How can you love someone that does not love you? I ask the question why? All I got was a sigh, still no reason why You have two sides of your personality and I hate the mean side! Boys of always
BLOSSOM REVIEW
get on my nerves I save the buttons that fall off
Winter 2002/03
my youth seem to my shirt.
Disinfected wipes kills 99.9% of bacteria right? My name means affectionate child, True Believer, and the Gift My skin is the color of chocolate or fudge Every time I read the newspaper, I read about somebody getting killed I wear it on my skin like sweat During Midsummer nights, I dream. I dream of little kids jumping rope, playing tag and baby dolls. I am a 14 year old Scorpio with dark brown eyes and It’s bad enough statistics put our black youth down Does that mean we have to prove them right? My house became the House of spirits I was thinking that you better get to know Us cause we’re the future I really didn’t want him to leave but I sat there frontin like everything was okay Why? Because I’m a phenomenal woman! The tears I cry are bitter and warm They flow with life but take no form The power of the wind can chill I save pennies, pictures and Love And the feathers of a Dove How can you love someone that does not love you? I ask the question why? All I got was a sigh, still no reason why You have two sides of your personality and I hate the mean side! Boys of my youth always seem to get on my nerves I save the buttons that fall off my shirt. Disinfected wipes kills 99.9% of bacteria right? My name means affectionate child, True Believer, and the Gift My skin is the color of chocolate or fudge Every time I read the newspaper, I read about somebody getting killed I wear it on my skin like sweat During Midsummer nights, I dream. I dream of little kids jumping rope, playing tag and baby dolls. I am a 14 year old Scorpio with dark brown eyes and It’s bad enough statistics put our black youth down Does that mean we have to prove them right? My house became the House of
NY Writers Coalition Press 1 spirits I was thinking that you better get to know Us cause we’re the future I really didn’t
Blossom Review Winter 2002/03
NY Writers Coalition Press
Copryright Š 2003 NY Writers Coalition Inc. Upon publication, copyright to individual works returns to the authors. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Editors: Jackie Glasthal and Susanna Schrobsdorff Layout: Aaron Zimmerman Blossom Review contains writing by the Winter 2002/03 members of Blossom Writers, a creative writing workshop conducted by NY Writers Coalition Inc. All of the workshop members participated in the Blossom Program for Girls, a program for girls aged 12-18 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn run by Youth Empowerment Mission Inc. NY Writers Coalition Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that provides free and low-cost creative writing workshops throughout New York City for people from groups that have been historically deprived of voice in our society. For more information about NY Writers Coalition Inc.: NY Writers Coalition Inc. 78 Eighth Avemue, #2E Brooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 783-8088 info@nywriterscoalition.org www.nywriterscoalition.org Youth Empowerment Mission Inc. provides youth services and empowerment workshops to young people throughout Brooklyn who are at high risk for gang involvement and delinquency. For more information about Youth Empowerment Mission Inc.: Youth Empowerment Mission Inc. 54 MacDonough Street, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11216 (718) 857-2447
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Introduction Within the essays, poems, and stories that follow you will find 12 young women with strong, vibrant voices. Read on and get to know them the way we did - via their words. These girls do not step hesitantly around difficult topics, they dive into them with eyes open and hearts wide. They map the beauty and the cruelty that we find around us and the results are breathtaking. To do this, to be honest and true to your subject is what every reader asks of a writer and the girls of the Blossom Program have not let their audience down. The writing workshops where many of these pieces were created were held on Thursday afternoons at the Blossom Program for Girls’ center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It was late in the week and the girls came straight from a long day at school. At first they were tired and more concerned with getting some food than they were with writing which was something that sounded a lot like homework. But within a few weeks, they coalesced into a group where any one of them could write about anything and they would be met with respect and enthusiasm. The workshop began to be filled with moments of connection when the room was quiet and a single brave voice was saying something that had never been said in that way before. Being included in this circle of trust as workshop leaders continues to be a privilege for us. As we 5
listen and write with these women each week, we too learn about expressing ourselves and about the things that bind us to each other in this chaotic city. We’d like to thank Aaron Zimmerman who has led us down this beautiful path, NY Writers Coalition, Isis Sapp-Grant, Nubia Leshawn, Maisha Sapp, Elizabeth Cartegena and everyone at The Blossom Program for Girls. Most importantly, we thank our fellow writers at Blossom. You need only to read these pages to see that these young people have the strength and the imagination to go where ever their aspirations lead them. We hope that they take their notebooks with them because we’re sure it will be an amazing journey. Jackie Glasthal and Susanna Schrobsdorff January, 2003
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I SAVE Tiffany “Tweety Bird� Brown I save pennies, pictures and Love And the feathers of a Dove I save the clothing, smell and Taste But never let food go to waste I save feelings, memories and Looks But it was the love he Took! We shared, cared and Loved each Other And we will never have Another
DISINFECTED WIPES Djenaba Hanifah Dekattu Disinfected wipes kills 99.9% of bacteria right? I beg to differ. I have bacteria. Their names are Tamara and Shatemia. If I was to put these wipes on them will it kill them, not physically but in essence? Erase their existing from my memory or are all the commercials and hype a lie: that they can't kill germs. Not the germ itself but the idea of germs, I mean can you even see germs? No right? Okay then, just keep thinking they are gone; block them out of your memory. Just like I did with my two germs. Even if they are still living their essence has died weeks ago and no I did not attend the funeral.
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L.P.C.S.G.A. Djenaba Hanifah Dekattu Life What is Life? Is it just a meaning less amount of time that we are meant to be here on Earth? Power What is power? Is it meant only for the rude & crude rich white people to have and hold although they don’t always use it to help those in need? Courage What is courage? When are you courageous? When you climb up a tree to save a cat? Of course not, what do I really look like to you? Strong What does it mean to be strong? Do you have to stand up to the people you are afraid of? Gangsta What does it mean to be a gangsta? Must you live in the projects? Have a gun? Bust a cap in someone’s a— to get respect? I don’t think so! 8
America What is America? The United States of B.S.! This country is made up of money & power. Our President is a puppet and this country is just so mean to me, the minority. I already have 2 strikes against me; I am black and female. But one thing is for sure, I have an Education!
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ME Djenaba Hanifah Dekattu My Name is Djenaba Hanifah Dekattu My Friends call me Dje My teachers call me Djenaba My mom calls me Dje also My father calls me Baby Girl My friend Deshawn calls me D.J. My friend Omari calls me D.J.E. My name means affectionate child, True Believer, and the Gift My eyes are dark brown like my parents My skin is the color of chocolate or fudge My style is how ever I feel that day My hair is short and wild My personality is positive My attitude can be sweet in pleasant My room is my get away My phone is my way of bringing the outside inside My music is me My friends and I are alike in many ways My family’s opinion is one that I cherish This is who I am! Any Problems?
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WHAT! Loreal Nate Dekattu My name is Loreal Nate Dekattu, What! I am a 14 year old Scorpio with dark brown eyes and mahogany skin, in other words I was born a chocolate baby, What! Yeah, I said it, I was born a chocolate baby, What! Does the complexion of my skin bother you? What! Is there a f----- problem because I am not your average light skinned chick with big breasts, hazel eyes and long hair? Well if my chocolate skin is bothering you that is too damn bad! I am confident in my chocolateness! You just mad because your man looks at me, and he likes what he sees, he likes chocolate‌What!
Boys in My Hood Loreal Nate Dekattu Boys in my hood are killing, stabbing, joining gangs and being incarcerated. It’s bad enough statistics put our black youth down Does that mean we have to prove them right? Boys in my hood are making babies and not taking care of them. The Boys in my Hood have to realize that they are hurting their own brothers and sisters. They are proving the statistics! 11
I MISS HIM BECAUSE… Shekinah Foster I was in love… I really didn’t want him to leave but I sat there frontin like everything was okay Then he walked out the door… I began to laugh, I told myself that I would sit here and wait for a couple of minutes, and he will come running back through the door and apologize like usual… But, slowly those couple of minutes turned into a couple of hours I finally realized that I need to get my stupid ass off this couch and go find my man… I began walking outside to look for him… As I turned the corner, I see two ambulances… I run to see what was going on and there I found my man lying on the floor dead… with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates in his hand… I miss him because I never got to say how much, I LOVED HIM…
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LOVE PAIN Amanda Headley How can you love someone that does not love you? How can you carry-on from dusk to dawn.? How strong is your will to bare the pain? How long will your heart maintain the shame? Oh God please take this love from my heart. No longer do I want to cry out from the pain of love. No longer do I want to feel this Love Pain.
HOW CAN U? Amanda Headley How can you let us go? I don’t know why you can’t let us be! I can’t see; so much invested I must protest! As problems occur you expect me to endure the effect of the problem. I ask the question why? All I got was a sigh, still no reason why… I hold back my tears in so many ways, everyday I seem so blue what did I do to you? The nights seem so dark; you put the flame out of my heart. No longer can I be blinded by reality. So many months we build, in one day you killed, I was all your will. 13
I WAS THINKING THAT U BETTER Nadia Ince-Parris Realize who I am I am Nadia Some one that never frowns Some one nice and brown Some one who has fun Rather you’re around I was thinking that you better Accept us Cause you was just found We were always around I was thinking that you better get to know Us cause we’re the future And you might need us Uhhhhhh I was thinking that you better not Play us cause we’re cool so don’t turn against us
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I SAVE Desjeune (Nay Nay) Knight I save, a cat in a tree… Sometimes money, I save time by rushing. I save the buttons that fall off my shirt. I save memories… The times me and my family get together, the special holidays, Timberland boxes I save the memory of my first boyfriend… My first French kiss. I save what ever is special to me… that is what I save!
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN Marcya Knight A Tree Grows In Brooklyn… Since I was born I lived in Brooklyn. I thought it was strange because everywhere I went looked different. One sound that will never leave my mind… Is the shooting, I got so used to it, the sounds made me fall asleep. My house became the House of spirits, the noises in the walls, the banging made me sick! I got sick and tired of those sounds. But, when you go outside you hear the sound of basketballs bouncing, the jump ropes and the children laughing. You see people kissing and hugging on the streets you see love. A tree grows in Brooklyn, that tree is me! 15
MEMORIES Isis Lee Memories, Memories, Memories… They truly don’t live like people do Memories live on and on But sadly, people die everyday Memories, Memories, Memories… A Memory is put in my mind everyday Every time I read the newspaper, I read about somebody getting killed Memories, Memories, Memories… My cousin asked me what is the difference I said a good memory is someone being born A bad memory is someone getting killed Memories, Memories, Memories… All I have to say about my Memories, Memories, Memories Is that I love every Good and Bad Memory, Memory, Memory Dedicated to all of My Cousins, Born and Unborn
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SEXY SUMMER SITUATIONS Jessica Ragin My late summer situations are sexy Hot is my passion I wear it on my skin like sweat Beautiful am I. My inviting hips and beautiful thick lips My enticing Brown eyes with shining glowing things My taste like wine because I know I’m a dime!
MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM Jessica Ragin During Midsummer nights, I dream. I dream of little kids jumping rope, playing tag and baby dolls. The sound of the ice cream truck kids getting all dirty and sticky. The bright yellow sun shining, the colors of a rainbow. The shadows out of the dark while the kids ride their bikes.
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BOYS OF MY YOUTH Bettina Selver Boys of my youth always seem to get on my nerves Except my boyfriend well, sometimes I feel boys don’t act their age They act really immature and they be like 16 years old acting like they are 4! I hate when they try to holla at you looking like a bum and aint got no game! Also, when niggas pull up in a busted car and be fat, that just really pisses me off! But when it is a cute guy pulls up and they be like 25 years old… “ill” trying to holla at me a 14 year old!
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AS YOU LIKE IT Bettina Selver As you like it… I was willing to give you whatever you wanted and try my best to do it You gave me money and I gave you money that’s what made me feel that you really cared about me… You are a Gemini and that explains it all. You have two sides of your personality and I hate the mean side! When I was with you it felt like I was in Paradise When you broke up with me it felt like my world was Black
PARADISE LOST Simone Thompson Paradise for me was me and him together forever, having kids together living happy no worries. I’ll be his world and he’ll be mine. But, my paradise was lost when he broke my heart. The day he walked away from my paradise it rained outside, but it wasn’t my tears. It was tears from cupid’s eyes. But, my paradise isn’t lost anymore. It took me awhile to realize that I can go to paradise and back by myself! Why? Because I’m a phenomenal woman! 19
SOMETIMES I CRY Simone Thompson Sometimes I cry when I’m alone I cry because I’m on my own The tears I cry are bitter and warm They flow with life but take no form I cry because my heart is torn And I find it difficult to carry on If I had an ear to confide in, I would cry among my treasured friends But who do you know of that stops That long to help another carry on? The world moves fast, and it would rather pass You by than to stop and see what makes you cry. It is painful and sad, and sometimes I cry, and no one cares why
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THE POWER OF A SMILE Simone Thompson To my mother Elizabeth... Smile a little The power of a gun can kill, and The power of a fire can burn The power of the wind can chill And the power of the mind can learn The power of anger can rage inside Until it tears it apart But the power of a smile‌ especially yours, Can heal a broken heart
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How can you love someone that does not love you? I ask the question why? All I got was a sigh, still no reason why You have two sides of your personality and I hate the mean side!
Tiffany Brown
Boys of my youth always seem to get on my nerves I save the buttons that fall off my shirt. Disinfected wipes kills 99.9% of bacteria right? My name means affectionate child, True
Djenaba Hanifah Dekattu
Believer, and the Gift My skin is the color of chocolate or fudge Every time I read the newspaper, I read about somebody getting killed I wear it on my skin like sweat During
Loreal Nate Dekattu
Midsummer nights, I dream. I dream of little kids jumping rope, playing tag and baby dolls. am a 14 year old Scorpio with dark brown eyes and It’s bad enough statistics put our black
Shekinah Foster
youth down Does that mean we have to prove them right? My house became the House of spirits I was thinking that you better get to know Us cause we’re the future I really didn’t
Amanda Headley
want him to leave but I sat there frontin like everything was okay Why? Because I’m a phenomenal woman! The tears I cry are bitter and warm They flow with life but take no
Nadia Ince-Parris
form The power of the wind can chill I save pennies, pictures and Love And the feathers of a
Dove How can you love someone that does not love you? I ask the question why? All I got
Desjeune Knight
was a sigh, still no reason why You have two sides of your personality and I hate the mean
side! Boys of my youth always seem to get on my nerves I save the buttons that fall off my
Marcya Knight
shirt. Disinfected wipes kills 99.9% of bacteria right? My name means affectionate child, True Believer, and the Gift My skin is the color of chocolate or fudge Every time I read the
Isis Lee
newspaper, I read about somebody getting killed I wear it on my skin like sweat During Midsummer nights, I dream. I dream of little kids jumping rope, playing tag and baby dolls.
Jessica Ragin
am a 14 year old Scorpio with dark brown eyes and It’s bad enough statistics put our black
Bettina Selver
youth down Does that mean we have to prove them right? My house became the House of spirits I was thinking that you better get to know Us cause we’re the future I really didn’t
Simone Thompson
want him to leave but I sat there frontin like everything was okay Why? Because I’m a
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phenomenal woman! The tears I cry are bitter and warm They flow with life but take no
form The power of the wind can chill I save pennies, pictures and Love And the feathers of a