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POETRY VIBES 2022 copy

Poetry Vibes 2022: Voices of Our Youth


April is National Poetry Month and AHB is celebrating with its second annual Poetry Vibes: Voices of Our Youth.

MORE INFORMATION HERE!

*Content must be age-appropriate & not explicit

We’re All In This Together

Written by Emery, Arman, Miles, Isaac, Stefan, Erin and Mike


A tunnel without light is not a tunnel

and darkness must have a dawn

When times are tough, we stick together 

Let’s sing about it in this song


We’re all in this together

We’re all in this forever

 

We watch our watches, we stare at the clock

Things need to rearrange    

We gotta get up and realize

that we’ve got to make the change


We’re all in this together

We’re all in this forever 


We’ll pull through every obstacle in our way

With peace and love and caring

Supporting each other to realize

The world is best for sharing


We’re all in this together

We’re all in this forever 


When day is done, when it gets dark

When it’s time to go to bed 

Only then we realize 

The good things that we’ve said


We’re all in this together

We’re all in this forever


A tunnel without light is not a tunnel

and darkness must have a dawn

When times are tough, we stick together 

Let’s sing about it in this song


We’re all in this together

We’re all in this forever, forever


The People Who Were Here Before

By Nicole Stipe  

 

Justice is meant for the world. It’s meant for her, for him, and for them. Prejudice and intolerance occur too much to say. We wish we could take back the resentment and pain of the people who were here before. 

 

She gets pushed away for gender. He gets refused service for his color. They become one and hold onto their dignity and honor. Our generation is going to change the way people are treated, ending the hatred and the pain of the generation who was here before.

 

Our culture thrives when we fill ourselves with hope and aspiration. We keep our heads held high for our rights and pride. And for those who do not agree that all should be treated with respect, we say you’re just like the man who killed another’s son or the person who refused to let her vote. Let us stand united as activists changing the future for us and the next generation. May hope, pride, and faith fill us all.

A Series of Haikus
By Lauren Roger

She sits at her desk,

waiting for the right moment

to voice her ideas.

But she is silenced,

black in an ocean of white,

voiceless, overlooked.

The fury inside,

it takes control of her mind,

oh, it roars and burns.

Slowly, she stands up.

No. She will not be silenced.

And the anger bursts.

She explodes in a

whirl of emotions and thoughts.

It ends. Silent again.

But she will never

forget the power of words

and the explosion.

 Untitled

by,  Barthelemy Klco

In the craziness of the last few years

There was still hope and light days 

Now in the early light some wake in tears 

Knowing war could be avoided in many ways. 

 

The young being taken away to fight

All just in order to keep Russia’s might.

Some brave people stand up and aid,

Those innocent people with nothing.

 

We all have something or someone we love

And right now people are losing their souls,

Leaving only dark empty holes. 

No one knows how it feels until they feel it.

 

While people In Ukraine need to stay in shelters

We give our focus to things like Hair styles.

So I give my thanks to all the helpers

That go and save lives while risking their own.

The Thing in My Head

by, Anonymous

 

The thing in my head

Is there from when I wake

To when I go to bed.

It’s the thing in my head.

 

The thing in my head

Can go away

Leaving me with 

No trace of dread.

 

But other times, 

It decides to stay.

And its blows upon me

It begins to lay.

 

“You’re not smart enough,”

It says,

As it breathes fire

On my head.

 

“They won’t like you,”

It screeches,

As it plummets

Around my stomach.

 

“You’re ugly,”

It exclaims

As it manipulates

My brain

 

This thing in my head

I can try to ignore what it says

But it gets so loud

It’ll cover me like a cloud

Pongo Poetry Project’s mission is to engage youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. Pongo writes heartfelt poetry with youth who have experienced trauma at three sites in the Puget Sound region; the Children & Family Justice Center (CFJC), King County’s juvenile detention facility; the Echo Glen Children’s Center, a juvenile rehabilitation facility in Snoqualmie; and the Child Study Treatment Center (CSTC), the only state-run psychiatric hospital for youth in Washington State.

THE FREEDOM OF YOUR LIFE

Anonymous, age 12

 

If your freedom is the night

you know that the darkness will not bring you fright.

 

If you are out alone
but it looks like everything is unknown,

the darkness is full of surprises.

 

You never know just where it goes,

the moon shining up in the sky. 

 

Where could it be up there?

 

If you know about the dark,
you got to know that you’ll never know
the full truth of the night.

 

Your freedom lies in the night sky. 

 

Just remember everyday there is a night.

 

If your freedom is the light,

just remember light is there too.

 

You can turn freedom into both.


The night and the light comes through.

 

You can bring the freedom everywhere you go.

 

To galaxy 951, or to earth where we’ve begun.

 

Apollo rings, Osiris roars, Scorpio crawls, as Medusa falls 

and that’s what makes your freedom
stronger than it was before.

 

Dedicated to my awesome teacher

FEELING LOST 

By a young person, age 17

 

The first step can be the longest

when you want to go back in time

for a change 

Like making amends 

 

The first step can be the most challenging

when you fear death 

Death is cold 

like the arctic 

Stepped in 

Shocked

 

The first step can be the hardest

when you fight against faith

Like losing somebody or someone 

It’s confusing

You’re lost for words 

Abandoned 

 

The first step is often the loneliest

when you don’t know if you’re going to make it 

through night and day 

Lost in the jungle

Trying to find your way

Survival 

 

The first step can be an opening

where the possibilities include a change in life

Where you can see the light

It looks like the sunset

over the ocean 

at Kalaloch beach

 

The first step can be an ending

when you think you will lose your mind 

and control over self 

seeing hurt 

 

The first step can be a thrill

when you experience regaining composure of self 

When that happens 

I will be home with family 

Connecting 

Building a relationship 

Laughing, joking around 

 

The first step can be joy

when you celebrate the things that I achieved 

and the goals I want in the future 

That celebration is happiness 

At ease

Relaxed

 

 

FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENTS & ONLINE RESOURCES


We connect the mosaic tiling to geometry (area, perimeter, and spatial reasoning). One of the greatest parts of this is seeing the kids who are typically more “right brained” shine and lead the class. This taps into areas of the brain that a majority of the kids are not used to using. Starting with a smaller tile and then using the larger one is a great way to scaffold the activity.

– Erin Graham, Susan Knottnerus, Ordway 3rd grade Classroom Teachers, describing Resident Teaching Artist Tim Lowell

ARTS EDUCATION FEATURED VIDEO

Vicky Edmonds from New Canoe Media on Vimeo.

…because it allows ALL students to have an opportunity to explore dance, as some of our students might not get that chance otherwise…they learned that they can express themselves and their creativity in many different ways… so important to their overall development and appreciation of their capabilities.

– Megan Berg Blakely Elementary Kindergarten Classroom Teacher, describing Resident Teaching Artist Gary Reed

Find Family-Friendly Events

“My favorite part was all of it. She was so good, I didn’t want her to go.“

- Zoey (3rd Grade), Wilkes Elementary Classroom Teacher, describing Resident Teaching Artist Vicky Edmonds

“Something new to me was learning I can move my body like a sea creature.”

- Cypress (2nd Grade), Wilkes Elementary Classroom Teacher, describing Resident Teaching Artist Karen Harp-Reed

Partners & Sponsors

 

 

 

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