As they read Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes, my reading students write poems about themselves which they will eventually read in a poetry slam for another class. Two years ago I promised to write and perform a rap about them. Here I am two years later, with a new group of kids, but the poem still applies. I read it to them today. They liked it. They got it.
It's interesting watching them struggle with this. Some get started right away. Others drag their metaphorical heels, saying, "I don't know what to write about." (If I only had a nickel for every time I've heard THAT one!) You can tell when they have found their angle, that thing they want to say about themselves, the thing that maybe they can say, because suddenly they are in a world of words and ideas, and what comes out can be surprisingly good.
It's a journey.
Arrested Development
Slouchin’ in your seat
wearin’ droopy drawers
with your raggedy edges and
caramelchocolatevanilla skin
Your mind is at rest
while you’re failin’ the test
tryin’ to look your best,
but ain’t it a shame.
You got boldness and shyness
fightin’ for control.
You got hope and anxiety
messin’ with your soul.
Can you get it together?
Will you find your best self?
Will you crash and burn
or stay in school and learn?
You got lots of potential
and that’s an essential,
but will your life be bent
by arrested development?
Keep on choosin to stay movin’
And your life can still be groovin’
Just don’t get in your own way.
That’s all I got to say.
by Judy Graham, 2007
