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Eddie - Gina - Houa - Jennifer - Jerry - Mai Yia - Maika - Peter - Sarah - Thiva - Victoria - Wandee - Yer
STAND ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET by Eddie, Mai Yia and Thiva
Stand on your own two feet,
That’s why divorces never turn out that neat,
Things never turn out right,
That’s’ why there are always fights,
People always move on,
Just like a little pond,
We’re living our life,
So don’t think about ending our life with a knife,
Stand on our own two feet,
The gas prices rising up like heat,
Take the bus through the street,
May-be all the cars should be thrown,
Life is so blistering,
With all this money drifting away,
Where will we end up the next day?
Back in the forest of Laos,
Without safety and security.
WE GOT SOME DRAMA IN DA CITY by Andrew, Jerry and Kao
Haters turn out to be war,
The war comes from racism,
By judging the color of our skin,
We choose to live this way,
Of this war we shall win,
Who stand shall stay,
We got some drama in da city,
People fighting at school,
Fighting over girls,
Fighting over reputations,
There’s no point for fighting,
Gaining nothing at the end,
We got some drama in da city,
Cause waters got to talk,
Somebody tell me why we’re going to war,
Killing for greed?
That ain’t what we need,
More blood for money?
Ain’t exactly worth it honey,
Especially when they ain’t the one out holding the glock,
I guess I can understand, not,
Some just fighting for the daily meal,
If we learn it was going to be like this man,
I would finish school,
Instead of being out here used to try to look cool,
Now it’s bull,
And I’ve grown tired and dull.
SELFISHNESS IN ONE PERSON/PEOPLE by Eddie
It reside in my mind
Yet rather close to my tainted heart
The color of this thought bleed
It’s dead yet sad feeling
This problem is as the next biggest thing close to everything
This feels wet, and aching
This would smell the stench of an tidiness
This taste the most sours of sour
More sour then 10,000 tears
This would be an electric guitar
Without most of its strings
And no amp to make it boom
A hideous being with no skin
And maggots crawling all over its face.
IT LIVES IN MY MIND, WHERE ALL MY THOUGHTS ARE by Gina
Red for anger,
A square for equal meaning that I have for it,
Half the size of this table,
It feels like a pinch because it’s not too big,
But when it sums up then it stings,
Smells like burnt,
Taste like a raw meat,
A violin because when you don’t play it good it sounds bad,
High prices for a simple things look like to me is
Almost like a rock at the bottom of the lake
You can’t see it
But you can see its shadow.
MY ISSUE RAP by Houa
My issue is jealousy
It lives between my deep heart, thoughts, and soul
The color that lakes me feel this way is cold blue
It is a funny shape that I have this feeling
The size of a door is a bad feeling for me
I don’t know why but it’s just a feeling
A hard feeling deep in my heart
The taste is weird feeling
And the way I feel is so bad but it’s just me.
DAYS I REMEMBER by Jennifer
Who knew I’d remember,
Remember so much of my home,
The family I left behind,
My friends, my most important,
Grandparents
No contacts just memories,
Memories of the childish days,
Days with laughter and smiles,
Days I wish for,
Days I remember.
ARGUMENT WITH PEOPLE WHO STARTS STUFF by Jennifer
Where does this issue live inside you? My heart
It’s yellow it makes me sick,
It’s small like my cell phone,
It feels bumpy,
It’d smell normal,
Taste sour like a lemon,
A broken flute,
It’s look like a siren luring me into the water.
UNTITLED by Jerry
I grew up in Minnesota,
I represent Fresno, Ca,
Coming from the gang city,
With crips and bloods roaming the streets,
Coming up here to Minnesota in 1996,
Driving up here with s 2 days drive,
Still living good with Pham.
Something that makes me upset? My brothers messing with me, racisms, Haters.
It lives inside my frustrated mind and bloody fist,
The color of this is red,
It’s a circle that keeps on growing when I hear it,
This anger feels like when you reach your peak,
It smells like somebody threw you in the trash,
It tastes like rotten pig fried,
The instrument would be a 20,000 piano shattered into pieces,
Chaos and frustration.
ABOUT ME by Mai Yia
Hi! My name is Mai Yia ****,
My parents barely give me the house keys,
I live three blocks away from an elementary school,
That’s why people think I’m cool.
I’m only 12 years old,
And I’m trying to find out why the world is cold,
I think that I barely have any friends,
That’s why some of them might stay with me till the end.
I am so glad to be single,
That’s why I love to eat mangos,
But it seems like no one even cares,
That’s why it’s so hard for me to find someone who will always be there.
I love to sing,
That’s why I sing in the spring,
I love to dance,
That’s why I always wear nice comfortable pants.
I also love to act,
And yes that’s a fact,
I also love to talk,
And I know how to walk.
I’m very nice,
But when ever I guess a number it’s going to be on a dice,
Whenever I’m acting kind,
There’s always someone doing something mean behind.
No matter how hard I try,
People say there’s no point for me to cry,
Because no one ever cares to help me wipe my tears.
I’m very helpful,
That’s why when I eat I get full,
I always gives smiles,
That’s how I can run a mile.
DIVORCE by Mai Yia
Divorce brings sadness,
That’s why there’s no kindness,
It lives in my head,
But many had plead,
It taste like sad tears,
But that just hurts ears,
And it roots in my heart,
So that causes people to be apart,
It makes me sad,
But drives people mad,
There’s no right communication,
So they sign off a divorce application.
UNKNOWN by Mai Yia
Some people are players,
So that’s why some are not,
Some good communicators,
Some people hate,
But some do appreciate,
Some people love to get into fights,
That’s why we have to fight for our rights,
Many had cried in tears,
But some act like they don’t even care.
BACK IN THE DAYS by Maika
Back in the days,
I used to play with barbies,
I remember when my first tooth fell off,
I cried, I cried then I started whining,
Elmo was my best friend but now he’s gone,
All I have left was his beautiful songs.
TRUST by Peter
Trust is something that lives inside my rhythmic soul
It’s clear, unseen able
Like the wind that comes and goes
Rough like the mountain roads
Smells like junk, something that you wouldn’t want.
SEGREGATION IN SCHOOL by Sarah
Where does this issue live inside you?
It lives inside my head.
What color is it?
Red because it makes me mad.
Shape? Square
Size? Huge
Feel/ Texture? Rough
Smell? Anger
Taste? Sour like starbursts
Instrument? Broken drum
Look at it? People would be spilt up.
APOLOGY by Sarah
I once told you that
I didn't like you
even when I did
You were always
patient with me
no matter what happened
Forgive me
I haven't been
a good daughter.
WINDY by Sarah
The wind was so fast
it almost blew me away;
the wind was forever.
ISSUE by Thiva
It lives inside my mind
The color of anger is red
Rocky and it burns
Feels thicker than blood
Smells stupid like hate
Dirty like brown dirt
Every time I feel anger it feels like beating drums.
I MISS YOU by Victoria
I'm thinking about the star I caught
Trying to tell him I miss you alot
Wondering how you are doing
Wondering how much you are improving
Tonight I felt like i wanted to cry
cuz i felt like pretty soon its going to be goodbye
I really wished you were here or I was there
So you could be able to wipe my tears...
UNTITLED by Wandee
I hate losing,
It lives deep in the complexity of my mind,
So pink and red,
It goes on again, circling a circle, never ending,
It seeps in me and swells but then deflates,
Cold and course the stench of of sweat,
Like pigs fat deep fried,
This anger is like a broken through drum,
Like a fire raging over a meadow flowers,
Creating destruction to the beauty there before,
Simmering after everything has died and turned to ashes.
MY OWN LIFE by Yer
It lives inside my body and thoughts
It’s dark and bright, like black and white
It’s confusing in the shape of a blur
It’s as big as my long trip
This stress feels like an annoying beverage
It is like a piano with no keys
Confusing misguidance deep in my heart.
ABOUT THE POEMS
ITC thanks the
Hennepin County Library Foundation
for their support of this project.
MORE TEEN POETRY
Houa
Jennifer
Peter
Sarah
