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Nathan Hale Senior Nicole Dupler Wows the Crowd
APR 30, 2010
Nicole Dupler, one of two winners of a WITS scholarship, made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Access to Artistic Excellence program, provided a powerful opening poem for national-recognized poet Sharon Olds on Sunday, April 18 at Benaroya Hall.
Nicole read her poem "Cherry Pits," featured below:
Cherry Pits
Life’s a bowl of cherry pits,
Little stones stripped of their meat,
Because God – or whoever –
Sucked off all the bliss,
Swallowed it and dissolved it,
Turned it into piss,
Piss that rained down on the streets,
Made them stink,
Made the children scream,
“Hallelujah, the world is clean!”
Left us with nothing but this –
This world that she lives in,
This world that raised her to smile,
To dance,
To believe that her stuttering heart
Had a sliver of a chance,
Told her, “Stick your hand in,
Pop a couple in your mouth,”
Then beat her when she broke her teeth,
Broke her heart,
Broke her legs and arms and feet,
Just to touch his warmth,
That warmth she swore could make her whole,
Swore to mom, to dad,
To the world –
“He tastes like cherries.”
She tasted like innocence and soon
There was nothing left of her but pits.
Life’s a bowl of cherry pits,
Little stones stripped of their meat,
Because God – or whoever –
Sucked off all the bliss,
Swallowed it and dissolved it,
Turned it into piss,
Piss that rained down on the streets,
Made them stink,
Made the children scream,
“Hallelujah, the world is clean!”
Left us with nothing but this –
This world that she lives in,
This world that raised her to smile,
To dance,
To believe that her stuttering heart
Had a sliver of a chance,
Told her, “Stick your hand in,
Pop a couple in your mouth,”
Then beat her when she broke her teeth,
Broke her heart,
Broke her legs and arms and feet,
Just to touch his warmth,
That warmth she swore could make her whole,
Swore to mom, to dad,
To the world –
“He tastes like cherries.”
She tasted like innocence and soon
There was nothing left of her but pits.
Photo Caption: Nicole Dupler and Sharon Olds bond before the show on April 18.
“Writers in the Schools not only gave me the freedom to express myself, but also helped me express myself in better, stronger, and more creative ways.”
-- Roosevelt HIgh School 10th Grader
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