“I am from a smoke-filled house” / “I am from the capital city”
Jess Stoner has the best job in the world, she says, because she gets to work with the authors of these poems. The poems by kids series-within-a-series are by students in Title 1 schools in Austin, TX. You can read her introduction to her students’ poetry here: Make Me Real: Poetry by Kids.
Of the poetry in this series, Stoner writes: “The poems you’re about to read are going to blow your mind.” We couldn’t agree more.
I Am From
East 3rd Street
Austin, Texas
poor people and gangs
I am from the capital city
where my mom would make tacos
when we got our food stamps
where the cars come
for the Texas Relays
when I wake up in my neighborhood I feel good
—Nicholas from the Del Valle Opportunity Center
♦◊♦
Boi
I am from the boat-shaped state
where the Cajun food is endless,
from the special treat around the corner.
I am from a smoke-filled house
where I can still taste the crawfish
and smell the gumbo,
from my small room where I lie down at night
and listen to the gunshots
hoping there won’t be a tenth hole
in my wall when I wake up,
from Boi, watch your mouth.
—Devin from the Del Valle Opportunity Center
Read more poetry by kids in this series.
Read more poetry on The Good Life.
—Photo credit: senorglory/Flickr
Thanks so much again for featuring our poets! If anyone wants to check out more, there’s lots of our young writers’ writing at http://www.badgerdog.org/unbound and in our annual anthologies. We’re so proud of our writers and so thrilled to see them celebrated here.