Badgerblog

Sitting in the
sky, waiting for
nightfall when
all the bright
stars are out
you can see
me hanging with
them in the
cool night air
you can feel
my glow isn’t
it comforting to
know I’m always
watching over you
when you least
expect it isn’t
it comforting to
know I’m always
watching making
sure you have
everything you need
I make sure
the waves you
surf are nice
and high
so you don’t
have to sit
and cry while
I soothe your
soul even after
you go inside.

Jory, tenth grade, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

—after Maya Angelou’s “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”

My black hat is really cool
because it came from my great-great grandpa.
He was a slave.
He was beaten, yelled at, even slapped.
When he cried, he would get extra work.
He had scabs, bruises, and he was red.
One day, he ran away.
When he ran away, he found a hat, a black hat.
When he was twenty, he met a girl and had two children.
He gave his older daughter the hat.
When I was ten, I got the hat, and when I put it on
I felt like the runaway slave boy
who lived happily ever after.
When I get bullied, I just remember what my
great-great grandpa did and walk away.
Because life does not scare me.

Jasmine, fifth grade, Baty Elementary School

Anything
red
forbidden fruit
tears
the inside of a womb.

Nitra, eleventh grade, Del Valle Opportunity Center

Photo © fedgrafo.

Ur legs that look
like they belong 2 a
chicken. Ur legs that
need more meat
on ya’ bones. Ur
short but long legs
that don’t have no
kind of hair on them.
Ur I need 2 join the
track team legs. Ur
thighs as skinny as
tooth picks. Ur dark
black-looking legs.
Ur legs that don’t
really take up that
much space in the
car legs, you know,
the same ones that
will stand up for your
older sisters when
we’re injured legs.

Amber, seventh grade, Del Valle Middle School