CELEBRATING OUR VERY OWN POET ON WORLD POETRY DAY
Today, March 21, is World Poetry Day! Every year on March 21 we celebrate the unique capacity that poetry has to capture a message. This day promotes the study of poetry in schools, reinforces the connection between poetry and the other arts, and encourages young and old to take a hand in writing poetry.
To celebrate World Poetry Day, we asked one of our youth in Alternatives for Youth (AFY) to write us a poem. AFY diverts troubled youth from the juvenile justice system by providing immediate, home-based crisis intervention. The program provides support for both the child and the family, and provides youth with a Peer Specialist who will guide them towards positive actions. AFY has over a 90% success rate in diverting the youth who complete the program from the juvenile justice system.
We’d like to share with you this freestyle poem written by Robert, an AFY participant. Happy World Poetry Day, everyone!
This is for AFY
I love that program, Yo AFY listen
Ima start doing my books, start getting my math straight
Tryna get the work straight
Tryna do everything I can do
Because you helped me, Ya’ll helped me to be the man that I am
Be better than what I was before
Try to get the cars, and charges and Porsche
You already know AFY
You trying help me get the lambo
Hotter than the space, outer, outer, outer space
You already know that I’m hot, you know that ima drop that label
I be ju ju’in on this beat, this beat is nice
You know AFY, thank you for all you did for me when I was just bad
Now I’m in class learning, learning what I was not learning before
Now I’m in store, now I’m just coping everything at the store
Now I’m just getting everything that I wanted, roley watch and all the shoes that I wanted
Rockin’ designer that I always wanted
I’m always on top just like the planet
That didn’t make sense though
Ready I’m nice though
Before I was thinking’ bout all this stuff
Now it’s coming all true
Putting that work in put that work in
Put the work in, that’s what you going’ get back, right?
Everybody said that now I’m going to get that
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Sarah Muller is the Development & Marketing Assistant for EAC Network. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in English.
