at International Studies Academy
Poem of the Month: December 2009

Anything that speaks to you
Hits a certain nerve within you
Doesn’t solely exist on paper

A song
A dance
A living kind of poetry.

– Jocelyn Thompson, age 16

From the WritersCorps book “Paper Dreams” at International Studies Academy
Poem of the Month: August 2009

Luminous and pale, it floats over my head,
silver orb. It reflects back to me from the
depths of a puddle at my feet. It casts a ghostly
blue hue to my skin. Streetlight. I know the
difference, flicker and die. Let me see the moon.

– Anna-Mei Myers, age 15

From the WritersCorps book “Paper Dreams” at International Studies Academy
Poem of the Month: June 2009

Obama is the water to the
flower of hope
Obama is the smile on the
little girl’s face
Obama is the heart beat to our favorite song that plays
over and over again
Obama is the boy’s
light at night when he was lost
Obama is the strength
that the single Mom has deep
in her heart
Obama is our hope
our love.

– Ricoya Cathey

International Studies Academy
Poem of the Month: January 2009