Chinese
With all this
great food
who needs
groceries?
January 16
FOOD DESERT
Norah Hassan
When Ms. Hill says
this neighborhood
is a food desert,
at first I think, No.
I lived in a real desert.
We shopped every day
at the outdoor market.
Stalls filled with olives,
cucumbers, tomatoes.
Except, in this neighborhood,
we don’t have a market.
When my parents work late
and there’s no food in the house,
my sister and I can’t walk
to a grocery store for fresh fruit.
The closest oasis in this desert
is the gas-station shop.
If we don’t have much money
and it’s cold outside,
that’s where my sister and I
buy dinner.
When you’re hungry
in the desert,
you’ll eat anything.
Cacti, rattlesnake.
Even salty, swampy
ramen noodles
taste delicious.
January 20
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Brianna Holmes
When Ms. Hill tells us
about food deserts,
Norah and I look at each other.
I’ve seen Norah and her sister
at the gas-station store.
Fruits and vegetables?
Not unless you want to eat
beat-up brown bananas
and celery that looks like
it wants to flop over and die.
So…what are you going to buy?
Something frozen?
Something sweet?
The chicken’s fried,
but at least it’s meat.
Norah lives in my neighborhood.
We know all about food deserts.
January 21
IN MY FOOD DESERT
Ben Kidwell
In my food desert…
the sand is all brown sugar,
the sun looks like an egg,
the camels have spaghetti hair
to cover up their heads,
the cacti taste like gummy bears,
the candy rocks are free.
At lunchtime this food desert
is the place I want to be.
January 22
AFTER OUR CLASS DEBATE
Tyler La Roche
My mom and I just moved here,
so I didn’t know there used to be
a supermarket in our neighborhood.
I didn’t know there used to be
a cheese shop, a bakery,
and something Ms. Hill called
a fishmonger’s. Instead we have
a karate dojo, a Chinese restaurant,
and a bunch of empty stores.
I didn’t know this school
used to have so many kids
they needed portable classrooms
in the back to fit them all.
My mom and I just moved here,
but I already know
every morning when I walk
into Emerson Elementary,
all the teachers call, “Good morning.”
My friends shout, “Hi, Ty!”
like it’s the funniest thing
they ever said. I already know
why people like this school,
why they want to stay
for middle school.
My mom and I just moved here,
so it’s easy for me to see both sides.
January 23
I DON’T WANT TO
George Furst
I don’t want to
think about the reasons why
tearing down our school
might be a good thing.
Brianna says her mom is looking for a job.
Norah needs a grocery store she can walk to.
Katie’s mom told our class that the supermarket
will bring more families to our neighborhood.
I don’t want to
think about the reasons why
tearing down our school
might be a good thing.
My mom says when one chapter ends
another one is beginning.
I don’t want to think about
what might happen if I turn the page.
January 26
WHEN YOUR SCHOOL HAS OLD WINDOWS
Katie McCain
New seats again.
Now I sit next to Ben.
The window’s nearby.
I can see the blue sky.
The sun’s on my face.
I imagine a place,
stretching out on the sand
in my bathing suit and
suddenly—BRRR!
The cold temperature
is like an ice bath
in the middle of math.
The sun had me baking.
Now I shiver. I’m shaking.
There’s a draft in this spot.
Ms. Hill, I cannot
sit here in this breeze.
I am going to…
ACHOO!
January 27
I WANTED TO STAY HOME FROM SCHOOL TODAY
Edgar Lee Jones
I wanted to stay home from school today.
My grandpa didn’t get out of bed
to get the newspaper.
I wanted to stay home from school today.
Mom called the ambulance because
Grandpa’s left side was acting frozen.
I wanted to stay home from school today.
He couldn’t talk or walk,
couldn’t say, “Learn something today, Eddie.”
I wanted to stay home from school today.
My head’s filled up with Grandpa.
I’m at my desk, but I’m not here.
January 28
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Sydney Costley
Sloane brought home our invitation
to Hannah Wiles’s birthday party.
Hannah’s father is getting a giant truck
covered inside and out with flat-screen TVs,
so we can play every video game ever created.
When the truck drives up to Hannah’s house,
most of our class will be there,
playing,
laughing
together.
Sloane said I’d better not embarrass her
or hang out with anyone uncool.
Maybe I won’t go to the party.
When Sloane spends time
with Hannah Wiles
she acts like she doesn’t
even
want to
know me.
January 29
CHARACTER
Hannah Wiles
My dad was flipping through the paper
the way he does every morning,
quizzing me and my stepmom
on current events and stuff
he thinks we should know.
“Listen to this letter to the editor,”
he said, shaking his head the way he does
when I’m not being patient enough
with my (half) brothers.
“ ‘If you walk through Emerson Elementary,
you will see and feel the difference
a school can make in the lives of its students.
You will see how a strong community
builds character.’ ”
Dad said schools need to do more
than build character. He said
you can’t measure character.
The person who wrote the letter
didn’t say a word about academics
or standardized test scores,
and test scores at Emerson, Dad said,
are pitiful.
“What’s character?” I asked.
He said, “My point exactly,”
and started talking about
low enrollment and the money
the school system will make
when it sells the prime real estate
underneath our pitiful school.
January 30
FACES
Norah Hassan
The hallways of Emerson are filled with families
on International Night. Tonight, our school
reminds me of shopping in the Old Jerusalem market.
I remember when I was small,
going to the pepper stand with Jaddi.
Fifty types of peppers to eat!
Pale green, yellow as a lemon, dark brown, red,
each with a different flavor.
On International Night,
the halls are as noisy as an outdoor market.
Children shout. Parents call, “Let’s go!”
in so many languages.
In English, the teachers say, “See you tomorrow!”
I find an empty doorway where I can stand still.
I watch. I listen.
If they take away our school
and build a supermarket with a thousand shelves,
there will be no empty doorway
for a girl like me to watch the passing faces.
If they take away our school,
where will the voices of our families
meet to say, “Hello, neighbor! Hello!”
February 2
TARGET
George Furst
It’s weird to see your teacher
doing normal things
like shopping for valentines
(were those for our class?)
in a non-school place like Target,
but I’m glad you finally
got to meet my dad, Ms. Hill.
He thinks you’re smart. I could tell
by all the questions he asked
about when you were in college
and you marched in protests.
(I told him about the picture
of you on Capitol Hill.)
He shook your hand and thanked you
because you encouraged me
to get involved with the political process.
Whatever that means.
I guess it’s true, you motivated me
to take action, even though those sit-ins
you were telling my dad about
don’t sound very active to me.
3 Febrero
GRACIAS
Gaby Vargas
Señorita Hill,
Gracias.
Esta es la primera vez
que hemos tenido un intérprete
para la conferencia
de padres y maestros
desde que llegamos aquí.
Mi mamá estaba tan contenta.
A ella le gustó la señora May.
Yo también me alegré.
Mis hermanas
no tuvieron que venir a la escuela
a traducirle a nuestra madre.
Eso es bueno.
Ellas no tienen que saber
que soy buena en matemáticas
pero todavía mala
para escribir
en inglés.
Gracias, Gaby
February 3
THANK YOU
Translated by Gaby Vargas and Mark Fernandez
Dear Miss Hill,
Thank you.
This is the first time
that we had an interpreter
for the conference
of parents and teachers
since we come to this country.
My mother was very happy.
She liked Señora May.
I also feel happy.
My sisters
do not have to come to the school
to translate for our mother.
This is good.
They do not have to know
that I do well in math
but I am still bad
when I write
in English.
Gracias, Gaby
February 4
REPORT CARDS
Brianna Holmes
When my brother and me
get all As and Bs,
my mom takes us out for fondue.
Fruit, brownies, and cake,
all dipped in a lake
of chocolate-marshmallow goo.
We have so much fun,
but when the bill comes
I see that look on my mom’s face.
Our money’s real tight.
I wish that tonight
we’d eaten dessert at our place.
February 5
TRYOUTS
Tyler La Roche
Mark and me, we were the only boys
who tried out for the spring musical,
Beauty and the Beast.
Our chorus teacher is the director.
He said I have the best “bonjour” of anybody.
My mom got a good laugh about that
’cause my family is Cajun.
We came up north from Texas.
Mom got tired of all those hurricanes
screaming down our town,
tearing shingles off our roof
and flooding the house.
Mom found another university to teach at.
It’s a good job, but sometimes she tells me
she’s homesick. She’s kind of like Belle,
doesn’t know anyone in the castle,
and making friends is hard.
At least Belle had all that singing silverware.
And me, I’ve got Mark. We figure
our teacher’s got to choose
one of us for Gaston
and the other one for the Beast.
So I’m in, piece of cake.
All I had to do was show up
and try out.
February 9
TALENT
Mark Fernandez
If it wasn’t for Gaby,
I would have never
gotten up onstage
and played my guitar
in the talent show.
Sure, I’m in a band,
but when Zoo Creatures
performs, we wear
those funny animal masks.
With a mask on,
I don’t get as nervous.
Gaby helped me,
so I’m returning the favor,
bringing her and Tyler with me
to try out for the school musical.
Her English still isn’t the best,
but Gaby can sing.
She’s got enough talent
to fill the whole stage.
February 10
ODE TO MY TWIN
Sydney Costley
When it’s time for recess,
we rush outside with a whoosh,
like a stormy wind.
I grab a basketball before they’re all taken,
pass it across the blacktop to Rachel.
But lately she doesn’t want to shoot hoops
with me.
Hannah’s teaching all the girls
cheerleading.
Ugh. If Rachel wants to clap her hands
and copy Hannah’s dance moves
because she hopes
a certain boy is watching,
I’ve got no time for her.
I told her so.
And Rachel said, “Fine.”
I went to sit
by the brick wall behind school,
where Ben and I
used to hunt for frogs.
Sloane left cheerleading to find me.
We sat leaning against the brick wall
for the rest of recess.
Sloane didn’t even care
that we were sitting on dirt
and she was wearing her new jeans.
We talked about friends and crushes
and how everything is changing
except for my
number one best friend forever,
sister Sloane.
February 11
ODE TO PAJAMA DAY
Katie McCain
Oh, how I long
for the most relaxing
school day of the year.
On Pajama Day
my mom doesn’t attack
my bed head with a brush.
My backpack is stuffed
with pillows instead of books.
I slide down the hall
like a penguin skidding on ice,
because giant fuzzy slippers
and floor wax are a great combination.
This morning Ms. Hill asked us
to take out our pillows
and write poems on the floor.
(Everyone laughed
when Mark started to snore.)
I wore rainbow frog pajamas,
which unfortunately meant
Newt followed me around
until Jason took him
to borrow Connect Four
from the fourth grade.
I love Pajama Day.
February 12
SELF-PORTRAIT
Jason Chen
February 13
VALENTINE DIAMANTE
Rachel Chieko Stein
Valentine
pink, frilly card
opening, reading, smiling
hearts, love, hugs, friendship
embarrassing, sweet note
from my BFF
Sydney
February 17
HUGS AND KISSES
Hannah Wiles
Before she left, my mom gave me
a glass jar filled
with chocolate Hugs and Kisses.
She said whenever I need a hug
or a kiss goodnight,
even though she is far away,
I can take one out of the jar.
Yesterday
when I got home from school
there were silver wrappers
all over my bed, on the floor.
My stepmom, Heather, was mad…
at me!
All that sugar
made my (half) brothers crazy.