Badgerblog

A tall crying black space
flies over my head
and I do not know what to do.

Douglas, fourth grade, Hornsby-Dunlap Elementary School

Life is fun.
Sometimes life can be
a little tough.
Be happy
and nothing will go wrong.
Be happy, have fun
and be strong
Sometimes, you fall in love.
It is very romantic.
Always believe in the future.
The good things you dream
will come true if
you dream them again.
Step into a new world
with nature and everything you like.
Go somewhere you like
and have fun.

Laura, fourth grade, Hillcrest Elementary School

When I wake up I can see
The blue calm sky over my head.
I can smell the raspberry wind.
Sometimes it is chilly,
But I can grab my baby blue sweater.
After that good day,
I can have my little treat, my raspberry lollipop.

Citalli, fourth grade, Perez Elementary School

Winter is blue like when your face gets blue,
like a bluebell and a fluffy soft blanket.

Winter is white like a skull,
like white teeth, and a plain T-shirt.

Winter is gray like a teacher’s chair,
like the color of a pencil mark
and a pair of gray boots in the snow.

Austin, third grade, Smith Elementary School

I walk the darkened streets
only to meet vagrants and beggars
who I take pity on, when few
will take pity on myself.

Though ACL booms loud,
Congress, well-lit after the twilight hour,
still has its crowd;
with electricals coursing

____and bringing power
to small coffee shops, I wander
about the smell of Java and fresh cigarettes
in the air, while I wonder
why this town is so wonderful.

____And it hits me:
Because this is the domain
in which creativity isn’t squandered
but fostered in the darker rooms,
the shadowed theaters where writers loom.

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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

Es el final del verano
Y la cosecha termina.
Es el alma y el espíritu
Que alucinan.

Lo negro de los muertos—
Sin duda a suceder.
Las tumbas se han de
Romper, es lo seguro.
Lo cierto del negro obscuro.

Lo negro de noche oscura,
Naranja de amanecer—
Sus poderes harán tristezas.
Ya la casa estará segura.

English translation:

It is the end of summer
And the harvest is over.
It is the soul and the spirit
That dream.

The black of the dead­—
It will surely happen.
The tombs must
Break, it is certain.

The certainty of dark black.
The black of dark night,
The orange dawn—
Their powers will make sorrows.
The house will already be safe.

Veronica, fourth grade, Barrington Elementary School

Original artwork by Sarah Meraz © 2009. Thanks Sarah!

* * *

Every fall and spring, Badgerdog solicits and publishes occasional poems from its students. This poem by Veronica was the winner of our Halloween poem contest. Congratulations, Veronica!