Streams 15

Streams 15
A WATERWAYS PUBLICATION
STREAMS 15
Published by The Waterways Project of Ten Penny Players, Inc.
(a not for profit corporation)
with funding support from
NYC Public Schools
Learn & Serve America,
The Center for Arts Education
The NYS Council on the Arts
The NYS Education Department
The New York Times Foundation
The Empire State Partnership
Independence Community Foundation
and Fleet Bank.
Richard A. Spiegel & Barbara Fisher, Co-editors

A. Thomas Perry, Administrative Assistant
Richard Organisciak, Superintendent

Margaret Bing-Wade, Alan Werner, and Timothy Lisante
Deputy Superintendents
Ellen Kirshbaum, Director of Arts Education
Alternative, Adult and Continuing Education Schools and Programs
Joanna Fuhrman, Shawn Banks, Stephen DiMenna,
Great Small Works (Jennifer Romaine, Roberto Rossi, Javier Cardona,
Alessandra Nichols), Alison Ingram [Zadro], Michael Keck, lrw.net (Randy
Wright & Lucia Ruedenberg Wright), Ellen "Windy" Aug Lytle,
Joy Hewitt Mann, Ron McBee, D. Nurkse, Liza Jessie Peterson, Elizabeth
Reddin, Louis Reyes Rivera, Jonathan Jay Sharp, Frank Stearns,
Thelma Ruffin Thomas, Karen Ulrich, and Pamela White
Poets, Artists and Performers working with students
through the Waterways Project.
i
...there should be anthologies which explain instead of evaluating: which

demonstrate, say, the rise and fall of a certain way of looking at the
world, by reproducing its most typical, influential, or exaggerated
expressions . . .
Randall Jarrell
Poetry and the Age
Streams 15 is dedicated to the memory of
Vijay Rahim
(1976-2001)
Paul Auerbach, Al Barbarino, Jennifer Beck, Grace Beniquez,

Norman Benjamin, Willie Bennett, John Blodgett,
J. A. Brathwaite, Robert Budnick, Sal Canale, Mildred Connor,
John Curtis, Delores Doctor, Peggy Egar, Donna Farnum,
Arlene Feldman, Thaddeus J. Flood, Eliza Forseti,
Marie Genuard, John Georges, Jack Giordano, David Glick,
George Goldschlag, Steve Good, Maura Gouck, Lynda Gregg,
Edna Gruber, L. Hale-Sims, Tzion Halali, Lucie Harris,
Patricia Jones-Bryant, Roslyn Kaye, Ronald G. King,
Chris Lehmann, Myrtle Liburd, Bryna Malik, Tawana Martin,
Joan Martinez, Hazel Meade, Max Mendes, Tom Mitchelson,
Nina Morris-Farber, Onetia Murray, Moli Ntuli,
David Pambianchi, Kissoonlall Ramkaran, Leila Riley,
Judith Rosenbaum, Cesar Roquez, Dolores Russo,
Marilyn Savitt, Jessica Seessel, Valeria Simmons,
Brenda Sincere, Connie Sommer, Robyn Stuart,
Kerry Daly Sullivan, Toni Anne Tepedino, Alfrieda Thompson,
Mary Tisi, Chloe Waller, Tyona Washington, Anthony West,
Garth Wolkoff, Katherine Spellman Zaccor
School faculty members encouraging, recognizing
and publishing student expression
The Waterways Project is a program of Ten Penny Players, Inc.

a NYS chartered not for profit 501c3 corporation.
Waterways, 393 St. Pauls Avenue, Staten Island, N. Y. 10304-2127
isbn 0-934830-68-1
Printed by The Print Center
2001, Ten Penny Players, Inc.
ii
Student contributors attend the following

NYC schools and programs:
Austin MacCormick Island Academy, Auxiliary Services for High

Schools, Beacon High School, Bed/Stuy Outreach, Bellevue Hospital,
Bronx Community College, Bronx Outreach Center, Brooklyn College
Academy, Brooklyn Tech, Career Education Center, Center for
Continuing Education (P911), Dr. Susan S. McKinney Nursing &
Rehabilitation Center, Educational Alliance, Frederick Douglass Center,
Haym Salomon Nursing Home, High Impact Incarceration Program,
Horizons Academy, Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science, LaGuardia
Community College Family Institute for Education, Training & Research,
Maimonides Hospital Center, Manhattan Center (YOU), New York City
Vocational Training Center, Outreach Program, Passages Academy,
Program for Pregnant and Parenting Services, Queens Center (YOU),
Rikers Island Educational Facility, Roberto Clemente Center, Roosevelt
Island Learning Center at Goldwater Memorial Hospital, South Bronx
Job Corps, St. Albans VA Hospital, St. John's Episcopal Hospital, Urban
Peace Academy, Vanguard High School, Youth Options Unlimited
Coperating Administrators
Nancy Armfield, Sydney Blair, Franklyn Brickler, Rod Brundidge,
Michael Cataldi, Frank Dody, Jos Fraga, Robert Galli, Macmillan Gerald,
Lois Rekosh Goldberg, Benito Herrero, Elayna Konstan, Jerry Long,
Noralee Montemarano, Frank Murray, Gloria Ortiz, Michael Pines,
Danette Queen, Freebie Rivera, Juliana Rogers, Robert Rogers, Paul Rotondo,
Mark Ryan, Stephen Stoll, Maria Torchia, Loretta White, Sherry Zekowski
Our thanks for their continued encouragement and support to
Arts in Education, The New York State Council on the Arts:
Amy Duggins Pender, Gary Dayton, Tanya Gallo, Kara Yeargans
The Center for Arts Education:
Hollis Headrick, Greg McCaslin, Russell Granet, Heather Lester
Nathan Straus Young Adult Center of the New York Public Library:
Joanne Rosario
New York State Education Department:
Fran Hollon
and New York State Regent Emeritus, Norma Gluck.
Cover photograph by Roslyn Kaye and Pamela White
Book Design on Quark Xpress by Richard Spiegel
iii
STREAMS 15
TAblE of ConTEnTS
the drum beating to my soul
My Streams of Dreams by Simon Heyliger

2
Listen to the Song of My Small Island
by Yadyra Clemente
3
Rain Fall by Alicia Green
4
Poems by Shalander Delaire
5-6
Light by Jasmine Gilmore
6
Music's Beat by Brittney Green
6
A Simple Twist of Life by Kelly McCloskey
7
Take a Walk by Chinalese Elias
8
The Beats by Curton Hector
9
Times Square by Shirron Gulliver
10
The Drum by Natiefa Ashley
11
Tell Me Slim Can't Do It by Kaleek Davis (Slim) 12
Adam Manning
13
Candice Sanchez
13
Kamal Hosein
14
remember those times
Nothing to Do by Sancheska Rosa

16
Live by Tara Pober-Thompson
17-18
The Boys Who Exaggerate by Tricia Victory
18
St. Thomas Memories by Craig George
19
Day in My Life by Andrew Boynton
19
Where I'm From by Taffawee Richards
20
I See the Birds by David Kaen
21
iv
The City by Debra Kepke

Just Remember by Bryan Pierce
Diamond by Shakyee Brown
Tired by Kedar Northington
my pain will disappear
22
23-24
25
26
I'm Sorry by Linda Lowman

Letter of Apology by Terrence Graham
SM
Enough Tears by Elana Cohen
Inside by Jo Ann Gajadhar
Anthony Sabater
Fear by Chiemela Onukwue
God, Listen to My Cry! by RS
Why Do We Fear? by Jean Erven
Cancer by Yasmeen Ghee
Let Me Tell You Who I Hate by Shakyee Brown
Dearest Friend by Yadyra Clemente
Embarrassment by Chiemela Onukwue
Advice by Michael McDonald
Split Personality by Michelle James
things had changed between us
28
29
30
31
32
33
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
If It Happens by Stacy Merriweather

43
My First Time by Tasanyia Kurleeia Princess Sebro 44-45
We Were Little by Randy Samuels
46
My Favorite Holiday by Linda Lowman
47
Do Thugs Fall in Love? by Derrick A. Thomas Jr.
48
CL
49
Don't by Evangelina Baez
50-51
Trust by Shakyee Brown
52
Life by Sancheska Rosa
53
v
Laughter by Chrismarie Castillo

Harsh Reality by Debra Kepke
Hair by David Kaen
My Time by Latoya Charles
Blessed Be by Bryan Pierce
Breakthrough by Terri Brown
The Coming of Spring by Debra Kepke
The Issues I Still Need to Face in Life
by Jeanette Carrasquillo
who are you?
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61-62
I Am by Jo Ann Gajadhar
64
I Am, New York by Tara Pober-Thompson
65
Replication by Adrian Agredo
66
Who Am I? by Linda Lowman
67
Please Look a Little Deeper by Jesenia Hernandez
68
The Real Me by Bryan Pierce
69
Who Am I? by Jennifer Jordan
70
Who I Am by Jean-Baptiste Wenael
71
Siamese Eyes by Ippolita di Paola
71
I Am a Man by Shakyee Brown
72
Most Wanted by Kedar Northington
72
Who Am I? by Jean Erven
73
I Am by Adelina Mendez
74-75
JW
75
Omar Wimberly
76-77
Bio-Poem by Latoya. A. Isaac
77
Who Are You? by Kevin Williams
78
Family by Stacy Merriweather
79-81
Still Waters by Eustashia Raymond
82
Time by Jean Erven
83
vi
my sense is not common
One Day, One Time by Terri Brown

85
Late Night by Sharif Rosa
86
Shining by Sancheska Rosa
87
Watch Us Moon by Sharimar Santana
88
Unforeseen by Terri Brown
89
I Dream by Kelly McCloskey
90-91
Dream Sequence 1 by Jeffrey Williams
92
Oblivion's Misapprehension by Jeffrey Williams 93-94
The Dreamer by Latoya Charles
95
Dreams by Jennifer Yannuci
96
Drowning by Adrian Agredo
97-98
Skyscraper by Joseph Cummings
99
Wake Up by Debra Kepke
100
My Mickey Mouse by Jo Ann Gajadhar
101
Love Between a Scent and a Cat
by Tara Pober-Thompson
102-103
A Bit of Bitter or Better Attention
by Tara Pober-Thompson
103
Just Shy by Terri Brown
104
Smile by Andrew Spencer
104
The Stone by Tara Pober-Thompson
105
Not BreakAway by Kelly McCloskey
106
Curtis "Chewy" Ferguson
106
My Heart Is So Cool by Randy Samuels
107
Omar Wimberly
108
One Phone Call by Andrew Boynton
109
The Person at the Door by Simon Heyliger
110
To Whom I Miss by Jean Erven
111
Times Square in Our Life by Clayton Campbell 112
The Characteristics of Chasing a Day Dream
by Adrian Agredo
113-115
vii
2r by Eustashia Raymond
#Sexual Object/Sex Symbol
by Anandi Gangaram a.k.a AQUA
Be With You by Sancheska Rosa
My Tree by Elana Cohen
Linda Street
Lies by Jorge Douglas
What Is a Lie? by Markus Mkdonald
Thinking by Aloysia Chery
My Finger by Randy Samuels
Voice of the Angel by David Kaen
Poem by Clayton Campbell
Omar Wimberly
author index
title index
viii
116-117
118
119
120
121
122
122
123
124
125-126
126
127
the drum beating

to my soul
Simon Heyliger
My Streams of Dreams
I fell into a stream

full of oriental fishes
swimming galantly to the
corner of the world.
La La Laaaaa!
Who is that?
It's my grandma singing
a melody.
I turn around to see, to see

three apples on a tree.
One was red, the other was
green. The last couldn't
be seen.
The sky was dark but gray.

The last apple was singing, "Simon,
Simon." The other apples sat there
still, waiting for the inevitable.
Not soon but near . . .
Streams 15
Yadyra Clemente
listen to the Song of My Small Island
Escouche the rhythms of the island music

flying through the air.
Escouche the cheer for the salseros
playing their congas.
Escouche the muchacha giggling as
they dance an El Espirito.
Escouche the slamming of dominoes
on a table as the biejos play the game.
Escouche the screams of children running
towards La Dona's house where
they can buy fruited limbers.
Escouche the chitter chatter of mujeres
conversing about the latest noticios
del barrio.
Escouche la cancion de me isla peguena.
Streams 15
Alicia Green
Rain fall
Drip drip drop on the rooftop,

I hear the sounds of the rain fall
as I lie in my bed.
I look out my window.

The water splashes against the dog.
He wigwags to get the water off.
I go outside in the rain with the dog,
getting myself wet.
I splash myself in the mud.
Splash, splash in the mud I splish splash.
Streams 15
Shalander Delaire
Poems
Come along with me.

I'm going to take you to a place
where you hear splish splash on the rocks
and you can see the sun sparkle on the water.
You can hear the birds chirping all around.
You'll feel like no one's there.
There you can feel the sand
tingling under your feet.
You can lay on the green green grass
and hear the trees going sh, sh, sh.
You can hear the humming bees
going buzz buzz buzz
and making you want to sleep.
the smell of the salt water
makes you feel stress free.
But a cool air hits my cheeks

and a cool chill passes through my body
and I realize that something cares.
Sitting down in Tech Park

one cold and winter night,
looking at the lights and
the buildings that surround me,
makes me feel like no one cares.
Streams 15
The wind blew woo woo

making me feel like we are one.
Looking at the sky
I could see the stars sparkling so bright.
It makes me feel like I'm one too.
Jasmine Gilmore
light
Light is turned down dim.

A lot of people dancing;
music's playing loud.
brittney Green
Music's beat
Music's beat is fast, slow

loud, low. It's rhyming with rhythm
all around.
It's love, peace, war
and knowledge.
Listen and enjoy as it takes you away.
Streams 15
Kelly McCloskey
A Simple Twist of life
Lose yourself
in the song.
Find yourself
in his love.
Keep dreaming
after the night is done.
Stay awake
when the sun is gone.
Tomorrow could be the end.

Today's your last try.
Just do it before
you lose your chance to shine.
Don't think too much.
Don't jump too far.
Live life
as who you are.
Streams 15
Chinalese Elias
Take a Walk
We take a walk
through the park,
slow like a snail.
Shh, shh, shh the wind
goes through our ears.
You can hear the
branches as they go
crr-crr-er, as one of them bends and breaks.
Take a walk through the park.
You can smell the roses as you pass.
Hear the bird's song,
a lovely song saying,
"good day,"
to every one passing by.
Streams 15
Curton Hector
The beats
Ta ta ta ta talata talata
Ta ta ta ta talata talata
The tail taps.
Apples and grapes are good to eat.
Music is nice.
Fruits are spice.
Put them together they both are nice
like a song in a drum.
The music is a song of joy.
It makes me want to dance.
The music today is bad.
I can't feel any song
nor rhythm.
The people in this world are
impersonal and bad
and some are sad.
Streams 15
Shirron Gulliver
Times Square
I heard all different kinds of noises.

Ha, ha, ha people laughing.
Car horns blowing.
Oh, no! Too much noise.
Cheap, cheap a man was chirping
like a bird.
Please stop the noise, noise.
Oh, no! Too much noise.
People were talking, talking.
What were they talking about?
I really don't know.
Please, please! Stop the noise.
10
Streams 15
natiefa Ashley
The Drum
In the auditorium
I go budum buduff budumbuduff.
I hear the drum.
I hear the drum beating in my ears.
It makes me jump.
It makes me jump jamming on the ground.
In the auditorium there I go.
I hear the drum.
I hear the drum beating to my feet.
It makes me run.
It makes me run ramming in the hall.
Budum buduff budumbuduff.

In the auditorium there I go.
I hear the drum.
I hear the drum beating to my soul.
It makes me feel.
It makes me feel joy cradling in my soul.
11
Streams 15
Kaleek Davis (Slim)
Tell Me Slim Can't Do It
Tell me I can't do it
and I will prove you wrong.
Tell me I can't use it
and watch it be gone.
Tell me to give up
and watch me give more.
Tell me to bring it to an end
then watch me endure.
Tell me that you doubt me
and I'll increase your belief.
Say horrible things about me
I'll contradict with my life's bequeath.
Forbid me the feast
and I'll take your plate as you prepare to eat
a meal I already ate.
Please underestimate me
and before long I shall surmount
greatly and prove all doubters wrong.
12
Streams 15
Adam Manning
Poetry is like jazz and rap,

because it is mellow and it can be hard-core.
Poetry does not have to rhyme
all the time.
You can switch it up and say something else.
I say that poetry is rap and jazz
put together.
Candice Sanchez
13
Poetry is something that people write

from the heart.
Things that they may feel
whether it is good or bad.
Rap is a type of poetry.
It can express how a person may feel or something
that is just running through her head.
Raps usually do rhyme,
but all poetry doesn't rhyme.
Only some of it.
Streams 15
Kamal Hosein
To me,
poetry represents the thoughts
of the artist.
Some artists' thoughts go deeper
than others and they come up with
metaphors and similes which compare
two things that may have a connection
or they may not be connected at all.
It does not always have to rhyme.

I think that rap is a form of poetry,
but it is sort of in its own class.
Most good rappers started writing their
lyrics through poetry.
Poetry and rap are in two different
classes, but they are connected through
the urban cultures.
14
Streams 15
15
Sancheska Rosa
nothing to Do
Wake up in the morning.
Come home in the afternoon.
At night watch TV and then

there's nothing else to do.
I go to my room and just lie

on the bed
with the same thought running
through my head.
Maybe one day I'll do something good,

but for now I have nothing to do.
16
Streams 15
Tara Pober-Thompson
live
And the food in a jar at home says "Live"

Live, live, live
full of squirming microorganisms
hemp seeds, germinated in Alpine spring water
and most of all "Live."
I wonder: Am I eating meat?
If it's live?
Could I eat a rabbit with clawed feet hanging from my
teeth,
"Live?"
Could I eat a turnip,
round, starchy
from the earth, green tops and all?
Could I eat it live?
17
The possibilities stretch before me

as I stare at the cockroach.
Dead.
Boric acid death.
In Nicks apartment
on the floor, a tomb of white powder and pasta
crumbs.
Dead, dead as fine white semolina.
Eat me quick before I die.
Love was unrecognized,
weary, stiff
with disuse
but still alive
as I lay
Streams 15
face up to the ceiling fan

my legs intertwined with his.
We discussed everything
ex lovers
theology
philosophy and sex.
When I left to jump the A train

from Dyckman Street he kissed me
with his cheeks sucked close to his bones
and asked,
"Are you sorry you stayed?"
No, because I finally felt alive.
Tricia Victory
The boys Who Exaggerate
They exaggerate so much that they forget

what they say to you when they talk.
That's what they get for exaggeration.
18
The boys in class exaggerate

on their lives and on their sex life,
like they need everybody to know
what they do when the door is closed.
Streams 15
Craig George
St. Thomas Memories
I'm making chaos,

misbehaving,
running around the projects
with my friends;
Reggae music,
warm weather,
beautiful sun.
I was a troublesome boy
on a beautiful island.
Andrew boynton
Day in my life
is not alright.
I hustle
all day and night
just to keep
my pocket right.
My life is a
very messed up
life.
Day in My life
19
Streams 15
Taffawee Richards
Where I'm from
I'm from Olinville,

where your heart has to be tremendous.
Windows are broken,
doors are torn off the hinges.
No dog in the yard.
There are no white picket fences.
Just hustlers on the corner
with crills in their dentures.
Walk with me through all my adventures.
My block is like another dimension,
where girls drink Kool-Aid and flaunt extensions.
We don't respect the law,
so there is always tension.
The scent of urine is
all over the benches.
20
We go to funerals
like we go to school.
Half my friends are dead, and
sometimes my eyes don't move.
My best friend killed
because of flaunting jewels.
My fam was stabbed up
while buying juice.
Murders on my block
never reach the news.
Olinville the only thing I'm used to.
Streams 15
David Kaen
I See the birds
Every morning, I see the birds gathered together on

the streets.
Pigeons of many colors swarm to peck at the crumbs
on the streets.
The people walk past, kids chase them off the streets
and others spit at them.
The birds are alive,
hungry and always in danger,
but people dont care.
But there is the lady who feeds the birds.

The lady who brings bread crumbs and scatters them
on the street for the birds to eat.
And the birds come, even though they dont
understand, they eat in thanks.
And the lady needs the birds, and the birds need the
lady and so they are friends.
21
The birds are alive,

hungry and always in danger,
but she cares and she helps.
Streams 15
Debra Kepke
The City
Diamond-like, shiny
raindrops falling quickly to
the buildings below.
After awhile
the clouds will clear up and then
the night sky is seen.
I wish that I could

see the stars shining above
in the clear night sky.
22
Streams 15
bryan Pierce
Just Remember
Remember those days as a child

sitting and asking mom, "Can I go outside?"
Remember those times you didnt have a care
of what you did, who you knew, or what you would wear?
Dont you remember having to have a baby-sitter?
And, your mother making you go everywhere with her?
Remember how the little things used to make you happy?
And, grown ups always telling you,
"Its time for your nap."
Remember those childhood games like tag
and hide-and-go-seek?
Remember those times when you scraped your knee?
Try to think back when you were in school
and would laugh at anything just to act like a fool.
Try to remember when every question started with,
"Why?"
And thinking that you would live forever and not die.
Remember just you and your gang of friends
going to the park, playing games that never end.
Just think about the first day of school.
You couldn't wait to wear all the clothes that were new.
Remember those times when the kids all put a foot
in to pick who was "it"?
Remember the words, "Dick, Dick, Dog $#!?"
Who made this up?
Try to think back on going to the corner store
a bag of chips, gum, and candy was all you wanted.
You used the phrase, "I got my cootie shots."
And, eating those ices when it got hot.
23
Streams 15
Wintertime came and you would play in the snow,

making angels, snowmen, and snowballs you would throw.
The little kid birthday parties, and the musical chairs.
Oh boy! Oh boy, were those the years.
Then your first graduation and you lose contact with
some friends.
While others you grew apart from; childhood was
coming to an end.
You grew up into this new person
a little taller, and a little bit of cursing.
You began to learn about the birds and the bees,
and heard this saying over and over,
"Money
doesnt grow on trees."
These days, these years, went by so fast and soon
before you knew it, youre in full bloom.
Soon you will be leading your own life,
no mommy, daddy, grandparents telling you whats right.
No longer do you have to ask can you go outside or
play with whomever,
because youre an adult now and you should know better.
The dumb things you used to do you have suddenly
stopped,
bad habits going away and new ones coming about.
Soon maybe you'll be having kids,
but just try to remember your youth and how being
a kid is.
24
Streams 15
Shakyee brown
Diamond
I used to date this girl named Diamond.

I didnt like her looks.
I didnt like her money.
I only liked her for who she was.
This was the only girl I bought flowers for.
This was the only girl I spent a night with in a hotel.
This was the only girl I let come visit me everyday.
She let me meet her family,
and I let her meet my family.
I spent one night at her house,
but for the respect for her mother,
I slept on the couch.
We went to the movies to see "Best Man"
and she asked me was I ever going to get married.
And I said only to her.
But now my dreams are shattered,
because not so long ago,
while I was incarcerated,
she was raped and murdered,
and her body was left on top of a roof.
Ever since she died,
I think about the times we spent together,
and all the fun we had.
But, all those times are memories.
Now I wish I wasnt locked up,
because if I wasnt, I probably
would have been married to her.
This is the only girl I could have said I love.
Rest in peace,
Diamond.
25
Streams 15
Kedar northington
Tired
Im tired of all
the things that I do.
Im tired of spending
time with you.
Im tired of jail-time.
Im tired of all the stress.
Time in the past I thought
My life was the very best.
Im tired of drug dealers
selling evil things.
Im tired of crooked cops
acting like societys kings.
Im just plain tired . . .
26
Streams 15
27
linda lowman
I'm Sorry
I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to wake up.
I never saw a thing.
Please don't hurt her Daddy.
I never meant to wake up.
I'm sorry.
Please stop screaming; don't cry Mommy.
Please, Daddy stop, please.
Whatever I've done I won't do it again.
I'm sorry.
Daddy please let go of Mommy.
She's gasping for air.
The back of her neck is bleeding
28
Jennifer help her please.

I'm sorry.
Let go of me I want to see.
The whole building sees and I'm still in the dark
No don't hurt him Daddy.
Let him go. What did he do?
Mommy, are you okay!
Stop Daddy!
Please stop!
I'm sorry!
I'm sorry.
Streams 15
Terrence Graham
(Oltsom DoGod)
letter of Apology
Dear Sisters, Dear Brother,

Dear Father, Dear Mother,
I apologize for lies and the tears in your eyes.
I'm sorry that I didn't make it home again.
I left you alone again.
Forgive me, I've been selfish for so long,
expecting you all to be strong.
I took advantage of good parents,
ran rampant when I should have sat and listened.
I was young, chasing after what I wasn't missing,
sinning when I should have been swimming
in your grace,
bringing smiles to your face.
All I did was hate:
my mistake...
This is my apology letter.
If I could turn time backwards,
things would be better.
29
Streams 15
SM
I wake up pinching myself . . .

hoping that this is a dream,
looking at the bars on the windows . . .
the steel cages and screens.
Damn all this. . .
The judge hit me with a lethal twist.
Can I not make a mistake?
Must I get sentenced . . ? locked up . . ?
Looking out of the window . . .
seeing nothing . . . barbed wire.
It hurts my heart and sets my soul on fire.
All of my teenage years were spent in here.
I lost the spark in my eye and cried my last tear.
That's what I always did fear . . .
not having control of my life.
No decent man wants a jail bird for a wife.
All I ask is for someone to realize . . .
I don't belong in here . . .
my soul will soon wither and die. . .
30
Streams 15
Elana Cohen
Enough Tears
There is so much anger inside of me

I want to cry,
but to be strong, I swallow my tears.
There isn't anyone looking over my shoulder.

I want to become invisible.
My pain will disappear.
If I go, I won't feel the pain.
Everybody is driving me insane.
I just want to be left alone
but still to be loved.
People don't understand me.
Their jealousy becomes anger
that stands against me.
Like I said though, I am strong.

Strong enough not to take my own life
because of someone's envy against me.
31
As life rolls, so do my tears . . .
Streams 15
Jo Ann Gajadhar
Inside
I am afraid
of the unsaid.
I am scared
of not being prepared.
I wonder constantly
about what would happen to all the anxiety
when all of what's inside
will finally be revealed.
What would their reaction be
when they learn of what resides
inside of me?
Will they think of me as one of them,

as the unspeakable,
as the big disappointment?
Or will they be happy
and accept me
as who I am?
32
They can't see me for me.

They won't let me just be,
but who they want me to be.
They would never accept just me.
Streams 15
Anthony Sabater
At night I lie on my bed wondering

if people are thinking of me
or have I been forgotten?
I am just a number in this hell-hole

and a number I will be
if I'm forgotten.
Just the thought of me on someone's mind gives me
chills.
Chiemela onukwue
fear
33
Fear sits here on my shoulder.

I hear silence
chill down my spine
cold like a winter day in the Arctic.
Frightened like a mouse in a snake's mouth,
the wind holding its breath.
Why did it come to me,
swarming around me like a pack of man-eating bugs?
I lie here on the cold floor,
a zebra in the eye of a lion.
I stand up,
I won't let it take over me.
I stay strong.
I kill the fear.
Streams 15
RS
God, listen to My Cry!
God, listen to my cry!

Hear my prayer!
From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help
for my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety
for you are my safe refuge and fortress
where my enemies can't reach me.
My enemies come out at night
snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.
Listen to my prayer!
Do not ignore my cry for help!
Please listen and answer me,
for I am overwhelmed by troubles.
My enemies shout at me.
Making loud and wicked threat,
they bring trouble on me,
hunting me down in their anger.
My heart is in anguish.
I wish I had wings like a dove Then I would fly away and rest!
34
Streams 15
Jean Erven
Why Do We fear?
Why do we fear?
Isn't fear a feeling like
love, all in the mind?
Why do we fear?
Is our mind strong
enough to tell us who
to step to, who not to
just 'cause they are bigger than us,
or is it
'cause they intimidate us?
So is that the reason
we fear one another?
Why do we fear?
35
Streams 15
Yasmeen Ghee
Cancer
There was some hair

on top of your head
but now it's gone.
Where did it go? Nobody knows.
But, now it's gone.
Everybody stops and stares and asks,
"Why the hell did you cut your hair?"
That's what they think happened,
but it all fell out.
due to the cancer that's spreading about.
36
Streams 15
Shakyee brown
let Me Tell You Who I Hate
37
I hate black people who hate white people.

I hate white people who hate black people.
I hate racism and racist people.
I hate police, judges, district attorneys, mayors,
governors, presidents, Republicans and Democrats.
I hate Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Netas,
Godbodies, Muslims, Black Panthers and KKKs.
I hate mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins
and grandparents.
I hate schools, jails, prisons, group homes,
DFYs, Daycare centers and hospitals.
I hate wars, riots, fights.
I hate the world, the galaxy, the universe,
the planets and the sun, moon and stars.
I hate me, myself and I.
I love only one thing:
I love nothing.
I hate this poem.
I hate this pencil I used to write this poem.
I hate you if you read this poem.
I hate you if you like this poem.
I hate you if you hate this poem.
I hate you if you like me.
I hate you if you hate me.
I hate you if you do the roll call on the school floor.
I hate writing all this. I hate stuff.
I hate sleeping, dreaming and thinking.
I hate Phyllis Brown and Mylong.
I hate eating and drinking.
I just hate everything.
Streams 15
Yadyra Clemente
Dearest friend
Why hate? Why choose hate?

Indifferences, dislikes, betrayal, anything
but hate. Hate, a word that expresses
anger which expresses pain which
expresses disbelief... Why hate?
A word that causes you much sorrow.
Tranquility; need that, want that, ask for that.
Dearest friend, why choose hate?
Hate is the reason why you're ashamed
to know your father. Hate is the reason
you're alone at night. Hate is the reason
happiness lacks in your heart.
Hate is the reason you're full of anger.
Hate my friend, is the reason Mami is gone...
Hate. Why choose hate?
Hate is the key to death, loneliness forever.
Must you hate me?
Do you love me so much you hate me?
Stop hating quickly before it's too late.
Stop your hatred before it kills me too...
38
Streams 15
Chiemela onukwue
Embarrassment
Embarrassment is as red as a hot pepper;

flushed all over,
running like the wind,
it flies past the crowd of people
to its home behind a wall,
hiding, hiding.
Tears of madness start swimming down its cheeks.
Its heart is a drum pounding
in and out of the body.
It smells the humiliation of the kids laughing,
trying to hold back tears.
It feels its hand shaking
with fear, for what might happen the next day.
39
Streams 15
Michael McDonald
Advice
Lying in bed
trying to sleep
but can't you see I'm in jail
a place for killers and tough guys
and where you don't have any friends.
I thought I did
until I did a bid
and got stabbed
while I was sleeping.
So if you come here

(I hope you don't)
I will give you some words of advice:
You don't have any friends in here.
So don't make this your life!
40
Streams 15
Michelle James
Split Personality
You make me sick.

I despise your way of thinking.
I can't stand your childish acts.
Why can't you be more like me?
I'm sorry.
I'm just too afraid.
Afraid of what?
Afraid of you.
41
Streams 15
things had changed

between us
42
Stacy Merriweather
If It Happens
43
Can you look into my eyes and see my wildest fantasy?

Can you hold my palms and read my inner mystery?
If you could then you'd see you and me.
Can you finish the rest of my story?
It begins with lights and our clothes are on.
The radio is on and it's playing my song.
What shall we do after everyone's gone?
Can you decide in a minute, or will you wait until dawn?
Kisses and caresses are all well share.
Sorry, tonight there'll be no pulling my hair.
Then at my body you'll begin to stare.
Realizing that something's missing from there.
Im not ready to risk what our love is about,
and not in one night anyway.
Physical attraction started us off.
Time got us to where we are now.
Sex can put it all to an end.
Thinking of that, doesn't it make you want to wait?
We can't see yet what the future holds,
maybe it's my missing piece, and maybe it's not.
Perhaps it should stay hollow and empty,
or perhaps I should just let it go, let it fly.
Wherever it is that we should end up
we'll have to walk slowly together to get there,
before love slips away and there's nothing left,
except memories.
Streams 15
Tasanyia Kurleeia Princess Sebro

My first Time
My first time (with you, my love)

I do remember.
That day, the sun had glistened and shined,
and we were together.
I looked at you, and
you promised me pleasure.
Every one else who did it
enjoyed the feeling.
(But I figured it was just talk)
I admit, I wanted to know if
there was truth in what I was hearing.
I witnessed some people do it B4,
like my mom and dad, my sister and her friend,
and they looked so happy.
Yet, I was afraid that you would unintentionally hurt me.
Because you are so wide,
I was afraid that your large body would damage me.
Yet, I was amazed by your length,
and the distance that you were capable of carrying me.
Others suggested that I try it.
You relaxed them, and
made them feel good inside, they'd say.
But after hearing about all the people that you had
around the world,
I hesitated to partake.
I wasn't out to catch crabs
and I didn't want any of your other possible parasites
to attack my body,
but I decided to have you anyway.
On that unforgettable day
your warm body attracted and teased.
44
Streams 15
I became wet with the coolness of your touch,

as you moved from my toes and eventually reached my
knees.
I fidgeted and squinted my face as
I came closer to your body.
Then you engulfed the whole of me,
as I entered you, and you entered me.
I yelled, pleaded and screamed
for mercy,
when I felt your whiplash.
You made me cry out loud.
Your grip and your force held on
to my inexperienced, virgin body,
and carried me further into an unfamiliar ecstasy.
Then you massaged me, waist up,
and I was no longer afraid.
My first time, I will never forget.
It was not in New York.
It was in Tobago as a matter of fact.
I never forgot you after that (day).
You made me sleep for hours
after our encounter.
I have found no other to replace you.
No matter how much I tried.
I still remember your amazing waves.
At first I was afraid,
now I long for one more ride.
I yearn for a second time, just me and the sea.
I will never forget, I can't deny,
the day you had me.
My first time with the sea,
at a Tobago beach.
45
Streams 15
Randy Samuels
We Were little
We were little
and you were
my friend's little sister.
When I would come over to your house
I would pick trouble with you
and we would start to wrestle on the floor.
But that day
when I was over there
and we were wrestling,
I was suddenly aware that
you were no longer
my friend's little sister.
46
You were a woman

and I stopped wrestling with you.
You asked me what was wrong
and I just stood there
and looked at you
and we both knew
things had changed between us.
Streams 15
linda lowman
My favorite Holiday
My favorite holiday
on cold winters night, starting from day
to the next night.
Trees set up all covered in snow and light,
pink, red, and blue,
a gift for me and you.
A boy outside while the moon is full and foggy
and blue.
Down the steep steps out the squeaking, creaking door
the wind howling as though there were a storm.
His warm lips pressed against mine,
his tongue swirling in my mouth.
O, yes, Christmas my favorite holiday of the year
that I love with all my heart.
47
Streams 15
Derrick A. Thomas Jr.

Do Thugs fall in love?
Do thugs fall in love?

People think they dont
but yesterday after
dinner me and two
other inmates were
talking about girls we love.
One of the inmates was Blood.
The other inmate was neutral.
We talked about how our
girls trust us.
It was funny because
I never thought thugs
would fall in love,
but they do.
And now I know I wasnt
the only thug that fell in love.
I also realize that I really did
love Lucy more for being
the person she is.
48
Streams 15
Cl
The power of a gun can kill

and the power of a wind can chill.
The power of a mind can learn.
The power of anger can burn.
The power of a tear can tear you apart,
but the power of a smile
especially yours can warm a frozen heart.
49
Streams 15
Evangelina baez
Don't
50
Maybe you like her.

Maybe you don't.
You'll probably see her.
You probably won't.
Don't play any games.
I'm sorry for what I did.
I'm with you before,
during and after the bid.
I kept my promise.
Now you keep yours.
If you like her more,
then there goes the door.
I'm not in the mood.
I don't have time.
What you do now,
will catch up down the line.
I'm trying my best
to stick by your side.
Are you enjoying your journey
or not staying for the ride?
I don't want you to go.
I don't want you to leave.
But, I won't stick around
to be hurt and deceived.
I'm on probation.
You're on parole.
Getting out of the ghetto
is my number one goal.
Streams 15
51
Yesterday I cried.
It's my parents again.
I was bent out of shape,
and not a helping hand to lend.
I don't want to argue.
I don't want to fight.
Just tell me the truth,
and give me my last kiss good night.
You know I love, honor and care for you.
Don't say it's the end.
Just say the good byes,
because we can't be friends.
I can't take only friendship
after three long years.
When I get just the thought,
my eyes dwell in tears.
I love you too much
to just let you go.
I thought this was needed
for you to know
that I love you dearly
and you're always at heart.
I don't want this to end.
I don't want us to part.
Streams 15
Shakyee brown
Trust
I dont know if I can trust you

because I cant trust myself
Do you trust me?
Do you think you can trust me?
Can you trust me with your money?
Can you trust me with your life?
Can you trust me with your love?
If you can find a way to trust me with all of this,
then I can trust you the same.
52
Streams 15
Sancheska Rosa
life
Try to understand how life is.

Its something that you just cannot.
How you love then hate,
how good things go bad,
how you get happy then get sad,
how there's pain and then relief,
how there's light and then night,
and how one day its cold,

and then the next its hot.
How like with people, the ones

you hate are always
around and the ones you
love are not.
How you are a kid one day,

and then you're old.
53
And then at the end,

you know that one day
all this will come to . . .
and when that day comes,
you wish to do
it all over again.
Streams 15
Chrismarie Castillo
laughter
"Laughter is the best medicine", as they say.

I love to laugh; it brightens up my mood.
I mostly stay serious but when days are bad
I need a real good laugh.
Seriousness is not always good.
You can hurt yourself inside
if you keep it in too long.
Laughter is not always good when youre hurting
inside.
You just want to relax and
free your mind.
Then maybe afterwards,
you'll laugh about it.
54
Streams 15
Debra Kepke
Harsh Reality
Go home, go out, come home or stay out.

Choices, choices.
Confusion.
Wondering.
Many different paths
to choose from.
Don't want to make a choice
but in the harsh reality,
you must.
It's hard.
All those different ways to go.
You wish it was easy
but in the harsh reality
it isn't.
55
Streams 15
David Kaen
Hair
When people are afraid or choose not to see,

sometimes they will put their hands over their eyes,
or clench their eyelids tight,
but I have the upper hand.
My hair wraps around my eyes and protects me from

the world,
and makes me feel secure inside in a world of my own.
shadowing my eyes and face I can rest in seclusion,
or close my eyes and dream about vacations.
My hair was long enough to chew,
so it could have doubled as a food,
however for me its there to make me unaware,
of the things I do not wish to see.
My hair can block out the sun,

when others need sunglasses,
or shield me from the rain and snow,
while others need umbrellas.
56
A face lies hidden under the hair,

a face with character and things to say,
but its not ready to come out yet,
maybe later, or in a year.
Streams 15
latoya Charles
My Time
I take my time to write poems.

I take my mind and let it flow.
Sometimes, I mumble.
Sometimes I fumble.
So I close my eyes and give my
mind a time to rise. As my blood
begins to flow in time,
I take my time to write poems.
57
Streams 15
bryan Pierce
blessed be
I want to express myself.

Writing down these lyrics helps.
I've been kind of stressed these days.
I've been pulled in every other way.
Part of me feels complete,
but the other has a need to eat.
My soul and my feelings,
I have no control over these things,
even anything I do or say any longer.
My soul has a hunger
for a higher meaning in life.
This is the only thing so far I know is right.
So, God, Im on my hands and knees
praying, begging, asking you, "Can you help me please?"
Show me what my purpose is here.
Do I question whats ahead, which I know I fear?
Dear great powerful, show me the light.
This guiding star has lost its light.
58
Streams 15
Terri brown
breakthrough
I have hope in myself.

Hope is something that doesn't look
for us, but we look for it.
At times, we try to cling on to that last
drop of hope, but it goes through our fingers.
And we decide to try more then ever
to get that drop of hope back, but it isn't easy.
It takes hard work, sweat, and energy
to get it back, but it pays off.
59
Streams 15
Debra Kepke
The Coming of Spring
But the air is still cold,

I'm looking for a sign,
I wonder to this day if spring will ever come.
I look out my window and it is still white,
and that is fine,
but the air is still cold.
I wish that I could fly a kite,

or find a tree to climb,
I wish for the colors that might
come out if spring were mine,
I want the light

to come and give a sign,
60
It's such a lovely sight,

spring is. I wish it would come or give me a sign,
Streams 15
Jeanette Carrasquillo
The Issues I Still need to face in life
I am happy to say I have an IEP diploma,

but it's not complete with out my GED
so that is my goal.
I feel my life is not complete with out a GED

I want my career to start now.
I am a young woman who has a lot of dreams.
I want them to come true one day.
There is so much I can do with my life.

I would like to start my career early . . . run my own
business . . . be my own boss.
Thinking about taking up physical therapy.
Also, something on the side, like bartending or
photography to make extra money.
I want to work with young adults some day to tell

them, "you're not alone," because a lot of kids are
just lost out in the world with no guidance.
I am the type of person who is in a rush to start my

life. I feel like I do not want to waste time.
61
The Board of Education does not know how badly

the schools have destroyed our children
throughout the years with the mistakes they
have made and do not care to fix.
Streams 15
I want to make the best of my time and not waste it.
I worry about my sisters and brother if they're going

to be safe when they go to school or if I am not
home.
I worry about my mom and stepdad: they're my life,
my world, along with my sisters and brother. I
want to protect them as much as possible.
So many issues about moneyI wish I had enough to

give my family so they would not need to struggle
in life. $$$$$$
My family's health concerns me.
I still think about what a bad past I had and how I

moved on and got the help I needed to take away
my pain and suffering by seeking counseling.
It's just hard to love again. But, I am young and

there is someone new in my life. I am just
scared of love.
Teens go through many issues in life.

They're not alone.
62
I still need to face love. I had a bad breakup of a

three-year relationship. It's not easy. He was
lazy and did not want to work things out.
Streams 15
who are you?
63
Jo Ann Gajadhar
I Am
I am as fresh as a new rose that's about to blossom.

I wonder what would happen if the sun
wouldn't come out in the morning.
I hear what I want to hear.
I see the beauty of the person inside of you.
I want to reach out and touch the stars.
I am a fool in a fool's world.
I pretend that people actually care about me.

I feel that no matter how loud I scream no one will hear.
I touch you but I feel nothing.
I worry that the world may never see who I really am.
I cry out for help but no one responds.
I am who I want to be.
I understand and accept reality.

I say what people want me to say.
I dream that someday I'll fall in love and someone
will actually love me back.
I try my best to fit in but I don't.
I hope that everyone realizes who they are inside
and not what people say they are.
I am who I am.
who are you?
64
Streams 15
Tara Pober-Thompson
I Am, new York
I am a compilation of congenial microbacteria, living,

breeding in my gut.
I am cement with glittering bits of glass.
I am the orange over black sky before the break of dawn.
I am yellow skin under fluorescent lights.
I am closed to the world.
I am alone in an elevator, cranked toward the tar of a
hot rooftop.
I am a lover of the unattainable; an open stretch of sky.
I am a kisser of many cheeks, yearning for the wet
flesh that lies beneath.
I am full of one thousand fake surprises, repeated
conversations.
I am a liver and a pancreas.
I am blood, white and red.
I am a cold hand against my stomach in the night.
I am flashed across six million retinas a day.
I am a fading picture on a video camera.
I am leaving you for the dark recesses of my brain,
visible only through my eyes.
I am a girl that never got to say good-bye.
who are you?
65
Streams 15
Adrian Agredo
Replication
who are you?
I am personal postulate disposable sea breeze,

I am fetal positioned swollen with anti-freeze,
I am stolen dreams in rhetorical skylines,
I am afraid of your touch, circumventing my eyeline.
I am strung upon a cross, metaphysical headband,
I am chasing a rainbow, being led by a blind man,
I am faded wrists refusing further dilation,
I am terrified breath being refused respiration,
I am a child on Christmas never given a peek,
I am tired of lying, timeless, I am
weak.
Like you.
As you-touch my lips and tell me not to cry,
self inflicted sunset, without a reason why,
drowning on your words, purging every pore,
given borrowed wounds, can I have some more?
Candy from strangers,
as I learn from bitter hands,
blistered implications, on how to be a man,
YOU SAY I AM,
well, I am.
I AM NOT
YOU.
I am compromising clouds, failing earthly seed,
I am sandman stricken flight, from the times my
sleep will bleed,
I am hiding voices, continued fossilizing dreams,
I am envy transparent through vein woven seams,
I am tired of escapism on hypothetical wings,
never believed in god, until he taught me how to
sing.
I am refusive teardrop, specific time of day,
I am seclusive affirmation; I am anything you say,
I am fallen seashore, reminiscent of the rain,
I am forgetful sunrise; I AM NOT THE SAME.
66
Streams 15
linda lowman
Who Am I?
Who am I?
Just another black girl living in a white man's world?
Who am I?
A 14-year-old with dark brown curly locks of hair that
shine with the color of gold when the sun hits it
just the right way.
Who am I?
Just another figment of someone's imagination?
Another person to blame for all your mistakes?
Someone to take your anger out on?
Who am I?
A glass wall there to block you from your fears?
Someone you use for your amusement? A person
you come to for advice when all hope is lost?
Who am I?
Someone you hang out with when all your friends have
gone home?
Who am I?
Your mother, your father, your brother, your cousin,
your teacher doing their best to make sure you
understand and know where you're going?
Who am I!
who are you?
67
Streams 15
Jesenia Hernandez
Please look a little Deeper
Please look a little deeper.

Please don't judge me by my face,
by my religion, or by my race.
Don't laugh at what I wear,
or how I look or do my hair.
Please look a little deeper.
Way down deep inside,
although you may not see it,
I have a lot to hide.
Behind my clothes the secret lies.
Behind my smile I softly cry.
Please look a little deeper
and maybe you will see
the lovely little girl
that lives inside of me.
Please listen carefully to her.

She'll show you that she's insecure.
Just get to know her
and maybe you will see
that if you just look deep enough
you'll find the real me.
who are you?
68
Streams 15
bryan Pierce
The Real Me
who are you?
Often times when I tell people I'm shy

they take it as a joke and laugh.
When actually I am,
I'm insecure about many things,
what I do or say to people,
what I wear, what I look like, how I act.
I'm often thought as a mean or nonchalant person,
when actually I do care for others.
I'm not saying that I'm a saint,
but I have my nice ways.
Being me is very hard.
You have to act a certain way,
and always come up with something clever to say.
Sometimes when I'm not joking, and trying to be serious,
friends, students, and my family take it as a joke.
I get nervous often and begin to talk fast,
a bad habit I didn't always have.
There was a time in my life,
when I thought I would be alone forever,
an ugly, black child with no friends,
but that changed when I started to tell jokes.
So everyday now I must put on this false face,
a face that I think is permanent and has taken my place.
It makes me feel good when someone likes the real me,
a twin, a man, southern, Portuguese, and six foot three,
a person who always has doubts about himself,
such as others do. So I told you the real me,
let's talk about you.
69
Streams 15
Jennifer Jordan
Who Am I?
70
who are you?
I am a black strong woman

and do you know who I am?
Do you like the way I look
or is it just you see?
I am a person who needs
to give herself courage in herself.
I am a 17 year old turning 18 in two months
and don't like the responsibility of life
but have to deal with it.
Who am I?
What am I?
And, what should I do
to make myself a better person
and not put myself in
the wrong state of mind?
Who am I?
Am I a girl
which some guys turn from?
And, why am I or any girl
gonna give themselves up?
Who am I?
Who are you?
What are your dreams
and do you know who I am
or is it just a stupid question to ask yourself?
Streams 15
Jean-baptiste Wenael
Who I Am
I'm black, virtuous, strong, and intelligent

that's who I am.
I'm fated, unbiased, not succumbed
that's
who I am.
I'm diligent, undoleful, militant
that's
who I am.
Nobody could tell me who I am,
'cause I know who I am.
I'm enlightened, bona fide, and versatile
that's
who I am.
I'm appreciable, humane, tolerable
that's
who I am.
I'm respectful, non violent, and superior
that's
who I am.
Can't nobody tell me who I am,
'cause
I know who I am.
Ippolita di Paola
Siamese Eyes
71
who are you?
I glare through eyes that have seen so much . . .

with tender intentions and bitter words . . .
I jump through the sky with a child's dream to fly.
As you look my way and I fade away,
all you see is my
Siamese eyes.
Streams 15
Shakyee brown
I Am a Man
I am a man because I make my own decisions.

I am a man because I am not a boy.
I am a man because I raised my family.
I am a man because I got my education.
I am a man because I follow my rules.
I am a man because I follow no one.
I am a man because I make promises that I keep.
I am a man because I got a job legally.
I am a man because I am simply a man.
I am a man, and no one can say that I'm not.
Kedar northington
Most Wanted
72
who are you?
I'm the most wanted

from state to state.
I'm the most wanted
when it comes to hate.
I'm the most wanted
when there are high stakes.
I'm the most wanted
when times are blank.
I'm the most wanted
when people are fake.
I am the most wanted!!!
Streams 15
Jean Erven
Who Am I?
My name is E. Jean, or is it?

I was named that for
a reason, right?
Who am I?
Who are we all? From my
knowing, we all have the
same thing. So what makes us
different? Is it color,
height, or size?
Who am I?
I am a person who was put
here to receive knowledge
and, as they say, give back
what I know to the
young.
Who am I?
I am the person who lets
people know that they're
here for a reason and lets
them know that there's a purpose
for all men and womenespecially myself.
who are you?
73
Streams 15
Adelina Mendez
I Am
74
who are you?
I am as loud and amusing as

a beautiful hummingbird singing.
I hear my kitty meowing when
my mother and I sleep;
I see myself as a wonderful,
successful young woman.
I pretend I'm an angel in the sky
performing my duties for God.
I feel whenever I die, I will become
a dolphin who lives with
spiritual thoughts.
I touch someone and give them
a magical spell to help them
become successful in life.
I worry that my feelings about my
father will probably never go away.
I cry in the night when
I haven't done something right.
I understand my friends' problems
and I try to solve them.
I say that having an eternal life
would be interesting and fantastic.
Streams 15
I dream about becoming a dancer

and a secretary for the rest
of my life.
I try to do my best on my
weak subjects.
JW
He took me off the streets,

and put me through trials and tribulations.
He is my best friend and my worst enemy.
I love him, but he's a problem that I can't solve.
When I see him in the mirror, it's like the movie,
Face Off, but . . . my face is
on. . .
who are you?
75
Streams 15
omar Wimberly
who are you?
I am the cause.
I am the cause for the lightning and rain.
I am the cause for the famine and pain.
I am the cause.
I am the cause for violence and plague.
I am the plague.
I am the plague that causes your mind to be
infected with the sickness of thought.
I am the thought that causes the famine that
causes the plague that causes the violence that
causes the pain.
I am death.
I am the rain.
I am the rain that brings life.
I am the life that exists in every corner
of the earth and mind.
I am the giver and receiver of life.
I am the thought that gives the energy
that composes lightning.
I am the light, I am the sun.
I am so sane I'm insane.
I am so simple I'm confusing.
I am the suggestion in your mind.
I am.
I am.
I am the solar.
I am the controller.
I am the soul.
I am the control.
I am the solar controller.
I am the solo.
Streams 15
76
I am.
I can build or destroy.
I am one.
I am the completion of a continuous circle.
I am Omega.
latoya. A. Isaac
bio-Poem
I, Latoya Ayana Isaac,

short, smart, and thick,
sibling of Kevon and Cindy,
lover of music, parties, and fun,
who feels kind, loving, sharing, and friendly,
who fears spiders, snakes, and roaches,
who would like to see
Sisqo, Next, and Jagged Edge,
am a resident of Trinidad and Tobago.
Welcome to my poem.
who are you?
77
Streams 15
Kevin Williams
Who are you?
I hear a voice.
Who Are You?
Who are you?

Are you my mother?
No.
Who are you?
Are you my father?
No.
Who are you?
Are you my peeps?
No.
Who are you?

Are you my preacher?
No.
Who are you?
Are you my God?
No where near him.
Who are you ?

Are you my baby Shaeyla?
No.
who are you?
Who are you?

Are you my wife Latoya?
No.
Who are you?
I am your conscience.
78
Streams 15
Stacy Merriweather
family
Sitting in a room full of people,

between two happy beings,
and yet I'm by myself.
I feel like I don't belong,
a distant stranger and abnormal.
What could make me feel better?
They include me in their conversation,

yet I'm not a part of their group.
Their words fall upon my ears
like the silent cries of the homeless.
They have no meaning to me,
except they scream family!
If only I had one of those

to share these things with.
We laugh and joke around,
but they can't hear the song that my heart cries.
I pull myself out of the scenario and just watch.
Even the cousin's girlfriend belongs to them,

being my predecessor into their only acceptance
a short time before me. She sits and talks
79
who are you?
This togetherness is routine,

and they have fun to repeat the ritual.
Their small and casual arguments don't
amount to the hurt and anger
that I'm accustomed to seeing.
Streams 15
about her life up there, and I sit and listen,

and they really care. How I wish I would
be going to that strange land soon.
She breaks down her labor pains stories

like the process of hydrolysis, at least that's
what she was doing to me.
As it drips into my soul and I take in every bit,
I feel the tears welling up.
Dry and empty are my eyes as I wish

I belonged here, yet all I could do is say, Wow.
The cousin, he plays with the sister and the little girls.
Am I too old to be a little girl yet?
Ah, never mind. He makes them laugh

and cry and makes me look back over my life.
I never had a cousin who cared enough to play with me.
I was always alone. That's why I'm like a rabbit
being backed into a corner.
Even the most peaceful animals
will attack when provoked.
Maybe if I had this type of cousin,

I wouldn't be so defensive.
80
who are you?
I stare at their baby, born last month.

He's so new into this world and yet he's
a part of what I'm not.
His eyes were so warm and brain was so
absorbent (empty) of all things.
Yet he looks upon me as an outsider.
Streams 15
It's not fair, I was here before he was, or was I?

Even he knows that I shouldn't be here.
The grandmother, how nice grandmothers are.
She's been the most welcoming to me.
She speaks to break the ice of my silence
from my face (soul) every time.
I want, all the time, to embrace her
as if she were my own grandma,
because she's just that special to me,
but will she look at me funny?
I think she reads how I feel.
Thank God for grandmothers.
I only hope to be invited to more family gatherings

like that.
It gives me the opportunity to steal a couple of moments
of solace from the reality of my family.
Do I even know what family is?
Not judging by this comparison.
who are you?
I will forever look back upon this family

and use small aspects to build my own.
I'm glad that I have the chance to witness
such events because he's my boyfriend.
Hopefully, something has rubbed off, on the both of us.
This way someone else can look in on our family
(together or separately) and feel as I do.
Not enviously, but happy that God
has seen fit to keep a black family strong
and together and hopeful to keep up that tradition.
81
Streams 15
Eustashia Raymond
Still Waters
As if in a dream, I place my thoughts upon

the still of these waters,
casting my cares and
fears into the depths.
I reach into the farthest corners of my soul,
searching for the very thing to soothe my mind.
I sit and watch the water rippling,
my senses seem to become sharper,
I close my eyes. I feel a sudden calm
take over my spirit.
Serenity is what I feel when I
come to these waters.
My spirit feels light and free.
I remember the pain and sorrow of once being me.
I lose my self,
in these waters
I find myself and my being.
in the still waters of blue and green.
who are you?
82
Streams 15
Jean Erven
Time
It is 8:30, or is it?
Is that time right? 'Cause the
sun sets a certain way, or the
way a shade hits the floor.
Time . . .
if that is time, then what are
days, weeks, months, or years?
Are these time too?
If they are, what are they
called when they are now?
Time . . .
is it called time 'cause
we age or 'cause the sun
comes up and night comes?
Time . . .
if that's time, then why
is it when I look up
I see no numbers or a clock,
but all I see are clouds and
stars? All this sounds like
it is something called a clock.
Is life itself
time?
What is it?
who are you?
83
Streams 15
84
Terri brown
one Day, one Time
Many people say that life is a road,

a road which is long and rough, one
that is not straight but curved.
I'm on that road. I have been on that
road. I'm still on that road.
Along the way, I've stopped to see
my thoughts occasionally.
I've wondered how or when the road would end.
Sometimes I would sit by the side and watch
as the birds flew together and disappeared.
I would always ask,
"Why can't the road be smooth?"
But, of course, the road became
more challenging with each step I made.
I guess the question was not how the road was,
but how I was going to take it on.
My answer was, instead of seeing the road
as being difficult, I saw it as a road of choices.
The road was my way into
a new route going who knows where.
85
Streams 15
Sharif Rosa
late night
Look up at the sky.

The clouds are marshmallows.
Look down the narrow street.
Late night.
It's a snake with its tongue out

waiting for some helpless prey.
Anyone now,
everyone is a victim.
Late night.
Street waiting to consume you,

walking down the deadly grounds.
The slithery back of the snake
has its windows so it can
spot you from more than one direction.
Late night.
86
With its evil eyes staring at you

from both sides of the street
everyone is vulnerable.
And sometimes it's not the
prey that is scared.
It's the snake that serves as a street.
Late night.
Streams 15
Sancheska Rosa
Shining
The night sky is so big. All

you see are these stars shining
at you. But, where are
the ones you don't see?
The ones who hide during the

day behind the clouds, but when
night time comes they are too
afraid to come out.
They are there, you see,

but are too afraid to be seen.
So the other stars take their places;
the ones you see at night,
the ones whose lights are bright.
87
But one day you'll see that, the stars

who are afraid to be seen,
they will have their chance.
Just give it some time
and you'll see that if they
can be bright so can you and I.
Streams 15
Sharimar Santana
Watch Us Moon
The moon is a big telescope.

God uses it to watch us sleep.
It has a great radiance
that dazes up the night,
so don't be scared
of the long dark night.
If you are scared my friend
please go to sleep,
because the moon will be watching your
sweet, sweet dreams.
88
Streams 15
Terri brown
Unforeseen
I don't know if they are around me

or if they whisper in the sweet corner of every room.
I wish I could talk to them about my fears,
and sometimes I believe in no such thing
as "floating people."
The ones who guard you and see no harm comes
towards you;
I guess I was just imagining these things.
Because sometimes we truly want to believe
they are there, when they're not.
But later on I saw that I had one of these "floating
people."
One who was there for me and was a joy in human
form.
I figure that I needed to look harder
for the floating people that were always there.
89
Streams 15
Kelly McCloskey
I Dream
It's grown colder,

my breath has come alive,
my soul has become dense,
thoughts,
confused,
jumbled in my brain,
crawl into the rest of my body,
becoming frightened,
unable to move.
Voices that run around unwanted cause
much chaos inside me.
Why do I think of such horrors?
What is a good person?
Not knowing or feeling bad happenings,
scared of what's to become,
willingly going backward,
to what is already known,
it can be played back and
rerecorded to fit my need to be . . .
It's getting late.

My eyes have grown weak as the hours pass.
I'll dream of him,
my children,
90
Love is a feeling I do bestow.

No, I have not experienced the movie love,
the ultimate high,
always perfect, beautiful,
that's what my transparent reality looks like.
I can see and feel it.
No one has shared it with me.
Streams 15
the white picket fence,

to be awakened by the screams of
it was only a dream . . . only a dream.
To dream means to want and I have
wanted all my life . . . to dream.
My sense is not common but . . .

the puzzle fits into my head perfectly.
Everyone is laughing.
I want to speak,
held back by myself,
later punished by that same person.
I Want
I Want
I Dream
91
The streets are empty at night.

I dance.
No one around to judge my movements.
I spin and spin,
laughing in the voiceless streets,
music in my ears,
music silent to everything,
not me.
I dance and dance until I am home.
My keys are heavy . . . It's late.
Opening the door . . . swaying into my room,
my bed, like quicksand,
as I fall deeper and deeper into my thoughts,
thoughts of pain,
thoughts of embrace,
thoughts . . .
Streams 15
Jeffrey Williams
Dream Sequence 1
92
(The Illusion)
In a deep sleep I dream.
I am lean clean tall and mean,
walking in darkness cold and nude.
I bump into a man who is very rude.
(The man says)
"Watch it you little jerk."
Then he looks at me and gives a little smirk.
I walk for hours trying to find
where I am in my twisted mind,
no roads and no light but I see a sign.
(The sign says)
"Keep walking until you make a find."
(Continuing the walk)
OK, alright, so I walk.
I hear no sound, no one talk.
I finally see.
(What I see)
There are people all around me.
They look and stare, then they turn.
I look at the ground.
There's a sign that says, "Burn!"
I see now, where I am.
I walked into the abyss.
My misled life,
I now really miss.
Streams 15
Jeffrey Williams
oblivion's Misapprehension
93
In a deep, deep sleep I dream,

everything is tall lean and mean.
I am walking through the streets,
hurting the skin on my bare feet,
wandering around looking for someone,
maybe trying to have a little fun.
(I discover)
There's a flash of light in the sky,
a flash of light that just flew by.
Walking in sheer oblivion I try to understand,
where I am heading while I stare at my hand.
I notice I am bleeding.
I am bleeding for no apparent reason.
I stop to clean myself off,
then a person touches me with a white cloth.
He has no face or feet,
but he says to me he's delighted to meet.
(He tells me where I am)
"You are in a state of your own oblivion."
"You are in a world of unconsciousness."
(My response)
"You're crazy, old man," is what I say.
"You are nuts. Now get out of my way."
(I leave, unenlightened)
I move on and turn around.
The old man is following me,
carrying a sign.
The sign says: "Found."
I finally stop and ask, "Why?"
Streams 15
He says: "There is a reason I am here.

There is a reason not to beware."
I am in a safe place,
but time I cannot waste.
I am not here to jump and play.
I am here to do a job and stay.
"What was the job?" I ask the man.
He never answers just looks at my hand.
"In your hand you will see
what you were meant to be.
In your hand you will know
exactly how far you will grow."
I look and stare.
I see nothing.
He says: "Why are you shocked little boy?
You're just a pawn in oblivion's little toy."
94
Streams 15
latoya Charles
The Dreamer
I lie on my bed. My mind is relaxed.

My blood is flowing. My heart is beating
while my eyes stare up to the ceiling.
I see myself in a place that is full
of snow. As I look down I find myself
standing in gold. I wonder - how can this
be? Is it just me or is it just a dream? I
stoop down to the ground. The breeze
is blowing. My hair is in my face.
I try to get some of what I see.
I pick it up, but all I can feel is
something cold and wet. It is
dripping all over my dress. I try
to dry myself, but all I can see is
a garden full of leaves.
95
Streams 15
Jennifer Yannuci
Dreams
Dreams are sometimes where you want to be:

things, people, and places to see.
Sometimes you even do strange things
like talk to a dog that sings.
In my dreams I like to dance,
maybe one day I will have that chance.
I like to dream good things not bad
because all my experiences are very sad.
In the night when I fall asleep
sometimes my dreams are very deep,
like falling from the sky.
Sometimes I feel like I'm going to die.
Dreams can come true.
Who only knew,
that one day out of the blue
it would be you?
96
Streams 15
Adrian Agredo
Drowning
A body dissolved with indecision,

I feel as if I have been underwater for days
bathing underneath cold fog,
looking up through cracks of ice,
as a lifetime of night washes from my eyes.
I feel like I've slipped through dawn's rust,
only to find frayed finger nails hung like trophies,
proud to tell the woe of a nightmare,
proud to
stand stale on my window sill,
peeled-layers-like-paint.
Floating for days,
I feel like the memories in the back of my brain,
sifting through time
as ageless air fills my chest,
to the point of suffocation . . .
Sorry for the intrusion,
they'll say.
97
There are times when I'll forget to breathe,

contorted towards the heat
exposing my spine,
like a back of frozen valleys,
I was warned the ice was thin.
The circling wires that animate my wrists begin to slow
as snowflakes fill my eyes,
dancing,
waiting,
to take that breath . . .
as if that time will ever come.
Feeling the weight of a closing tidal wave,
Streams 15
feeling the storm as it starts to turn my veins

against one another
as I try to swallow the current,
sip by sip,
and ride the pain-all the way out . . .
Wrong decision,
she'll say,
suggesting her path leads to smiles,
but
I remember how sharp those can be.
I feel as if I've gone too deep
this time,
too deep through the cracks,
too deep though my mind,
too deep-into my dreams . . .
without air.
I've got to come back up
sometime,
98
have to-regain composure on the firing line,

again.
Me and the night,
making love like naked trees
in the forest ablaze,
exchanging fears,
yet I always feel empty,
and she always wants more
I feel,
the softer the hand
the quicker the blood,
searching for the womb left stale on my window sill,
under water for days . . .
forgetting I can't swim.
Streams 15
Joseph Cummings
Skyscraper
99
I am in a dark room.
A door opens out of nowhere.
I walk toward the door.
I see the sky and clouds,
bird, planes, jets, everything . . .
I step out of the room
on top of a skyscraper,
see tons of cars passing
by . . .
I see the subways.
People are making out
in a telephone booth.
There is no way to get down
but to jump.
If I jump, I'll break my bones
and probably die.
Say, the hell with it!
I'm falling as fast as anything.
Next thing I know I
wake up in a cold
sweat and say,
"Sweet!"
Streams 15
Debra Kepke
Wake Up
Wake up,
my soft cuddly
stuffed bunny
cradled in my arms.
Comforting, protected
feelings are felt.
Wake up,
cozy, comfy
bed on a cold
winters morning.
The frost on the trees
seen through the window
makes me
grateful for my warm bed.
100
Looking back on it all,

many years later,
I wish I could nestle down,
in my soft, comfy bed,
with no problems and a
soft cuddly stuffed bunny in my arms.
Streams 15
Jo Ann Gajadhar
My Mickey Mouse
His ears are so big and black.

His nose is so round and playful.
His stomach is so soft and lovable.
His feet are so big and yellow.
How can you not love him?
He talks to me once and again.
He says little phrases like,
"Hi, thanks for being my pal!"
And he cheers me up.
I just press his stomach

and he starts to laugh, "he he!"
And I press once more and
he says, "that tickles," and laughs again.
It's really quite funny if you can hear him.
101
Now don't get me wrong,

I know he's not real and
I know he is just a cartoon character,
but he brightens up my day
when I'm not having the best one
and when I really don't feel like talking.
Streams 15
Tara Pober-Thompson
love between a Scent and a Cat
As I huff into my little stone house

through the very foundations I creak
over wooded floors
of moss and fern
I toss off my shoes:
They rest,
one toe over the other.
Pharaoh stretches his hips
towards the mirror
and shifts,
rubs his wet nose,
pink with a mole of suede,
against the top of my shoe.
In my shoe is all of this

intensified
102
A strong perfume
catching what every perfumery wants,
the very essence of a woman
that woman being
me.
A woman does not smell of lilies
or valleys or ocean waves.
She does not smell of diamonds
although sometimes of iron.
She smells of salt
and lemon juice.
She smells of fresh live mahi-mahi.
Streams 15
by the July heat.
The only male

I have ever known
to appreciate my scent
is a kitty-cat
who is neutered,
I lament.
A bit of bitter or better Attention
Perhaps if instead of a slap or a yell

from behind my book
I was to offer a scratch
behind the ear
Pharaoh would not be compelled
to knock over the vase at my feet.
103
Streams 15
Terri brown
Just Shy
I am shy, I admit.
It takes guts to admit something like that.
Being shy is like being held up in a cage.
The bars are stopping you from entering the world.
Somehow, you break free and enter life.
It's like walking freely.
But, with freedom comes
being scared sometimes of putting yourself out there.
Thinking that you will get hurt in the process.
But, that's life.
Andrew Spencer
Smile
104
I smile when I'm happy.

I smile when times are bad.
I smile at enemies;
and, I smile at friends and family.
I smile to feel good at all times.
Everyone sleeps, and doesn't peep at what I'm
doing.
I smile to trick friends and foes;
so they won't know what's under my smile.
All they do know iz,
I just smile.
Streams 15
Tara Pober-Thompson
The stone is soft.
It melts slowly
like beeswax
in my fist.
The Stone
If I wait I can sculpt it into a columbine

or a concubine.
The crystals,
two jagged Amethysts,
kiss gently beneath my lamp,
a pink art deco planet.
They kiss just their pointed tips

remembering their ancestral land.
The cave with a bountiful supply of dripping minerals
where polish was only a distant dream.
I sing
loud so that all the tenants may hear
a song in an unknown tongue; throat, brain.
The stone tinkling up the stairs.
105
Below,
where the door meets lift,
the marble socializes
flowing, limp wristed.
Streams 15
Kelly McCloskey
not breakAway
Your heart, like a stained glass window

so beautiful, its shadow
so delicate, its frame
eyes that look upon you are in awe
but a breeze from the cold wind of his
love and you shatter to pieces.
Curtis "Chewy" ferguson
My heart which was full of joy has been broken

and dropped in a slot like a train token,
hit with pain like a stick and broken.
The pain hurts and now my heart is cold and frozen
like winter's ice on the window pane.
And for that I can love but then live no longer to be
seen.
106
Streams 15
Randy Samuels
My Heart Is So Cool
My heart is so cool
it refuses to defrost.
I don't know what to do.
I can't go around
like nothing's wrong.
People see it in me
when I speak.
I speak with hunger
and say things
I would not say
if my heart was warm.
107
Streams 15
omar Wimberly
I get on the phone to talk to the world.

Trapped inside my mind, I try to call reality.
I'm dialing the number frantically,
trying to get an answer.
But all I get is a busy signal.
I hang up and try again, only to realize I lost the number!
I press redial: busy. I try again: busy.
Then I remember that the phone in my mind
can't redial more than three times!!
I start to panic.
Will I be able to remember the number
after the last redial?
"F--- it," I say to myself. "Relax,
you can call information."
But reality is a matter of perception.
So, which address and name
do I give the operator?
Maybe I'll try her reality.
Then again, hers might be
worse than mine.
Never mind. I'll make one up.
I mean this is my mind.
Why does it have to be a prison?
It can be whatever I want.
108
Streams 15
Andrew boynton
one Phone Call
If I had one phone call

I would call my father from the dead;
praying that I don't
get shot in the head,
and that I could see him
sleeping in mother's bed,
and that it was only dreaming
because he actually was never dead.
109
Streams 15
Simon Heyliger
The Person at the Door
Knock! Knock! Who's there? What could it be, who

could it be knocking on my door! Should I open the
door or should I let them stay there?
When I open that door that person or thing could
change my life. It could change my life. It could
be a thief, a police officer, or my landlord, either
way they're still messing up my flow.
Or could it be the other part of me finally getting the
hit on me. The side no one ever met.
I'm scared, worried, and breath-taken. Why me?
Why should I be a victim of such rudeness? I'm
sweating hard my heart pounding.
That person could be death coming in with his cool,
his nice black suit, with a nice top hat, taking
what's not his. He has no right, no will. Nothing!
That's it. I'm going to do it. I'm gonna open that
door. Knock! Knock! Let me open up that door.
"Hi baby, it's me. I came to give you your pie."
It's my mama!
110
Streams 15
Jean Erven
To Whom I Miss
I miss you like I

miss the town.
I miss you so much
that I dream of you
hugging me so tight,
you think I'm a teddy bear
that keeps you company
whenever you need it.
I miss you so much
that when I look up at the
ceiling and think of you
I see you like you're really there.
But, you know something,
you are there,
not in real life
but in my heart.
That's why I miss you so much,
thinking of you.
111
Streams 15
Clayton Campbell
Times Square in our life
Life is one enormous, tremendous

mammoth, significant highway
with a lot of signs on the two sides.
Some signs are colorful
beautiful and hypnotic.
Others are boring, ugly and monotonous,
but don't drive by
without reading all the signs, slogans
charts and billboards
or you might just make a wrong exit.
112
Streams 15
Adrian Agredo
Sometimes I see how long it takes for the rain to

mask my thoughts,
sitting on the train as iron giants fill the sky,
wandering eyes conflict over untraceable suggestions,
I let my head get lost in the blur of questions passing
my window.
Rhythmic anxiety calms my nerves hot in my wrist,
I wonder how deep others can see in my eyes.
I'll sometimes put my face to the glass,
so I'll forget where I am.
Just me
and randomly assorted dreams,
trying to catch up with this silver elephant.
Voices travel like clouds, lost and faint along the sky,
sometimes causing me to think about,
why I can't see them.
Do these people even see me?
113
I stare out.
Far away.
Past walls or words,
past hills or hands,
I just stare.
That kind of blanket only closed eyes can provide,
but mine are wide open.
Streams 15
I could be under a tree,

staring out at the night,
matching stars for fingers,
but I can only hold ten.
Ten dreams out of grasp,
as I'm holding my eyes out a scratched window,
waiting for the ground to leave,
to fall away like those voices passing my ears,
I just want to stare.
Stare because I'm tired.
Stare because my eyes can't handle the glow of the
train,
weighing down on me like my wet clothing.
I just want to be dry.
My music soaks heavy into the dark,

getting lost with the rest of the world,
in my blur.
I can hear the noise,
but the words are like air entering my lungs aimlessly,
to leave with silence,
constantly breathing without will.
114
Sometimes the train stops,

and I'll blink.
The conductor's voice will get lost in my pocket,
and I'll take him home,
to put in a jar with my wings,
by the door,
in case I remember to bring him back.
but I never do.
Streams 15
Like stories about the summer's breeze,

too many to identify which are mine,
I'll blink
and forget the past.
I wonder how long it takes the sky to bleed sleep

through my window,
but I'll wait anyway.
Wait like I'll wait on the train.
Staring through a blur of voices,
waiting to be taken away
by silence,
constantly breathing without will.
Sometimes I see how long it takes the rain to mask

my thoughts,
as I lie awake.
Sometimes I'll blink,
and forget it all,
in a jar with my wings.
115
Streams 15
Eustashia Raymond
2r
116
I'm trapped in a circle,

I stand on one end of the radius and
you on the other.
The yellow of your skin
brightens the room.
Your eyes are the expression of
LIFE
dread like a Rasta.
You stand blinded by the strength of my love
you don't know,
slamming doors in my face,
eye contacts from across the room,
calling out names.
You smile & I suddenly become weak.
I look at you from afar,
at the corners of my unhappiness
lies your face.
Seeing you, wanting you, licking you, shaking it fast for
you.
You have become a distant figure
surrounded by a circle of fire.
In that circle
in the dark
trees sway,
and I remember you,
your branches
bouncing as you walk.
Streams 15
You laugh at your own joke,

proud of that culture,
of that place of origin.
You have become that light
that increases my light
in ways you don't understand.
The circumference of the circle becomes

smaller
and
smaller
and yet we stand the same radius apart.
117
Streams 15
Anandi Gangaram
a.k.a AQUA
#Sexual object/Sex Symbol
You see me as a sexual object,

but this is one temple you surely cannot enter.
From head to toe, top to bottom,
these steps are too high for you to climb.
Don't try a ladder, I will simply kick it down.
You see me as a sex object,

but you are of no worth to me.
Before you can become a part of the body and soul,
you have to become part of the heart.
You see me as an object,

that is one thing I am not.
I am a beautiful, priceless temple,
a temple you have no permission to enter
You can't even explore!
Before you enter the heart you must enter the mind.

but this is one temple you surely can not enter.
118

that is one thing I am not.
You are of no worth to me.
You have to become part of the mind.
Streams 15
Sancheska Rosa
be With You
Let me turn into water so I

can run down your hands.
Let me be the wind so I can

blow through you hair.
I want to be the sun so I
can warm your skin.
I want to be the earth so

you can walk on me.
There are so many things I want to be,

but what I want the most is to be with you.
119
Streams 15
Elana Cohen
My Tree
for Seth
I was
walking through a
garden and I spotted
a tree. Sat beside it and
it spoke to me. I let it
taste my sweets and enjoy my
light but since he is a tree I
can't take him home with me.
Many times I walk through a garden
and I spot a tree but never
before have I been
hugged tight, even
when
the
wind
blows
heavily
in
through
the night.
120
Streams 15
linda Street
I am a tree with my smooth dark wood.

See my thick leaves, tall limbs and long branches.
How high I stand.
Hear my soft whispering.
My voice, my rhyme, my rhythm,
my blues, my sway.
I hear, I learn, I absorb
what my teacher tells me each day.
My memory stimulating.
My thoughts deepening as the answer surrounds me.
See as I figure out the answer.
Raising my hand as well as my knowledge.
Understand me.
My long deep roots, the lines in my bark.
Care for me. . .
My leaves change color,
My long old deep
roots of knowledge bring back memories of life,
and most of all,
my love for school.
121
Streams 15
Jorge Douglas
lies
Why do we tell lies?

Are lies really lies?
Should we tell lies?
Are lies really lies?
Could everybody tell more than just one lie?
Or would I lie more than one time
just to tell a lie?
A lie is what we see in life and in our souls;
but could it be a lie that we go through
just to see if it's a lie?
Markus Mkdonald
What Is a lie?
122
A lie is a defense that sometimes works,

mainly because you pray so hard your emotions hurt.
A lie is the truth only if you believe.
It can set you free only if your mind is relieved.
A lie is an amplifier like helium to a balloon.
It just grasps you up to a point of an outburst.
A lie is everything even if rarely told.
Because as long as a lie is told the truth will unfold
A lie, a lie, a lie . . .
Streams 15
Aloysia Chery
Thinking
As I sit here
I think of what to write,
not caring if the words I feel
are wrong or right.
In my head
words tend to repeat themselves,
making me think
yes or no
stay or go
yes or no
stay or go.
Words have a habit of circling the inside of my head,
alive or dead
dead or alive.
Words move from within my brain to my eyes,
letting me see what my hands are about to write.
Then from my eyes,
my words move to my hands,
taking over,
controlling the movement of my hands,
controlling the hold of my pen,
controlling my words, which are controlled by me.
My words are me
which let me touch,
let me see.
My words are what I speak.
My words are me.
123
Streams 15
Randy Samuels
My finger
My brain is thinking
but my finger is not writing.
My brain is saying,
"Finger,
why are you not writing?
You are a stupid finger."
But that is not the case.
My finger is not stupid.
It just doesn't speak
the same language.
My finger is French
and my brain
speaks English.
124
Streams 15
David Kaen
Voice of the Angel
Sitting up at 3:15:17 am,

groggy, tired and sick,
thinking about nothing but the next day,
which has started without you realizing it.
Must type, eyes open.
That's right.
Don't slack. Must work.

Keep your mind on track.
Don't think about the time.
Just write and let your creativity take hold.
Voice of the Demon
Go ahead slack off.

What do you have to fear?
Think about the time.
So what's it gonna be?
125
It's 3:15:17 am.

Are you freaking crazy?
You're tired. You're sick. I can see it in your eyes,
bloodshot and swollen and weak from the lack of light.
You don't need to do this.
Working is superficial.
It won't get you anything but trouble.
Go to sleep.
That's right.
Streams 15
In Unison
Hey, wait. You mean you wrote this all down,

so it's your poem now?
WOW!
You're smart.
Clayton Campbell
Poem
Follow the road my pencil leads.

My pencil leaves black dust and
my red pen bleeds.
My white page plays a part.
It is crowded with letters and words.
The page is too full and says,
"Hey! Some of these words have to go."
Some words say they're not leaving.
One page says, "It's Okay. I will just
sell white off for your oh's."
126
Streams 15
omar Wimberly
My train of thoughts moves faster than the speed of light.

It moves so fast that it's hard to catch, like a rat in a
maze;
and it drives me insane.
It is the maze of my brain. It's not hard to get lost in my
thoughts.
And once I get lost, I don't want to be found.
I just wander the rooms of my mind,
always looking out the windows, but never there.
What's behind the next corner?
Is it the tangerine trees and the marmalade sky?
Or the two sheets before I lost my mind?
Whatever it is, it's no surprise because I put it there
before
I sealed the maze shut.
Now it's just a matter of pulling and throwing things
in and out the windows and understanding the train of
thought in my maze.
Next stop: Understanding!
127
Streams 15
128
Adrian Agredo
AQUA
Natiefa Ashley
66, 97-98, 113-115

118
11
Evangelina Baez
Andrew Boynton
Shakyee Brown
Terri Brown
50-51
19, 109
25, 37, 52, 72
59, 85, 89, 104
Clayton Campbell
Jeanette Carrasquillo
Chrismarie Castillo
Latoya Charles
Aloysia Chery
Yadyra Clemente
Elana Cohen
Joseph Cummings
112, 126
61-62
54
57, 95
123
3, 38
31, 120
99
Kaleek Davis (Slim)

Shalander Delaire
Ippolita di Paola
Jorge Douglas
12
5-6
71
122
Chinalese Elias
Jean Erven
Curtis "Chewy" Ferguson
Jo Ann Gajadhar
Anandi Gangaram
Craig George
Yasmeen Ghee
129
8
35, 73, 83, 111
106
32, 64, 101

118
19
36
Jasmine Gilmore
Terrence Graham
Alicia Green
Brittney Green
Shirron Gulliver
6
29
4
6
10
Curton Hector
Jesenia Hernandez
Simon Heyliger
Kamal Hosein
9
68
2, 110
14
Latoya. A. Isaac
77
Michelle James
Jennifer Jordan
41
70
David Kaen
Debra Kepke
21, 56, 125-126

22, 55, 60, 100
CL
Linda Lowman
49
28, 47, 67
SM
Adam Manning
Kelly McCloskey
Michael McDonald
Adelina Mendez
Stacy Merriweather
Markus Mkdonald
30
13
7, 90-91, 106
40
74-75
43, 79-81
122
Kedar Northington
26, 72
130
Chiemela Onukwue
Bryan Pierce
Tara Pober-Thompson
Eustashia Raymond
Taffawee Richards
Sancheska Rosa
Sharif Rosa
Sancheska Rosa
33, 39
23-24, 58, 69
17-18, 65, 102-103, 105
RS
Anthony Sabater
Randy Samuels
Candice Sanchez
Sharimar Santana
Tasanyia Kurleeia Princess Sebro
Andrew Spencer
Linda Street
Derrick A. Thomas Jr.
Tricia Victory
82, 116-117
20
16, 53, 119
86
87
34
33
46, 107, 124
13
88
44-45
104
121
48
18
JW
Jean-Baptiste Wenael
Kevin Williams
Jeffrey Williams
Omar Wimberly
75
71
78
92, 93-94
76-77, 108, 127
Jennifer Yannuci
96
131
#Sexual Object/Sex Symbol

2r
A Bit of Bitter or Better Attention

A Simple Twist of Life
Advice
Be With You
Bio-Poem
Blessed Be
Breakthrough
Cancer
118
116-117
103
7
40
119
77
58
59
36
Day in My Life
Dearest Friend
Diamond
Do Thugs Fall in Love?
Don't
Dream Sequence 1
Dreams
Drowning
19
38
25
48
50-51
92
96
97-98
Family
Fear
79-81
33
Embarrassment
Enough Tears
39
31
God, Listen to My Cry!
34
132
Hair
Harsh Reality
56
55
I Am a Man
I Am
I Am
I Am, New York
I Dream
I See the Birds
If It Happens
I'm Sorry
Inside
72
64
74-75
65
90-91
21
43
28
32
Just Remember
Just Shy
23-24
104
Late Night
86
Laughter
54
Let Me Tell You Who I Hate
37
Letter of Apology
29
Lies
122
Life
53
Light
6
Listen to the Song of My Small Island
3
Live
17-18
Love Between a Scent and a Cat
102-103
Most Wanted
Music's Beat
My Favorite Holiday
My Finger
My First Time
72
6
47
124
44-45
133
My Heart Is So Cool
My Mickey Mouse
My Streams of Dreams
My Time
My Tree
107
101
2
57
120
Not BreakAway
Nothing to Do
Oblivion's Misapprehension
One Day, One Time
One Phone Call
Please Look a Little Deeper

Poem
Poems
Rain Fall
Replication
Shining
Siamese Eyes
Skyscraper
Smile
Split Personality
St. Thomas Memories
Still Waters
Take a Walk
Tell Me Slim Can't Do It
The Beats
The Boys Who Exaggerate
134
106
16
93-94
85
109
68
126
5-6
4
66
87
71
99
104
41
19
82
8
12
9
18

The City
The Coming of Spring
The Dreamer
The Drum
The Issues I Still Need to Face in Life
The Person at the Door
The Real Me
The Stone
Thinking
Time
Times Square
Times Square in Our Life
Tired
To Whom I Miss
Trust
Unforeseen
Voice of the Angel
113-115
22
60
95
11
61-62
110
69
105
123
83
10
112
26
111
52
89
125-126
Wake Up
Watch Us Moon
We Were Little
What Is a Lie?
Where I'm From
Who Am I?
Who Am I?
Who Am I?
Who Are You?
Who I Am
Why Do We Fear?
100
88
46
122
20
67
70
73
78
71
35
135
A Ten Penny Players

Waterways Project
Publication
www.tenpennyplayers.org
isbn 0-934830-68-1

Streams 15

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Richard A. Spiegel & Barbara Fisher, Co-editors

Richard Organisciak, Superintendent

...there should be anthologies which explain instead of evaluating: which

Paul Auerbach, Al Barbarino, Jennifer Beck, Grace Beniquez,

The Waterways Project is a program of Ten Penny Players, Inc.

Student contributors attend the following

Austin MacCormick Island Academy, Auxiliary Services for High

the drum beating to my soul

My Streams of Dreams by Simon Heyliger

remember those times

Nothing to Do by Sancheska Rosa

The City by Debra Kepke

my pain will disappear

I'm Sorry by Linda Lowman

things had changed between us

If It Happens by Stacy Merriweather

Laughter by Chrismarie Castillo

who are you?

my sense is not common

One Day, One Time by Terri Brown

the drum beating

I fell into a stream

I turn around to see, to see

the drum beating to my soul

The sky was dark but gray.

listen to the Song of My Small Island

Escouche the rhythms of the island music

the drum beating to my soul

Drip drip drop on the rooftop,

I look out my window.

the drum beating to my soul

Come along with me.

But a cool air hits my cheeks

the drum beating to my soul

Sitting down in Tech Park

The wind blew woo woo

Light is turned down dim.

the drum beating to my soul

Music's beat is fast, slow

A Simple Twist of life

Tomorrow could be the end.

the drum beating to my soul

the drum beating to my soul

the drum beating to my soul

I heard all different kinds of noises.

the drum beating to my soul

Budum buduff budumbuduff.

Kaleek Davis (Slim)

Tell Me Slim Can't Do It

the drum beating to my soul

Poetry is like jazz and rap,

the drum beating to my soul

Poetry is something that people write

It does not always have to rhyme.

the drum beating to my soul

remember those times

Wake up in the morning.

Come home in the afternoon.

At night watch TV and then

I go to my room and just lie

Maybe one day I'll do something good,

remember those times

And the food in a jar at home says "Live"