Four cups of determination
Eight pounds of perseverance
Twelve slices of loyalty
Sixteen ounces of reason
Twenty pints of understanding
Twenty-four sprinkled bits of love
Combine your dignity with your self-respect
And stir gently.

– DL

From “Words Within the Walls: Voices from Youth in the Juvenile Justice Center”

Poem of the Month: September 2011

I am INTP
Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving
I have trouble with strangers
Inside this mess of a human being is a dying child

On the Enneagram, I’m Type 6
Otherwise known as the Loyalist
Occasionally, I may have random bursts of paranoia
Openly mistrustful of authorities of power

Unfortunately, I’m also a high school student
Unethical, unappreciative, downright ugly
Up and about and always whining
Usurper of all that is well

Knowing this isn’t all true is quite satisfying
Kindle the true to bring light to the things that are not
Kinetic energy almost works like this
Kind of, in a way, since you’re in motion with only the energy you’ve got

– Hong Truong, 16

From the 2011 chapbook “Robots Are Funny,” by Hong Truong, WritersCorps Apprentice Program

Poem of the Month: August 2011

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

I woke up one day
My voice is a little deeper
a beard and mustache growing
I was scared, I really did not
know what was happening

I missed those days of watching
“Barney” and “Sesame Street,” learning
how to count and my ABCs

It feels like I blinked and
all of a sudden I am 17
moving onto 18

Change
I used to hate it
but I know that from change
come new experiences

– Daniel Guardado, 17

From the Spring 2011 book “Scream into the Sky,” by students at Downtown High School

Poem of the Month: June 2011

Sunshine is quiet
in the morning — it yearns to stay pristine. But
the birds mar it with their flight, and
tea kettles boil and
buses start running.

Nevertheless, sunshine is quiet in the morning.
Sometimes, if you have big windows and you
leave them open,
the curtains, that is –
(and they’d have to be east-facing) –
then the quiet sun would be a sight to see:

it would sneak
over rooftops and
expose things hidden in the night –
flowers, perhaps.

The dark dawn recedes;
the birds wake up; the slummy shops
open; the drunks wake
from their sidewalk beds.

The tea kettle boils.

– Raeme Miccio Gavino, 17

From the Spring 2011 book “Through the Looking Hand,” by students at International Studies Academy

Poem of the Month: May 2011