On May 24, 2007 students presented the following work on the Illsely Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall stage to an audience of 350 people. It was a magical night!

Read on to enjoy the great writing that was featured that night!

Casanova and Picnic Baskets

If in the spring
We lay out the picnic cloth
I shall tell you what you’ve
Done to my heart.
You’ve beaten the average Casanova
And stolen my heart like bears
Steal picnic baskets.

I shall take your hand
And speak in tongues, up and down
Like a wayward elevator.
You’ve brought me crashing down
And this gravitational pull
Has our hands linked as one.
To avoid all the cliché romances,
I will say only what comes to
Mind first.  Even if that may
Be “You’ve stampeded your way
Into my life like a herd of
Rhinoceroses.”  I hope, that after
You’re done wanting to break up
With me, I hope you smile.
Because right now,
I’m smiling at you.
And it’s not because of your mole!
Oh goodness no.
It’s because you’ve taken me
And made me love again.  You’ve made
Me whole.

-Jayne Thorsen
Summit K-12

That Boy

Innocent boy
holding his dead sister,
limp like a doll.
sketching Whinnie The Pooh.

Spelling out a title.
Asking for a chocolate cookie
getting raw vegetables

You shouldn’t know this
but he pulls his bright red coat
over his head and screams
“I’m a turtle”

Then crashing into
a wall. He’s decided
to become the greatest martial artist

because watching Jackie Chan
is too boring now. And when you question the clouds ”why?”
they tell you
everything but.

-Alex Morrison
TOPS K-8

She eats humbao.
She likes to draw.
She hates people who tease her.
She fears death.
Her dreams are gone.
She likes to sing.

-Jasmine Nguyen
Showalter Middle School

Where I’m From

Where I’m from, the land is always dry,
and rain is like caviar to a poor man.
Where I’m from the land is full of exotic animals.
Where I’m from you would fall asleep,
by a symphony of roars
or be tucked in by the cooling sun.
Where I come from
people are Black
and they don’t regret that.
They are not ashamed
of their racial group
but they welcome
others to the land of the sun.
Not judging by the skin
but by the red ball pumping inside them.
the same ball that gives blood
to the veins
it’s like an inner food chain.
And in my land
it never rains
the humidity staying the same
protecting
my miles and miles of plains.
As would a blanket.
Keeping it warm,
and protecting it
from the outside world.

-Ellis M. Simani II
McClure Middle School

Untitled

My name is Jerome Walker. I’m ten years old. I was on my way home from school, dribbling my new ball, when I found a big black bag by an oak tree. Inside the bag was a hundred thousand dollars. I said, “Oh My God! What on earth will I do with this money? I thought to myself, I could take it to the police. Then I said, “Naw I would be a dummy if I did that.” So I took the black bag and put it in my backpack.

I felt like the biggest player in New York. I went home around 6:30 p.m. I went into the house and smelled momma’s fried chicken with mac and cheese and collard greens. I was ready to eat. I went into my room and shut the door. I could hear little noises in my room. I looked under my bed. It was my twin sisters Tia and Tamaria. I pulled both them nappy headed girls from under my bed and kicked them out. I opened my backpack and started to count my money. I kept losing track as momma called me for dinner.

I sat down. My dad Rob kept asking me stupid questions like: “Do you hav ea girlfriend? Then my mom said, “I’m 34 years old, I got three kids, so if you do hav ea girlfriend, I’d advise you to slow your roll.” “Yes mama,” I responded. I went back to my room. I missed out on some peach cobbler but my money made me feel good. I went inside my room when I spotted my window broken. I called my momma and she said, “Oh my god.” Then she called the cops.

The police found fingerprints; they said it was Katt Williams the old player. My momma said, “What the heck he want from us? If he wants these bad kids all he has to do is ask,” she said with her laughing voice. The twins looked up and down at mom with those small brown eyes; like you better be glad I’m your child. The police left. I was upset my money was gone -- I wanted it back. So that night I decided to go to the player’s big house in Harlem, New York. I went on the bus. I walked to the house. It took my 3 hours to get there.

This dang fool left his door wide open. As I went in it smelled like cheap cologne. I sat down. The lights were on, I heard something like a door closing so I turned around and said, “Give me my money back Sucka.” I couldn’t feel my legs. I froze, because it wasn’t Katt, it was my mom wearing her pj’s. I said, “What are you doing here?” “No, the hundred thousand dollar question is what are you doing here, Mr. Walker?” said Mom. I heard someone come in and it was Katt saying, “who left my door open?” He came into the living room. The player said, “What are ya’ll doing in my house?” My mom said nicely, “Can I have my son’s money please?” Katt said, “NO!” My mom and Katt began fighting and my mom got tired and had to show him who’d the boss. She beat up the player all the way to California, then it was time to celebrate.

-Essence Shelton
African American Academy

It’s Still There On the Floor

It is still there by the window
crumpled on the ground.
It is white lace
covered in dirt.
It was pretty when I saw it in the store.
Now it just reminds me of the night it was worn.

You are ugly now.
You are stained with dirt.
You have been walked over.
You have been thrown down.
You have brought bad memories.
You are something I want to throw away
but can’t bear to give you up.

Thou art not pretty these days.
Just a dress thrown on the floor.
Thou must stop taking up space.

I have been abandoned.
essentially thrown away.
I am left on the ground.
I am used.
I am dirty.
I was worn.
I am a horrible night.
Now she cannot stand the sight of me.
Give me a second chance, please.
I’m just collecting dust.

-Karli Lafferty
Ballard High School

I’m just a sad creature

I’m a creature.
A Rhino and Monkey.
Just one look at me,
and you’ll think I’m funky.

A rhino body
and a monkey tail.
I’m so weird that no one
will send me an e-mail.

I sleep in a cave.
I eat tomatoes,
spinach, cheese,
and sometimes potatoes.

I can’t control my tail.
It twists turns and bends.
It is so very sad,
I don’t have any friends.

Whenever I say “Hi’
“Please” or “Hello”
They all run away.
I’m a harmless fellow!

I’m timid and nervous.
I’m scared and I cry.
It feels like my life
is just only a life.

I lay in the dark,
I’m scared and I wait.
I feel like everyday
I am the bait.

Sure I’m strong,
brave and smart,
but everyone laughs at me.
I’m sad in the heart.

My life is a mess.
I feel so blue.
If you hear my heart,
it sounds like a sad kazoo.

Wherever I go,
I’m the scary feature.
Just remember that
I’m just a sad creature.

-E.J. Pinera
Maple Elementary

For Hope Was There

If we were born in a world without war,
The world would be peaceful over all,
No weapons, no harm, no vandalism at all,
The world would be different,
It would be silent everywhere,
The alleys are clean, the streets are clean, the people are nice, and animals aren’t mean,
In the near future the war on terror will be forgotten,
For the children are our heroes,
Our lives have been saved,
For hope was there in the beginning and to the end,
So no worries my friends,
We’re safe in the country we call home,
If we were born in a world without war,
Our lives have been saved,
A fellow hero (Martin Luther King Jr.) once said, “I have a dream, that one day we will walk hand in hand.” In the near future we should walk hand in hand and we will.

-Amy Dao
Kimball Elementary

The Laws of Philosophy

I knew a guy who was about 4-foot-four,
Always asking big ideas,
Always looking for a little more.
This guy, call him Bob,
Was best friends with this girl, call her Rob,
Until Rob would always complain and sob,
So one day, Rob stood up “I needa a job.”
And like that, Rob was gone,
She was always getting up at the crack of dawn,
And so Bob, left alone, bored to the yawn,
Went to visit Rob… she was mowin his lawn.
“Aye Rob, why’s the sky so blue?” “I’m mowin your lawn.” “Right.”
No use.
Bob needed to go out, meet people new,
He went to the pizza place and met up with Drew.
“Aye Drew, why are we here?” “Dude… I’m eating here!”
No use.
Bob decided to walk to the park,
Met up with some kid name Clark,
“Aye Clark, what’s shakin?” “This math homework I’m makin.”
No use.
Bob still went out,
Met up with Tyler, Benjamin and Nicolas,
But he didn’t like them much because they didn’t really rhyme with anything.
Bob was out of luck,
And he felt like yuck,
Philosophy wasn’t ready for him,
All his hopes were left on a limb,
But he fashioned his thorns, into a crown
And picked up a rose, fit for a gown,
Thought of all the things he could say,
To take back the one thing that could never sway.
“Aye Rob...”
Held the rose high
“You think I could get a job?”

- Arman Mohazzabfar
Roosevelt High School

Like You

Like you I forgot what I am here for
I don’t believe that you can’t change the world
but though it may not seem you can, you can.

The wind blows away your thoughts
not making it possible,
but you try

Like you I do believe we will die,
then again we will carry ourselves
for us as long as we gaze into the sun.

Like you, I learned to love the horrifying
life you live.
Death a father or mother – gone.

I believe we can stand for what’s
right.

Time to time I glance at the wrong
thing, but I turn and look away.

I believe that we can take a
chance and live
our dreams.

-Deanna Cunningham
Hamilton International Middle School

As a Woman!

As a woman I’m expected to stand
behind a man fully.
Yea right I have a voice of my own
and I intend to use it and hide behind
no one.

As a woman I’m expected to take care
of my children on my own if a man
decides to walk out. I didn’t make
these kids on my own, so why am I
expected just to stand strong? Then
they wonder why our women are on
crack and are selling themselves for
money.

As a woman I’m criticized for leaving
my kids with my mother. I’m just
trying to make a better living and you
tell me the way I put food on my table
is wrong, either way money is money
and we all got to get it some kind of
way.

As a woman I’m expected to hold
everything together. But if I do that
then how am I going to keep myself
from falling apart. Who will help me
with my problems?

As a woman I’m expected to be
beautiful in everyway and I know
that’s one thing I am and nobody can
tell me different, because no matter
what I go through as a woman I will
keep my head up and look up as if I
Have no problems.

-Shatia Henderson
Chief Sealth High School

Dishonest

It is in his house, with him gone out for ice cream for the two of them. She finds herself walking around admiring all the things that are hung up and placed on the side tables. Pictures of his mom and brothers, hi dog and his grandma who meant the world to him. He is a professional basketball player for the Lakers and the house shows his busy schedule. He’s always on the road. Cork board with sticky notes all over and nothing on the floor, it’s not messy since he’s never there. With all this stuff around her she feels good, safe and knows that she can trust him. She thinks about his height all 6 foot 7 beautiful inches, so tall that she has to stand on her top toes to kiss him. She thinks about his light skin, 6-pack, lined up hair with perfect waves in them, nice clothes where he always matches no matter what, how both his ears are pieced and when in the sun the diamonds shine so beautifully, and finally the way that he smells, so fresh and clean.

As she walks up the stairs with her tight Nordstrom jeans, straightened hair that hangs to just below her shoulders, she looks over to where on the mantle sits a cup of orange juice and a notebook. His autograph is on it and a picture of his dad is glued on, but faded. His dad passed away when he was 18, when he just got accepted into college. She looks around and thinks about opening it and then decides that she should. She opens it and there it is messy cursive, all in English though. The dark writing is smudged from his left hand going over it over and over again. She looks over the words, pages and pages of them as if it was a story. The most recent page repeated a phrase that she had said the night before.

The first one is “dishonest”. It is written into the paper with frustration. Water spots like he had been crying. She mouths the word over and over again trying to remember what she had been dishonest about. She remembers the night before receiving a text form an ex and just before the text coming in saying that he and the ex haven’t talked in months, promising him. As the text came in, he snatched the phone and read the text. “What’s up babe?” it said. He looked at her and asked, “So you guys never talk?” She looked confused and said no. They argued and argued and the night was ruined. As she read on some more she noticed the word “love” with a big heart around it. She thinks back to that same night when they came back to the house after their big fight, they had told each other that they loved each other for the first time. She then fell asleep earlier than him; she thinks, was he writing this while she was sleeping?

After “dishonest” is “believe”. The word is put into a word bubble next to a car. In the car he sat while his dad suffered next to him, believing and praying that everything would be okay, that he would live. The definition: Not honest; disposed to lie, cheat, or steal; not worthy of trust or belief. The second is written neatly as if it was a paper that to be turned in, to accept as true, genuine or real. She had been using that word. She smiled and a tear started to come to her eye. Telling him that if he believes that he will do well in the game and do well on his school work, he will be someone and succeed.

Her eyes start to burn. She flips a page, sees the last word entered: “hope”. The word is written so womanly, to cherish a desire with anticipation. She smiles and wipes the tears from her eyes. That same night after all their arguing and misunderstanding they lay together in the bed, holding each other, kissing and just thinking about their future together. Telling each other that they will always be together and no matter what they decide to do later on in life they will never part. Right before she closed her eyes for the night she looked over to him and said: “I feel that with us there is always hope.”

She closes the notebook and walks downstairs and grabs a cold Dr. Pepper out of the fridge. She then sits down on the couch, opens the pop, and reaches for the remote. Next, she turns the TV on and changes to The Cosby Show. She hears the keys in the door turn, and then looks over and watches the doorknob turn slowly. He walks in, ice cream container in his hand, and looks at her. Takes off his shoes one by one and then lifts his hoodie over his head. He smiles and looks at her. She walks over and grabs the container curious about the right words for the moment.

-Whitney Smith
Lindbergh High School

I Am Time

I am cruel.
I speed up when you are happy,
I slow when you are bored.
You can’t turn me back no matter how hard you try…
I am always there,
Though you may not be aware.
I pester you, bother you, annoy you.
Sometimes you want me to slow down
Or stop
And wait for you to catch up.
Sometimes you want me to speed up;
Either way I ignore you.
I make everything into a race.
A race against time…
A race against time.

-Johnny Le
Denny Middle School

Jim Crow

The fish in the sea don't help the ones in the net
And the jewels in shadow
Just can't shine
Masks are not meant to be
Placed on a face by another
A world where only charcoal is seen, burning
Flame is forgotten.
Black is mourning, white is my new shoe
Light is morning, black is Mississippi
Love is red, scarlet, that too is blood
Held above the head, a tiger ready
To pounce, the promise of death -lousy reward for
A life well earned.
Place wood in water, it will float...unless
Water bubbles through the holes, begging, resisting,
It sinks - I never wanted to fly
Until my wings were tattered
Caught in the wind of the world and silently shred by millions of people
Who just can't stand the difference.
All that black, the rest white
Through the day and through the night
Personality can hide so well
When skin is an invisibility cloak.

-Amanda Baker
Garfield High School

Gearheaded Mindlove

(For the torture inside)

Welcome to my mind,
in this clockwork orangutan
it’s nothing but a rose spinning slowly
upon gears

But I’m
wishing on red-yellow tulips
to blossom

My heart the yellow, and
yours the red

And we’re blooming in the middle of
winter,

But my tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth
I’m dry-mouthed and nervous

These words of love are hard to force out of
my lips like sealed packages, these
transcripts of love

But I love you
plain and simple indeed
just a symbol of need
and my personal greed

But do you love me in return?
do you feel the burn
of desire?
this
Pyre surrounding the crowns on our
heads?

and I wish you to be
the Queen of my castle
and I the king full of your
loving dreams

and I’m sinking it seems,
out of rock-solid beams to
support all my feelings

my cup is too small.

Will you love me at all?
am I destined to fall
these small walls are tall but
autumn turns to winter

and here we sit blooming
not alone, but assuming
we’re still not together
I’ll gather these letters

Put them back in a basket
and ask some old taxi
to carry me back
with a back-pack just taxing
my muscles and heart
to start again smart and say it right out

first your name then my feelings

still these dealings are killing me,
nerves are spilling, fulfilling is saying your name.

But I love you so secret
I don’t want to see it
That you wont receive me
so sorry, I’m sorry
I just can’t seem
to speak it,

Your name is like poison
infecting like venom
I must bring it up somehow,
but I can’t,
not right now.

-Jack Noe
Center School

Dream of Mine

Once I had a dream
where books were everywhere.
The books began to spin
Once every heartbeat.
They became heavier than stone.
Then they lost sight of each other
And became smaller than the earth,
But stronger than the wind.
They swan through the river of rainbows,
Then they vanished into nothingness.

-Danh Phung
Aki Kurose Middle School Academy

Self-Portrait

Everybody knew her,
but she didn’t know herself.

Her first steps were through
a stormy city, Sarajevo.

Her smile was dented, as the war
progressed in Bosnia, it was 1991,
her eyes were hollow
and her face like stone

Everyone knew she was tall,
but did everyone know
how tainted her heart was.

Her childhood was a smeared painting
she ran from it,
who wouldn’t run from the noise
of gun shots, the feeling of loneliness
and the sight of darkness,
still she stood in the rain,
she soaked in every regret.

As much as the dirt roads
and shattered memories
are a piece of her past,
her future is brighter
than a burning fire
in Sarajevo
during an empty night.

-Sara Paponjak
Foster High School

Poem for My Brother

  On the other side of my brother
You see the little boy he once was
  Laughing, playing and smiling,
Now you see fear and hope,
The only things that keep him
  Fighting.

On the other side of my brother, you hear his family,
  Laughing, without fear in their voices
    Even though the darkness devours
The little candle in my brother’s eyes keeps burning.

On the other side of my brother, you try to help him,
But you are blocked by his door of silence,
You keep trying to reach him, but you cannot
Get him to open his door.

   On the other side of my brother, you wish
      That things were back to the way they were before,
        Before needles, before doctors,
         before all the pain,
And you hope that someday, your dream
For him to be the boy he once was
Will come true.

-Brittany Simon
Hutch School

Where Do Your Dreams Go?

Where do your dreams go?
Do they wind up in the
foggy blue sky?  Or do
they escape into this black
deep loud cave that your
dreams get lost in.  Or do
they walk into this little
world where a dog is
talking to you, saying
I want fried chicken.
Do your dreams slide scared
to the point where
you just want to ask
why, or do your
dreams vanish into a lion’s
mouth and get swallowed
all the time?  But sometimes do you dream
of your hair turning into
a black furry cat and your shoes changing
into a rocket blasting off? 
Do your dreams creep into this portal, where
you could crawl back in time, and
do your dreams move far away
from you to the point where you start to miss
them?  But in my dreams
I wish that all the hip hop people that died
could come back and do another song.

-LaTreea Garner
Meany Middle School