TEAM Englewood – Week 7
Today we looked at William Stafford’s “Traveling Through the Dark.” I like this poem as it’s about an act of violence that seems justified in its reasoning, but doesn’t feel triumphant. It is hard to justify violence for me, but I think it’s a human impulse and sometimes unavoidable. I had a student once describe this as an anti-hero poem: when you do a right thing that doesn’t feel right.
This workshop was about dilemmas – either their own times of not knowing what to do, or if they like, a rewriting of Stafford’s.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
5th Period
“When My Lil’ Cuzn got Burnt”
Kara W
When My lil’ cuzn got burnt
she ran into the front room
and was knocking everything down
like boom! boom!
I don’t know what to do, but
my Auntie do.
“It’s like I just Saw You”
Corinthia D.
It’s like I just saw you mins ago
when I found out you was gone,
I didn’t know what do
or go.
But now I know that you’re in a better place
I just feel so relieved
and let go.
I just wanna say
I love you
once again, just to let
you know.
“Traveling Through the Dark”
Amber T.
Traveling through the dark
I found a dead deer
laying in the middle of the street. I got
a stick and poked it and it was hard
like the ground
It was best for me to just stand there
on my two feet
it was dark still
there with my flashlight on the deer.
In my body, my spirit just felt
like it flew away like a kite. The deer
stomach was the only big thing
on its body. I was thinking
to myself
should I cut it or leave it?
so myself said
cut it
so I spared it into pieces
from head to toe
so it had a baby in its stomach
it was little as my baby toe
so I took the road to the vet
made a bet
to let the deer set.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
7th Period
“It was my First Football Game”
Marquis D.
It was my first football game
and they told me
to run a slim jim straight across
and I was looking across the field
not knowing what to do.
“The Time I Didn’t Know how to Play Poker”
Damien C.
I always wanted to know
how to play poker. The first
time I played it
I kept putting all my money on the table
and losing it
one billion times. The last
one, I finally won.
Still don’t know how I won, but I won.
That mainly wasn’t important to me
that I won for the first time
But now
I kind of got a hang of it.
“When My Mom Yells”
Marcell D.
When my mom yells
I feel like I’m
in jail.
When she doesn’t
the chains break
and I come out
like a beast.
Ms. Dube – 9th grade
8th Period
“I Walked into the Big Glass Doors”
Tyra C.
I walked into the big, glass doors
not knowing what to expect. I saw
a few freshmen yelling
we up next. I looked around and saw
upperclass
my heart started to pound
next thing I know there’s pennies
all over the ground. The fear I had was real
which made me know
high school is the deal.
“Waking up Hungry”
Bryan P.
Waking up hungry
not in my house
don’t wanna get caught
sneaking for food
midnight darkness all I saw
“What Should I Do?”
Krisheina R.
What should I do?
A lie?
She’ll never trust me again
The truth?
He’ll never talk to me again.
A mother’s trust or
a brother’s love
what should I do?
Should I just let him go with it
or stop him in his tracks?
I was wrong for letting him go
But my mother will never know.
