Teen Poetry Workshop at the Cupertino Library

Thursday night, April 9, my friend David Perez (current Santa Clara County Poet Laureate) and I taught a workshop at the Cupertino Library.

 
It was advertized to teens in the area, and before the event, 10 per-registered! That's pretty good in our sometimes-not-so-poetry-crazy town. Rock on teens, rock on Cupertino Library and Teen Librarian Matt Lorenzo.

The night of the event, three kids showed up. That's not what we hoped, but you know what, we had a great time. We had a tight, intimate group, the kids were engaged and loved the exercises and discussions. I warmed them up with a color lesson to get their observational senses working. David continued the evening with a lesson focused on James Wright's poem, "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota."

And they wrote! The kids wrote amazing poems. Each student chose one poem they liked the best and David typed them up.

You can read the poems on David's SCC PL website, here: http://poetlaureateblog.org/workshops/ and I have reproduced them here, as well. David and I are very grateful to these students' parents for permission to post these poems.


UNTITLED
by Priscilla Widjaja 

The tired sun is setting

the nervous stars jumping to life

the clouds are drifting among

frolicking away, in this abyss of color

On top of the hill where the grass is green
the willow tree casts its shadow
I stand underneath, reaching out

as the blanket

of night settles

the world is asleep now

And, I am finally

here.

---

UNTITLED
by David Ke

From the truck, I grasp my tools
Marching cautiously around the spots
The rain splattering down as we swung and shoveled
All around my friends sweating
Someone talks and shouts
then explodes into laughter
Exposed a gecko behind a waving leaf
wet and blazing orange it lay
finish working, the rain exhausted

---

POWERLESS STARGAZING
by Anantajit

The black room
Blinds scale walls
Tiny lamps leap inside
Now blue-like room
Stars wink jokingly
brighten up
the four walls
Outside lights are none
Chilly, soundless, settled path
Sleep hunches over all
The sudden flash of light
Stars flee
as room is lit

Shut away from our shelter
by wall of shiny sheets
Sadly remain outside
The power returns
I am blinking