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

Red and very beautiful
With leaves green and holes.
Small and red.
Very good.
I feel such a good sensation in my mouth.

When I eat this fruit I need my mouth
And my teeth.
In my mouth I feel such a good sensation
And satisfaction in my stomach.

I am with my fruit and we are happy.
I can see the fruits in the little trees.
I feel very good because I see my special fruit.
It’s a fruit from many places.
I think Florida.

It’s the special fruit of the universe.

– Zuleyma Santiago, age 15

From the WritersCorps book “Mangos Have No Borders” at Mission High School
Poem of the Month: July 2009

Sound artist and musician Kjell Nordeson worked with Cindy Je’s WritersCorps workshops at Mission High School to create these Fruit Poetry Collages. Enjoy these sounds and words about fruit.

More photos of fruit taken by our students at Mission High School. Beautiful! To see this set on flickr, go here.

WritersCorps artist-in-residence Katharine Gin visited Cindy Je’s class at Mission High School on February 21, 2008 to teach students photography. As you can see, their work bore fruit. To see these photos on flickr, go here.