Editor’s note: The following poems were written by children serving time in Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall. The poems were generated in writing workshops conducted by The Beat Within, a weekly, non-profit publication dedicated to providing a voice for incarcerated youth. To find out more about The Beat Within, and how you can help it to achieve its mission, visit thebeatwithin.org.
My Father | by Jose
My father is like the rain.
One day he comes,
and then he’s gone.
No Looking Back | by Jessica
He made my mom cry.
He cheated and he lied.
He just stared back at me
with his cold eyes.
He hurt my sister,
left her with scars.
He was always drunk,
high on crack.
When he left me
he didn’t look back. Hiding, Waiting | by Juan
I hide behind the shadows that protect me,
waiting for the storm of footsteps to pass.
Every scar on my body is a danger I had to live.
Even the memory that hunts me in my sleep scars me.
In every little kid I see my reflection.
I hide my secrets like I hide my scars –
so I won’t be laughed at, or scare anybody.
I can count every bone in my body
and it feels like the weather is sucking the life out of me.
I wish I was in heaven smelling the sweet air, or
I wish I was a king, in a fairytale, or a lovely story.
New Fence | by Brett
My charges pile up like dirty laundry.
Problems, like ghosts,
come back to haunt me.
The lies line up for miles.
My life’s a file of mysteries.
No past, or history.
Think what you want,
but it’s dust to me.
My new beginning knocked down
the old wall. I’ve got a new fence
to protect me.
No One Knows | by Uriel
No one knows what to name
the fear, the fear
that lies in the darkness.
It’s so powerful it needs a friend
so it can be shared.
Even if you’re a slave who praises it
to make it go away,
the fear stays in the darkness.
You still won’t know how
to name your fear.
Rain | by Nick
The rain came down like splinters.
It hit my hand. Now, as I walk
against the wind, I do not worry
about the silence night brings.
Miles From Home | by Joseph
As I walked the narrow road of loneliness
I saw a vulture soaring.
I was ablaze in the sunlight, yet cold as ice.
The wind carried me like a feather
and dropped me like dice
on the hard surface of life.
I prayed for fortune and fame.
All I ever got was blame.
I’m miles from home
for a cause with no name.
 favorite (25) ~  quote ~ Views: 564
Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.2 |
