so-called whisper
Please join us for the release party for
So-Called Whisper
Vol. 4 of the literary magazine of Burke High School LILA’s Poets in the Schools
2 – 3 pm, Fri. May 14, Burke High Auditorium.
Readings by students and a special announcement from Penguin books.
Reception/book signing to follow.
“These workshops helped change the school’s image and the community’s opinion about Burke.”
-Dasaray Fyall, Senior
“Studying poetry has made me look and things one way and then shift to a different ending.”
-Tramaine Jeffcoat, Senior
“I remember the first time I saw some of my work in the first book we did in 9th grade…I felt honored to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
-Keyona Grant, Senior
LILA’s Poets in the Schools started with two local writers leading workshops in four ninth grade classes. The program has grown to seven writers, ranging from recent college graduates to the poet laureate of South Carolina, working with nine English classes in ninth, tenth, and twelfth grades.
here’s a taste of vol. 4:
Grandmama was a triggered pistol.
Granddaddy a red tassel nestled in Psalms.
Sunday mornings a battle roared
through periwinkle hallways,
“You’re stupid!” was followed by
“Bless your heart.”
Mama was a slice of dark chocolate.
Papi was a slice of naranja.
Carter Nuñez, sophomore
I am from a love that got me here today.
I am from Zabian Lashawn Rivers and Tony Melvin Heyward.
I am from the Eastside.
I am from a kind heart.
I am from the kids fighting on Mall Park.
I am from the pole with the green that has the words Aiken and Columbus.
I am from the beautiful summer day of the 13th of
August, 1991.
I am from the intelligent person that my mama raised
me to be.
I am from being disobedient, immature, and
dishonest.
I am from side ponytails, khaki pants, and white shirts.
Toni Rivers
Wasted
Red
Kool-Aid
On the brand
New white rug
Looks like
Blood shots
In a
Sick person’s eye.
Demetria Doctor
The brown makes me feel like my chocolate pudding
is up to no good.
Blue is serene like the birth of a bird.
Tan is stuck between being sweet and light or dark
and angry.
Lavender is Baby Bop’s reason for being the only
dinosaur without plastic surgery.
Red is the angry warden and all other colors are on
lock down.
Purple is red’s mother and she isn’t very pleased by
his behavior.
Yellow is the playful dog that greets his master when
they enter the home.
Pink is the sneaky little boy who sets things on fire.
Ariona Moten
#####
KISSING A BITING SPIDER
We are proud to carry Kissing a Biting Spider, vol. 3 of the Burke High School literary magazine, part of LILA’s Poets in the Schools. (Suggested donation: $15). This book is the result of workshops that Blue Bicycle Books owner Jonathan Sanchez led in the fall of 08, along with local poets Keverlee Burchett and Richard Garcia at downtown Charleston’s only public high school.
Here’s a taste of some of the many great lines:
“I remember seeing flooded streets after a Friday rainfall.”
“I remember my father’s house burning down, and thinking, ‘Do I have to pay for my textbooks that were inside?’”
“I believe in sandwiches because the layers of bread are like the stress I’m building inside.”
“I believe in mild-mannered teachers.”
“I kissed a biting spider.”
a few poems:
A Banana Poem
I am nasty, smushy, yellowy, smelly,
squishy, yucky, sucky, mucky, smucky.
You don’t want to eat me.
I am just too nasty.
I stink, I have a bad aftertaste.
I’m squishy in your mouth.
Who would want to eat something so sick?
Eat me and you will die. It’s your decision.
If I were you, I would choose life.
But on the other hand
If you want a yucky, smelly, yellowy slug in your mouth
By all means eat me but watch out for my guts
That will squish in your mouth
Like little maggots
Swimming in the world’s slimiest slime.
Makes you sick, huh?
Remember me as your mouth’s worst nightmare!
Etalii Edwards
The Dark Black Side of Me (inspired by Portrait of Madame Gautreau)
Author’s note: The story is based on a painting of a young lady in a nanny green dress holding something in her hand. The story makes you picture that you were there. You did the killing. You were the innocent people.
Her name is Olivia and it is a Sunday. A long, rainy day. She was just home cleaning up the house, listening to ‘Take You Down’ by Chris Brown. She is a very, very, very, dangerous person and she has already killed like five people in the past month. She is holding a big, long knife. Maybe she is thinking about killing somebody. As a matter of fact, she’s thinking about killing your momma, your daddy, granddaddy, grandma, and your grandpa, your whole family.
The question is, Why? Why does she want to kill such an innocent family who don’t bother anybody?
Maybe they are in a house of hers and she wants it back. She looks so evil, wearing her long nanny green dress looking so innocent. Her hair is pinned up, so when she kills people she couldn’t leave any evidence behind. But, later down the line, she went to the people’s house and acted like she was the inspector, so that she can get more information about them and plot out their death plan.
Akela Wilson
Banana and Orange Forever
Sitting in the bowl next to him
He’s so round and orange
Sweet with a side of tangy
We belong together like Mariah and Nick
Will he ever notice me?
Will we ever become one?
Wait!!!!
I’m not ready
How do I look?
That really doesn’t matter
The knife cuts me then him
Into the bowl we go together
Finally becoming one
Not a care in the world
He finally asks my name
Cindy Banana I reply
And then when things start getting good
Molly, Holly, and Polly
The Cherry Triplets
Come and ruin everything
They are so Jello!
I really hate them
They’re so…
Owwww…
What was that?
It’s dark in here
Where’s orange?!?!
Going down this long tunnel
Too bad…
“Banana and Orange forever!”
Isheka Dixon
[A Chinese Menu Poem]
This is a tale of a marvelous place
Where the fires burn and the chefs just pace.
I’ll tell you a tale but you must pay attention
To the Chen’s Bistro Special’s own little convention.
Well, Pepper Steak was with onion
And they were soaking in a pot.
The chicken said to corn, “Let’s go soup a little.”
Shrimp and his little brother Fin Tail
Were running around screaming,
“Pupu Platter, Pupu Platter.”
Moo Goo and Gai Pan told Young Zhou,
“Dude, we just totally roasted Duck.”
They got caught and were sentenced
To the Szechuan combination.
But they escaped from their holding spot in Mongolian Beef.
They and Egg tried o get into The Oven,
The hottest spot in the kitchen
But the Pot Stickers said no.
They asked why, and the Stickers said,
“Egg is Foo Young.”
Ryszard Young YRT
The Day Kung Pao Died
I was walking down the Snow Peas when the Steamed Broccoli jumped out with numchucks. I looked on his shirt and saw he worked for Take Out. So I drew my Chicken Wings and screamed, “Shrimp dinner!” as I charged to the little Curry Beef. Soon as I ran, Pow! He kicked out my BBQ ribs. It felt like Fried Onion Rings.
So, I gave him an Egg Drop Soup to the head. My friend, Sesame Chicken the Third came out of the bushes and said, “Hot and Spicy delightful and appetizing. We cater the spice according to your taste, No MSG used in our Kung Fu.”
The Shrimp Lo Mein whipped out a Pepper Steak and started shooting Orange Chicken everywhere. I was scared, so I started to climb the Great Wall. As soon as I got to the top, I got slapped in the face with an egg roll and fell down.
Tinesha Lance
My name is Jamilla.
I like to jam to jazz.
My head feels like some one
is juggling with it. My favorite
jellybean is jelly.
I drink Juicy Juice with 7-up.
Joe, my cousin
loves jelly in a plastic jar.
I feel real jazzy with my
cute jacket with the binging
jewelry for design.
I feel jubilant, I want to watch
Jeopardy but my jejune brother
John is acting jokey. He is full
of joy but I’m feeling joyless.
My head is a jumble because
of the hard junk on Jeopardy.
My jackass uncle held a jackknife
at my school mother
because she jammed his finger
in the journal. She was jotting
jaundice stuff so she jabbed him
in the joint. I started to have
jocularity because I felt joyful.
Jamilla Dickerson
L
Hi, my name is Letha
I love to laugh.
I am also loveable and lazy.
I love Louis Vuitton.
My favorite subject is lunch.
I have looked at lilies
in a line on a log
next to a lake leveled
on a lane.
I use logic to open my locker.
My locker is on the second floor.
I did a long jump in P.E.
I hate lumpy milk.
I hang out in a teen lounge.
My middle name is LaShea.
I placed a label on my fold.
I lost a game playing Uno.
I hate lame losers who don’t share.
Letha Bailey
Fussing Blues
Woke up this morning Aunty screamin again
Woke up this morning Aunty screamin again
But damn I don’t want to hear this I ain’t playing
Smiling on the inside, but angry on the out
Cause truthfully I don’t know what dis is all about
So instead of being yelled at I open my mouth
Sayin are you finished cause your morning breath is leaking out.
Derrick Frasier
I remember the first time I heard my little sister kicking in my mother’s stomach.
I remember the day my nephew was born.
I remember walking in my grandmother’s house Sunday after church and smelling Sunday dinner.
I remember my aunt coming to pick me up in the morning and shopping all day.
I remember my first trip to Atlanta.
I remember Christmas morning waking up with my cousins and the living room filled from front to back.
I remember Saturday nights at Stardust Skating Rink.
I remember playing double-dutch in the yard with my friends and cousins.
I remember playing Red Light, Green Light and Mother May I in the warm sunlight.
I remember telling scary stories at night in the park with my older sister.
I remember going to my aunt’s funeral and seeing every face with tears.
I remember playing with my sisters and daddy in the park, laughing and having fun.
I remember the last time I saw him.
Jessica Watson
Ode to a Burger
I have a burger for a boyfriend.
Greasy and sticky. Yeah I’m very picky
with my burgers.
Craving for McDonalds and Burger King
Every morning I wake up and sing,
“Oh how I love my burgers.”
Some people say it’s weird, but they
can kiss my burger feet meat.
People going to hate off the love I got
For my burger, but nothing
can come between our bread and our cheese.
He’s the ketchup packet and I’m the mustard.
I know this love is real.
Shawnicqua Hanna
I brought twelve dogs into your house and they peed on everything.
I thought I could teach them poker.
Please forgive me for what I did. I gave your car to some Mexicans so they could pimp your ride. Your car is gone but look at the bright side, at least your windows are clean.
Forgive me, for I know no better. I stuffed a stress ball in your cow’s mouth and it died. It’s not my fault, you told me it had mad cow disease.
I’m sorry your girlfriend broke up with you and came to me because you have a hunchback. She told me she couldn’t stay with you because you couldn’t be straight up with her.
Justin Walton YRT
Ode to Pork ‘n Beans
You are always what you seem like
Your taste hurts me
I don’t care
You can make me wait
as long as you want. Just don’t starve
me. Dying for you is true because
you taste it like a heart. (It’s true.)
Your skin is so brown
that it waters my eyes
but somehow I would wanna
cry. Your smell makes me
pass out. You make me think
of my daddy. When something’s
wrong you give advice that solves my
problems.
When I need you, you’re there.
If I’m down you pick me up.
Your skin tone reminds me of
my dad, so light colored.
You being so soft reminds
me of his feelings. They don’t
want to be hurt.
Jarysse Hamilton
Where I Go When I Am Happy
I’m going to a place when it’s summer 24/7. I going
to a place where I’m alone. I’m going to a place
where I can do what I please at anytime. I’m
going to a place where it will never rain or get
cold.
I hear a dog barking and birds singing. I hear
lions roaring and waves moving.
Since nobody can see me, I dance.
My happiness is the color of my heart.
Jamal Baldwin
The Big Yellow
I lumpy and yellow
ugly gross
large and hollow
green streaks long way to grow
II looks like a musket
from the Civil War
confederate soldiers
III It’s a person’s face that has broken out in hives
IV It’s a piece of moldy cheese in a dumpster that an
angry chef put there.
V It looks like an instrument from the African dance, in Africa at a celebration
or
VI At the Moja Arts festival white people are dancing.
Le’tia Wright
Q. What is a Dog
A. Skin with no bones
Q. What is the leg
A. Inside of my room
Q. What are the lips
A. two pink smooth pillows
Q. What are two shoes
A. two people making love
Q. What is the computer
A. two men making sites
Q. What are clocks
A. A time out
Q. What is a window
A. Something you can see through to get out Ms. Brady’s class
Q. What is a door
A. A walkway entrance to another room
Q. What is a wall
A. A hardcore item
Quinten Williams