Faith

When I look into her eyes, the only thing I can see is happiness.
Always has a bright positive radiance about her.
I've never seen her frown,
because even when she's mad, nothing can put her down. 
Always knows the right thing to say.
No matter how it is going she tends to brighten up my day.
Whether I'm sad, mad, or upset in anyway.
Even before she actually talked
she would never doubt anything I'd say.
She's sweet, and I guess you could say "charming."
Seeing her grow so fast.
To some it would be kind of alarming.
It is natural though.
So what can I say, because after all
nothing ever stays the same. 
Helps me accept the way things are,
nothing stays the same.
Everything constantly changes.

D.O.

Greed

I am greed, my darkness provides you light
I am your sight on a dark night
I am your urge to stand for something not right
I will make you loath your best friend but still pretend to be nice
At my full might I will take away your light and blind you of sight
But give everything you've ever dreamed of at the same time
And take it away in an instant just to deprive
I am alive in us all just waiting for someone to call
I am everything and all -- but nothing in an instant.

G.C.

Surprise

Surprise is a mole that pops up from the ground,
That grows big brown eyes as it hears a loud sound.
In shock as it turns its small mole head around,
only to be trampled by a school kid on his way into town.
Infuriated he rubs at the bump on his crown,
this most angry mole decides to burrow back down.
Surprised mole sounds like a most ear piercing shriek,
if surprised enough he might find his bladder released.
He smells like a rank most unexpected fart,
But don't judge by his cover he has a big heart.
that's probably the only thing that sets him apart
From his arrogant brother, that attitude is tart.
Being prepared for things is not his strong suit.
An easy prey to a predator he doesn't travel in groups.
He tastes like an electrical shock pulsating through
the tip of a Taser being pushed into you.

C.G.

Love Rap

Let me tell you from experience if you don't know yet

The devil has many forms, 

this ones it's deadliest like a slug to the chest, 

turn a man to a mess

For y'all that don't know love's a playas worst threat

Make you fall off your game and leave your heart ripped out your chest.

Most dangerous kinda love ain't got nothing to do with sex; 

love will kill you like it's funny then move on to the next. 

Falling in love's exactly like playing Russian roulette, 

either leaving you stressed or in a big f***ing mess.

Or it's just like playing the devil in a game of chess, 

every move is a test 

and no matter what you do he's going to make you regret.

You see love is like willingly putting a chain around your neck.

You lose more than just respect, 

your family, 

your pride, 

then your balls come next.

 

E.R.

Who I Am

  Some moments/incidents that I treasure would probably be from growing up.  I had to grow up without a dad.  He was in my two older brother's lives but decided to leave a couple months before I was born. 
  From there my mom started to raise all three of us on her own, until she found a boyfriend.  She was with this guy for awhile and he used to beat me when my mom was at work.  Then, every night me and my brothers would go to sleep to the sound of him beating our mom in the other room.  I was only four. 
  Finally, I convinced my mom to leave and one night we left without any of our stuff to go live with my aunt.  We lived with her in a mobile trailer.  It was me, my two brothers, my mom,, my two aunts, and my uncle.  Later we got our own place but would struggle with rent like every other month. 
  After my dad got out of jail, he decided he wanted to be in our lives and act like a "dad".  My mom wasn't up for that but me and my brothers wanted to be with him, especially me because he was never in my life and I was only eight, so really I just wanted to know what it's like to have a dad, you know?  So my mom agreed to let us go every summer to visit and stay with him for the summer.  It didn't turn out how I thought it would. 
  My dad's girlfriend hated us and would blame every little fight they had on us, and my dad would always tell me that I wasn't his son but my two brothers were.  I remember he'd always say I'm probably A**'s kid.  That's the boyfriend my mom had that used to beat me and her.  He'd say that in front of everyone and everyone would laugh, so I'd just laugh with them like it was funny. 
  And when my dad would try to be a "dad", it would actually be him just teaching us about how to hustle drugs, make money, get with girls and pimp them because back then he was a pimp.  He never tried to teach us how to be a man.  Well, I guess in his eyes he was, but his way of being a man was degrading to women, which I was very much against since my mom was the only one raising us.  So I have a lot of respect for women. 
  After nothing but struggles in my life and just putting up with my dad's b**s** I finally realized he isn't s**.  I stopped going to visit him and started helping my mom with rent around the age of 13.  I was too young for a job so I had to do illegal stuff selling drugs and robbing people, so in a way what my dad taught me I could actually put to use.  My mom would never take the money so I had to sneak the money in her purse. 
  After a couple years, my uncle passed away in a car crash.  My dad was the one driving and he ended up in the hospital in critical condition.  My brothers and I went to see him.  After the incident he seemed to be changing so I decided to let him try to be a part of my life again.  It turned out he was back on drugs though, and me and him ended up getting into a huge fight and got really close to physically fighting.  At that point I just completely decided he isn't part of my life, never really was anyways. 
  These are the many moments that I treasure about my life because even though they are not happy moments, these things have made me into who I am today as a person.

E.R.

A Moment I Treasure Is...

The moment I treasure in life is when I successfully completed treatment.

I chose this moment because I was in treatment for 48 days.  We had to live in close quarters with all boys and no cigs, shitty food, and no time to just go outside and chill, either with myself or others.

We were always being watched and documented so we could only get away with a handful of things.

I almost got kicked out multiple times because of my behavior and what not, but in the end I actually successfully completed treatment.  The reason I chose this moment is because :

1. I learned a bunch of shizz about being clean and all the things drugs do to you.

2. I had to buck up and do the things I was supposed to do which honestly I'd never really done.  I usually just don't give a f***.

3. From being away from my mom and sister so long, when I got to see them it was a pretty dank moment, I'd have to say.

And for that I treasure the moment not only because of the good parts, but also because of all the shitty ones too, and how I learned that if I really really want something, then I'll figure out how to do the things I can to get out of that situation.

After all that, I ended up putting all the skills and stuff to work and stayed clean for more than 200 days, which is probably a danker moment than when I got out of treatment because that's a fat ass minute of being clean.

G.S.

At the City Park - Group composed poem

Duck poop everywhere
     like little squishy brown weeds taking over.
Church people playing volleyball
     screaming like they're about to die.
People who have been drinking too much
     squabbling like pigeons fighting for bread.
Teenagers jumping off the bridge
     like Olympic high-divers going for gold.
People having barbeques laughing
     while the people who forgot their food
     are looking at them - staring like stray dogs.

Ode to Water

Water has a feeling I can't quite explain,

It comes from the clouds and transforms into rain,

Rain hits the ground and simply has a mind of its own,

If it hits a flat surface there's no telling where it roams

As it travels to a source of water waiting on earth,

A lake or a stream sitting patiently on dirt.

For its new family and friends that fall from the sky,

Who are born so high you can't see with a naked eye.

What's sad is water cannot move upstream,

It can't fight the current, you know what I mean?

But really water doesn't have a mind of its own,

It's controlled by gravity unless swept up by a storm.

Water's an element whose enemy is fire,

They battle day and night though no victory's acquired.

Just think of the forest fires that are burning up black,

Water is dropped from the sky from a very large sack.

The fires have weak spots, great waves from the air,

Dropped from flying machines inflicting elemental warfare.

When water gets frozen it becomes very hard,

The sun reflects off ice crystals and looks like small stars.

But the most spectacular thing is unfair,

Because we can't see the water vaporize into air.

What's cool is it returns to the place of its birth,

And forms once again, falling back to earth.

by: C.G.

Detention Rap

Kids be sittin' up in juvy,
Thinkin' that everything is groovy,
until they go see the judge and she gives them some bad news.
To cope with the pain they go take a snooze.
Some of them even say they ain't got nothing to lose,
Until they find out that freedom can run out like booze.

At first it's hard, but then the pain starts to recede,
you're thinking that this is going to be your final bad deed,
but it's just the beginning, so you need to start the race,
everything is changed, and it'll never be the same.

You don't know how long you'll get when judge calls your name,
you got thirty days and that seems like a long time,
at least you got juvy school, you're not locked away on the dime.

At school you learn about a blog,
That's been put up for people's words to be cataloged,
Kids write stories, poems, and raps,
then they write a sick line, they look to someone for some daps,
they think they got it goin'
until they remember that they're not flowin'
They're locked up in juvy,
And everything ain't so groovy.

E.A.

There's nothing like the wind whipping at your clothes, and a soft whooshing against your helmet.  Flying down the highway, banking deep on every corner, the soft roar of the bike.  It's a feeling of freedom, being out at night.  All alone on the road, just you and your motorcycle.  That's what I miss most about that Island.  Just me, my thoughts, and the bike.  Nothing is as amazing.  I remember how I used to climb the mountain by my house on my dirt bike, emerging on a clear hill with a perfect view of the little, unique town.  Not a single person up there.  Surrounded on three sides by gorgeous, lush forest.  The view was so beautiful, the town nestled in the curve of the inlet, the land surrounding a body of water that holds a smallish island.  And on a clear day, the Cascade Mountains completed the picture as a perfect, magnificent background.  Sometimes I'd take my bike to my friend's, and go off dirt jumps the height of a small building, racing him down gravel driveways.  You can't really do all that up here... So yeah, I'm gonna miss that place.

ET - Phone Home

Boy to Man

I've been raised by the system

Since I was 16,

I ran away from home

Cause I thought my parents were mean.

I ran around like a thug

When all I needed was a hug,

I was doin da drugs, and drinking the booze,

I never ran alone, always ran in 2s.

One day I met this girl

And she changed my whole world,

I was ready to cut the crap and become a man,

I even stepped to the plate, asked her to take my hand.

But now I'm sitting on the inside,

Waiting to be with my bride,

I can say one thing, it's been a hellava ride.

Now it's time to change

And expand my range of knowledge

Cause all I want in this world

Is a family, wife, and college.

Now that's all I have to say,

so just keep listening up

cause I'll be back one day.

E.A.

I Am

I am:
A sidewalk
People walking all over me
Spitting when I'm down.

I am:
Like a rat
People trying to shoe me away.
Trying to trap me in a corner
Leave me there to die.

I am:
A piece of dust
Flying around, landing on something
Then getting brushed away or swept
Away and trapped in an unknown world.

I am:
A box sitting in storage
Waiting to be unpacked
And put in a new home.

D.P.

Me, My Heritage, and Drugs

I am Irish

Alcohol in my blood

Bars on my mind.

They have claimed me 

The deep abyss

Pulling me down deep

For my life, will, and perseverance.

I've been changed 

By that malt drink

For drinking to an extent

To where I cannot comprehend.

I am an addict of all substances

Ruining my life

From the inside out.

Deep, deep, down

I feel for my life -

My P.O. yelling at me

Forgetting his name, thinking it's Dr. Phil

Pulling my attention away from him

For I do not care,

I am an Irish pupil of my land.

J.F.

The Unknown

ANTICIPATION is like going into a pitch black tunnel and not knowing what's in it or where it leads.  At certain points you become more knowledgeable.  You start to understand and become more aware.  But you still don't have your conclusion.  Worry, fear, and excitement take over as you look at the options for the end result.  When it finally ends and you know that's going on, your stomach is at peace, it can finally settle.  It is pure relief.

E.A.

Dead

Crystals consuming my heart

While He takes over my mind

He who does not take his time to ruin lives

Ice in my veins turns me to stone

Once I was life now I am death

A small sharp pain turns to instant pleasure

Then to pain again

I fly so high he cuts my wings

I'll sell my soul to get them back

What soul I have left

Hanging by a thread

I wonder

If I will ever live again

Or shall I always walk among the dead

T.R.

I Remember

I remember it was a very depressing month; my Aunt Francis was diagnosed with cancer.  I remember sitting in the hospital watching as she got weaker.  I remember it was her birthday, July 28.  I remember it not only as her birthday, but also as the day we said goodbye.  I remember how I cried for her, how I wished for the warmth of her hugs.  I remember going up to Steptoe Butte with candles.  I remember setting her ashes free.  I remember wanting to be set free with her.

S.F.

Life in My Cell

As I went to my cell all cold with dread

I took a look at my life and realize I'm dead.

Sitting on my bed in this smelly cell

I realize I cannot tell

the time it is until I get my bread.

Stuck in this hell

'til the day I'm frail

that's the day I might get out on bail.

But until that day,

I'm stuck in jail.

J.F.

Life of an Addict

I remember when I was eight and innocent

little and non-belligerent

Thought I could touch the sky

was never getting high.

I remember when I was twelve

turning into a mischievous little elf

being rambunctious

and obnoxious.

I remember when I turned fifteen

trying to be prestigious and always unclean

I used to be muscular and lean

now I'm filthy skinny and mean

doing drugs and trying to be unseen.

Life is taking me on a roller coaster that never stops

always being looked for the the cops

now I'm hated by my pops.

Disowned and alone where else is there to go?

My thought process is slow, I'm in an addiction

I can't let go.

Sleeping outside in the cold night 

Waking up to a fist fight

when there's hardly even any light

what as this world come to?

Rage and destruction and sometimes the deadly flu

When I die show no pity,

send my soul to a peaceful city. 

E.V.

Origami cranes and boxes folded by the youth for a Christmas Tree, donated to a local fundraiser. 

The Silence Within

  There's this noise.  Not really a noise.  More of a silence.  It occurs when the cell doors are shut behind you.
  Once the door to your cell shuts, the silence slithers under the door, through the cracks of the walls and window.  Not even sleep can conquer this recurring silence.  Not even books or music can terminate the quiet that creeps into your mind.
  The quiet of the unit creeps into your veins.  No matter how many books you try to read, it still seeps in.  You can sing, you can whistle, you can thump beats to a song you know, but no matter how hard you try, the silence stays inside you.  To eliminate the silence, you must leave the cell.
  But there's a catch.  The cell can't and won't open, unless you find yourself within. That could take days, months, even years.  Some kids can find themselves within like a snap of their fingers.  Others have to completely change their lifestyle in order to get out of the recurring silence that haunts within.
  There can be a pause to the silence.  But it's only temporary.  Like a taste of what you can get once you free yourself.  Like a lick of freedom.  But not really.  Hence the part where it says a pause.  Sometimes you can surround yourself with other kids that are trapped inside one of their own beings.  The tricky part is to avoid the kids who are so stuck they try sucking others that have worked to get out of themselves.  To free your own being you must avoid the trapped ones.
  If you truly want to conquer the silence you must believe in change.  You must believe in yourself and know you can be normal.  You must have hope and faith and be humble enough to make a better being of yourself for your own sake.
  But if you don't, you may have to surrender yourself to the silence for longer than you thought.  The deeper the silence gets, the harder it is to free yourself of the haunting silence within you.
          M.A.