MEMORIES

what happens to a memory that's forgot?

Is it like when you cant remember the cold of winter in the heat of summer?


Or does it randomly pound in your head like a drummer?


Do you remember it with a scent?
and it stays in your head like cement.


O does it wilt away?
never wanting to stay.

Is it like an obsession
that causes aggression?

Or does it make a connection?


                                                     By Rilayyyyyyyyyy :)

Witness Argumentative by Melissa

During the book Witness someone shot a little girl's father and killed him. Harvey is guilty of it, on page 29 he  joins the Klan. The Klan is a huge group of racists that do what ever they want. After he joined the clan he was going to trash another man's business; it was so bad that no one came to Harvey's store to buy anything, also on page 92 the doc was refusing to do anything for Harvey, but Harvey then said, "Klan will see to him if he does." He was basically threatening the doc. On page 102, Harvey smashed a bottle and said that it felt good breaking it in his Ku Klux Klan clothes and that he doesn't care if it hurts anyone. Another reason why Harvey is guilty is because Johnny and Merlin did not do it. Johnny is not guilty because he left the Klan on page 113 and wanted to redeem himself with God because he was ashamed of what he had done when he was with the Klan. Merlin also didn't do it; on page 115 Merlin was handed a bottle of poison and was told to dump it in Sutter's well water. Merlin couldn't do it, he refused to take the poison and kill someone. Harvey Pettibone is the man that shot that little girl's father; he doesn't feel pain when he ruins something.

Merry go round

I feel my eyes grow wide as i walk closer to the spinning merry go round. I cant believe it! Its so cool! The happy music makes me feel happy. The sweet smell of cotton candy comes up into my nose. While i wait in line, because my daddy said i could ride, I think of my friend in Alabama. Don where me and my family live blacks ain't aloud to sit by whites. We cant sit side by side. Me and my colored friend go to school with the other colored boys and girls. My daddy said i was never to become friends with a white. When i asked why, he told me why? I look up and see that i am so close to all he colors and all the fun. I can barely stand still. I am so excited! then i remember. Their is no Jim crow section. I might not be able to ride. My heart falls to the floor. But... I have waited all this time. My daddy walks up o me and kneels down, looking into my brown eyes. His brown fingers wipe the single tear that wiggled down my cheek. "go ask, baby its your turn." After he kisses m cheek, i walk on shaky legs to the man in charge. "where is the jim crow section on this merry go round? i wanna ride."
                                By Eva :)

Still Strong

Been alone and wondersome

my heart has made me wonder

the heavens did take her

my father does miss her

looks like between the 'em

they did tried

to shake me, stay strong, stay happy, stay loved

my mother tells me so 

I Listen

by zina

Still alive

Been run down and saved.
I wish my mom was here.
Shock has froze me,
Black has saved me.

Looks like the night saves the day with no respect to pay.
Stop wantin, stop waitin, stop wishing.
But i dont care.
Im still alive.
                By Wyatt

Still running booze

Been running booze and ignorent.
The laws i have been breaking.
Booze has made me,
The law has not stopped me.

Looks as if my life is set and stone
nothings gonna change me.

Stop runnin, chasin, sellin.
But that wont stop me,
Im still sellin.
                    By Ashly

Still Single

been bruised and abused

my daddy got lost in work\

man has angered me

father has scarred me

looks of man

tried to phase me

soften up, give in, lose everything I work for

I DO care

but I remain unmarried

by Nicole

Still angry poem

Been craby and sarcastic
My dream that Harvey diminished.
His lies has hurt me.
His eyes deceive me.

Seems all between he don't care
Trying to change me.

Stop yellin, stop buggin, stop thinkin.
But it dont matter
im still angry.
                   By Macy

Still Preaching

Been troubled and frowned
my faith the people done downed
water has hurt me
fire has empowered me

looks like I'm the klan
i tried to lead

Keep prejudice, keep racism, keep segregating
and I still care
I'm still preaching

by Steven

Little rock interpret poem

The nine brave teens did it.
They stepped forward in dark times
of all the high schools.
It was central high school they chose.
Led by officers like myself.

Nathan, a boys a boys name whispered in the crowd,
son of another hard working man,
and his skin,
his personality,
were white as snow and stone cold.
For he was another racist white, like them all.

The students, nine black teens, enter through the massive doors.
Students watch with baited breathing,
they might have to change tradition.
Said they wanted education
since they were young.
                                          By Mackenzie

Still Watching

Been watching and waiting
my town the klan done scattered
blacks has friz me
whites has baked me

looks like the town has
tried to make the klan

stop prayin, stop fighting, stop being
but I don't care
I'm still watching

by Joe

Still Married

My faith in him swallowed down
stupidity drowns me
stress buckels me down

looks like I haven't done much
tired to change him

stop messin, stop buyin, stop foolin around
FOR PETE'S SAKE
I'm tryin

by Allie

Still scared

Still scared,
My braveness has flown, ut, away.
Fire has caught me,
Train has chased me.

Feels like between them
been tryin to make me,

Stop feelin, stop breathin, stop dreamin.
But i sink lower in my chair,
Im stilll scared.
        By lauren(:

Still married poem by Rhihannon(;

Still married,
Been ignored, and abused, my money has been spent.
Harvey has dropped me
Patients has held me.

Looks like a different man,
not who i married.

Stop spendin, stop jokin, stop playin.
But i don't care.
Were sill married.

Still married by Kaycee (:

Still married,
Been angered and flaberghasted
My husband wont listen
Harvey's words have froze me.
 His actions have drowned me.

 Looks like between him and his music
they done tried to kill me.

Stop arguing, stop nagging, stop complaining,
But i care.
I'm still married.

Voting poem by sunshine (cade) ;)

I was walking along he streets today to go voting for my first time. I was so excited, so happy, I even saw fellow blacks on my way there as i smiled, waved, and said hello. Then suddenly i felt like i fainted, but i could still hear talking. I son realized some bag was being put on y head, and i was dragged into a car. The mumbling continued and i could feel the car moving beneath me. The car then came to a subtle stop. I was grabbed and shoved out of the small car. They removed the bag from my head and the light blinded me for a couple seconds, hen i regained my vision. It was the hooded Klu Klux Klan. On the ground in a dark abandoned building, i sat on a cold floor as the leader stepped in. I stood up, then he punched me in the gut as i fell back down again. He said something but i dont know what, i was moaning to loud. I was confussed on why i was hear but i knew if it had to do with the clan it was bad. He asked me " do u believe in the great white race?" i thought for a second then replied, " sir ill believe anything if u  just let me loose." He had no soul, and his heart was as black as my skin. He raised his fist as i closed my eyes, and then i never woke again.

Prospective Poem by Matt

I wish the schools were segregated
To keep the blacks from stinking up ours
Where Mrs. Harvey sees talent
All i see is negro.
From the prospective of Merlin from Witness - Not Matt's prospective

Voting poem by MADI :D

I was walking along with my daughter Abby. We were on or way to the voting booths as we saw the hoods. Many KKK members were walking around, they were like a white storm cloud. When i saw them i gt a little nervous knowing that they were a violent group. I did not want to bring my daughter with me, so i let go of her tight grasp and told her to stay here. She was only six years old and didn't really understand everything yet. I knew she would be ok. I walked to the booth trying to hurry. I looked over my shoulder and i paused. My mouth dropped open, i was stunned. To my surprise a young negro had been brave enough to ask to vote. I could slightly hear them talking and the black man had told the clan he wanted to vote just as everybody else had. They asked him in anger " do you believe in the great white race?" i could tell the man was scared and before he could answer another member hit him in the head. They started abruptly kicking him. I marked my vote down and ran to my daughter  She had started to cry of the terrible sight. The clan looked over at us and i ran as fast as i could, grasping her in my arms. I glanced back as i saw the fear in his eyes, when a single tear ran down my cheek, knowing i could not save him.

What goes through a chicken's mind right before itshead is chopped off By Boone

Does it lose all since of reality
like a stow away on a ship

Or does it remember its family
like his brother chip

Does it remember it forgot to lay an egg
or follow over like a rotten sailors peg

Maybe it just knows its lived a full life
like an old blind dog

Or does it bog down
Like an old car

Merry go round

My name is Sierra Becklerud. I'm seven years old today, and for my birthday present I wanted to go on a Merry go round. I traveled with my two brothers and my parents. I was the happiest girl ever, unlike my parents who were worried the whole trip over. They were talking about not being able to ride the Merry go round. I didn't know why i wouldn't be able to and I had high hopes that they were just trying to scare me. Just in case I brought my snazzy new high heels with me, and even stole some of my mothers make up. This way I would be taller, and also look older. I ran to the merry go round with my purple and pink unicorn dangling from my arm. As I stopped i noticed that there was no one else in the whole place that was colored. It looked like all the walls had been painted white and i was a little black smudge. My smile slowly faded off my face into a lonely frown. As the whites walked by me the children's parents hid them away from me, and it felt like they were staring straight into my soul. I felt like i was doing something wrong. It reminded me of my firs miserable day of first grade. I walked into the room with my books in my hands and had on my blue summer dress. My mother had told me to grab daisies out of her garden, to give to my new teacher. The fresh breeze of the flowers filled the room. The teacher thanked me and sat me down in the Jim Crow section. I got laughed at because i sat alone and whenever i got called on i froze up like an ice cube. I couldn't move i was stuck in time. Every white kid stared and laughed. I thought i did something wrong and believed it too. The teacher never said anything. I wen home with no expression on my face. I wouldn't react to what the white kids called me. "Brownie" "Jim Crow girl" "Ugly" every day a new name. As soon as the kids left me alone i cried. I was convinced I was those things. My mother sat me down told me they were wrong i was perfect in every way. It was summer now the cruel kids were gone but here i was in the same position. Whites criticizing me for who i was. The one day that was supposed to be fun with cotton candy melting in my mouth with the sweet sugar dying my tongue blue. The day was supposed to be filled of laughing and music and just being a kid. Up till dark when the merry-go-round lights go on and the horses look like their floating. I walked up on to the merry-g-round looking at all the kids moving out of he line letting me get to the front of the line. All the kids on the ride got off and it was my turn. I looked at the man with my hands clenching my stuffed animal. My brown eyes studied the man. He was black as well he had sweat rolling down his face from the heat of the day. My mouth opened  slightly to say something but my words got caught in my throat. "Where is the Jim Crow section?" I asked. i always sit in the Jim Crow section so there had to be one here. "Mister cause i want a ride" his eyes tightened on me. I gulped and came out confidently "down South where i come from white and colored can't sit side by side." He nodded as if he wanted me to continue so i did. "Down South on the train theres a Jim Crow car. On the bus were put in the back but there aint no back to a merry-go-round" He felt sorry for me his eyes started to focus but i wan't finished quiet yet. "Where's the horse for a kid thats black?" I focused on him i wasn't leaving till i got a respond. I could feel the eyes looking at me mouth wide open stuck in disbelief. He was speechless. He could't believe a little girl could know so much. My eyes narrowed and stared at hi. He pointed back i didn't turn i sat and stared. I felt a tap on my sholder i turned aroung it was a white cop he grab

by Kacyee

Unicorns Undergoing

What happens to a unicorn undergoing death?

Does it poof away like cotton candy in your mouth?

Or does it go deep down south?

Does it fly into the clouds?

Or does it drop into the universe of unicorn crowds?

Maybe into heaven, it just has a secret code?

Or does it explode?

           <3 Zina, Meraiah, Nicole

Witness

Witness by Karen Hesse

A fun, quick unit. We begin to work on public speaking in small groups, while reading a book about the KKK, racism, and attempted murder.

The Barnes & Noble Review

Karen Hesse's Newbery Award-winning skills are put to great use inWitness, a poetic tale about friendship, fanaticism, and the deadly undercurrents of racial prejudice. The story takes place in a small Vermont town in the year 1924, revealing the devastating impact of the Ku Klux Klan on this pastoral, insular community. At the heart of the tale are two motherless girls who come to the attention of the newly formed Klan: 12-year-old Leanora Sutter, who is black, and 6-year-old Esther Hirsch, who is Jewish. 

Hesse tells her story, which is based on real events, through the eyes of 11 different characters. Each point of view is expressed in poetic form, but with a stark clarity of difference that makes the voices unique and identifiable. There is a fire-and-brimstone preacher whose sermons reveal him as a zealot and whose actions brand him as a hypocrite. There is a middle-aged farm woman named Sara who takes Esther under her wing despite the warnings of her neighbors, trying to help the child understand why the Klan has marked her and her widowed father as targets for their hatred. Esther's only other friend is Leanora, who is about to learn some harsh lessons on tolerance and hatred herself at the hands of the Klan. And linking them all together is 18-year-old Merlin Van Tornhout, a young man struggling to fit in with the adult world and determine for himself the difference between right and wrong. The remaining characters who circle the periphery of this core group reflect the various mind-sets and biases that were common during this era of fear and persecution, even in a setting as bucolic as the Vermont countryside.

Hesse weaves real historic events into her tale, such as the murder trial of the infamous kidnappers Leopold and Loeb, giving the work a definite period flavor. Using prose that is both sparse and powerful, she builds the tension with a slow crescendo of inevitability that ends in violence, but also offers up an unforgettable lesson on the true power of friendship and acceptance. (Beth Amos)

When you look by Brooke

When you look into my eyes what do you see?
A person full of wonder, excitement and happiness?
Or a dark place with nothing but sorrow and sadness?
Do you see an open book?
Or do you see a closed chest and dont take a second look?
When you need me am i there?
Or am i like you and turn my back and walk away like i dont care?
Is it really that hard to keep my stare?
Or is it because you feel bad that nothing is fair ?
Do you see nothing but black when you look into my eyes?
Or maybe a faint flicker of light from the tear that might slip from all the lie

Langston Hughes a Hero

Why Langston Hughes is a hero. 

1. He was a positive leader

2. He did something to make the world a better place; he did not wait around for the world to create a better place for him.

3. He struggled through most of life, but he always found the best in it.

4. In the midst of troubles and struggles he found humor.

5. He worked hard for his happiness. 

Langston Hughes video

Dreams Deferred

Harlem or Dreams Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

By Langston Hughes

Nike commercial