After a bit of a pause in our program, due to the spring break and a schedule conflict, I was back at Perez with Mr. Reinholdt’s 7th graders to finish up poems inspired by Joy Harjo’s The World Ends Here. Students had the option of writing about a table that they gathered around, or a place in their world where they felt most alive. For some, it was the privacy of their room, for others, it was a raucous lunch table, church, even the challenge of a basketball court. I hope you enjoy this week’s poems!
Basketball
Joshua F.
Sometimes basketball is like life
If you miss a shot, the game is not over.
You still have more tries.
One bad shot does not make you a bad player.
And like basketball,
you always make your shots
or make a good pass.
Untitled
Alizay G.
At church you feel
respected
relaxed and
relieved
you feel like
in heaven
heaven is me
being in the
sky flying.
Jesus is
with us to
love
and care
for us.
We are brought
together
because we’re
a family.
At church
you feel
connected
supported
and understood
you feel like this
sense of belonging
Church is home
It’s where I feel
safe, where I am
okay, where Jesus
talks to me.
Church is just
as sweet as
caramel.
Church is
my table.
At This Table
Sofia G.
At my grandmas
table there is
laughter and joy.
We are all brought
together by my
grandma’s table.
At this table,
two generations of
kids sat here.
At this table, there
have been
hundreds of
birthday dinners.
At this table
Loteria and
rummikub have
been played
countless times.
At this table
chisme
was told.
At this table
baby’s have
played and cried.
At this table
stories were
passed down
to us,
to keep them
being told at
the next.
My Dining Table
Christian R.
At the dining table, arguments are happening
over random things. Sometimes it’s quiet
and sometimes, everyone is gathered there.
Most of the time, there is onlyone or two
people. Sometimes a third.
The table brings us together, letting us
talk to one another and
having time to bond with each other.
The table brings us forward, having
conversations, with one another, making
us do things we don’t usually do.
The table takes away our devices,
and let’s us see the reality of the world,
and the world sees the reality of us.
