Note from the producer: Today, we showcase student poets from the School of Innovation in Springfield. Their poetry is tender, troubled, heartbreaking, and sometimes silly. You will also hear the students reflect on their creative process and tell you what their poems are really about. And just a warning: some of the poems you're about to read discuss serious topics such as grief, racism, and gun violence and also use adult language.
Hannah Mills: I write poetry because it's a form of expression. I like expressing myself through writing because I really like writing. So, just as one might like to draw. I like writing. I've always written. I've always been writing, but I never chose creative writing.
I had done poetry, but it wasn't my thing. Then I realized poetry doesn't always have to rhyme and have the same words or sound the same. Poetry can be whatever you honestly want it to be.
I enjoy letting myself write and let poetry be what I want it to be.
Untitled by hannah mills
my words need a break
a place to escape
i look at a paper as one looks to an exit sign
it glows red
it catches the eye
it guides me to my escape
my escape from emotions
the place where a pen doesn't just
bleed ink
but bleeds reaction
the sensation of my unheard emotions
pouring out of me
like rain from the sky
Omaria Ali: My poem is about being biracial and how the diversity in today's society can impact not just a young woman like me but anybody that's young and feels out of place.
I don't think that it affects me as much because I know that I fit in, but I feel like other kids feel like they'll never fit in. And I think that sometimes all they need to do is hear a poem like this and to understand that you will fit in. There are people like them.
I'll Find My Space By Omaria Ali
I'm light, but l'm not light bright
I'm dark, but ain't no starry night
I ain't no sunset either
No sunrise or moonshine
No carefully defined confine
Just the middle child of race
Now,
Let me give you a day in the
Life of an unknown color
Yeah I'm white, but I'm still black.
my sentence still labeled for life
Crime committed?
None, but being black just gives it away.
If not 3/4ths then I guess l'm just half human
So tell me why I can't say (expletive)..
I'm too white to use slang to proper to say,
"Gang gang"
(Ain't nobody sayin' that, by the way.)
How am I supposed to speak
if I don't know what to say?
If language chooses culture
Then words must choose my color, right?
Nah, color just an illusion
we all equal.
Do y'all hear yourselves ?
words are blind too
in this world I'm forced to choose
In a world that wants me to choose,
I refuse to be confined by the views.
I am the bridge between two worlds,
Embracing my uniqueness with ease.
No labels can define my worth,
For I am a masterpiece since birth.
Now, Let me help you break down the walls,
And celebrate the diversity
that only beauty installs.
I'll find my voice, my symphony.
Amidst the noise,
I know I'll find my harmony.
But can you?
Can you help me fit in
To make sure I'm comfortable
In my own skin
Can you tell me,
"There's no need to pick a side or place"
I'm the full story, not just a pretty face.
A blend, a mix, a soul's embrace, and
With every shade,
I'm sure I'll find my space.
These poems and interviews were recorded in the library at the School of Innovation in Springfield. Special thanks to Beth Dixon from Wellspring and Kathy Lee, the principal at the School of Innovation.
