Reading Room

Beat the Odds

Jennifer Ballard (TAB South II family shelter)

From where I sit, what I see is…
A chance for me and my baby.
To beat the odds.
Go on with our life.
Letting nothing stop us.
Doing what it takes to make it out there in society.
Being the best single parent I can see.
Making a strong Black man out of my son.
Letting him know he can do all things.
He don’t have to make the same mistake I made.

 

As I Feel My Way

Rekeyia Adams (It Takes A Village family shelter)

As I feel my way down the  hall,
My stomach drops,
As I smell the odor of unsuccess,
And taste the stress as it falls from my hair.
My life looks completely dark from where I stand.
Everyone was just gathered around,
We were getting ready to taste…
As I sat up in my bed, I realized it was all a…
Dream.

 

The name of my poem is called: “My Poem”

Author & Shelter Unknown

Just like the caged bird sings, I leap, I leap, I leap for hope, I leap, I leap, I leap for joy.  I leap for happiness that brings me to my feet when all of my sorrow is gone. There I will be leaping.

 

Truth

Ramsey (TAB South I)

Hi! My name is “Truth.”

I’m always around.
But sometimes I’m hidden.
And sometimes I’m a little bent out of shape.
I have a relative named “Lie.”

But it only comes around when I’m out of town.
When I get back home, “Lie” has my home in shambles.
So it’s up to me, “Truth,” to put everything back in order.

Depending on the damage “Lie” has done let’s me know how much work I have to do.
After I’ve straightened out “Lie,” my world is at peace again.

 

Senses

Author & Shelter Unknown

Lately I’ve been trying to forget I have senses, it feels like – my senses are more than I can take.  The cold bites right through my coat when I sleep outside, I eat without being hungry and try not to taste my food.  It seems like all I’m touching are the slimy old bits of vegetable that get stuck in the drain of my sink.  I guess what I’m saying is that I need spring.  I need spring outside – warmth and light that don’t just disappear overnight – and I need to let it be spring for my senses.  I think maybe I need to pause in my life, so they can see, taste, touch smell and hear some beauty in the world.

 

Future, Past

Ashanti Williams (TAB South II) 

(Future)
In the future
My heart will be happy
Clapping and humming songs of joy
No longer paranoid, annoyed, or just sore
My bank account?
Oh so serious – neva poor
Closet looking like a foot locker store
My kids – so famous – so rich

(Past)
That pain from when I was four
Daddy best friend knocking at my door
Or should I say busting in.
That was then
I was ten
Twenty-five now.
Twenty-five reasons how, why?
My life makes me feel high
My five month old and four year old
Can believe what they’re told
Precious, ambitious, religious and safe
From predators and those fakes
Keep your head up now
Say yes to Mom and no to drugs
No to thugs and yes to love
Love you
Love me
And be…….? Only God knows.

 

Lonesome

Author Unknown (It Takes a Village)

The first thing about being lonely is that you think it’s something you can control with positive thinking.  You think: I’ll just fill this time I have to myself.  You think: I can take care of myself.  But when you’ve convinced yourself that you’re really not lonesome at all – that you’re all the company you need, ever – I advise you to watch yourself.  Walking around, you’ll start having elaborate conversations with yourself, speaking aloud in funny fits and starts.  When you go out in public, you’ll feel scorched by the presence of other people. Their eyes see you. Even if they aren’t exactly noticing you, you think you have become a part of their lives.  You try to imagine yourself, and find that you can’t.

And then you are so lonesome you want to break.

Downtown

Qwanda Kelly (TAB South II)

Downtown smells like food and gas and people walk in the summer moon.
No help no people no snow in the rain no more fall people.
I watch the dogs fall from the branch, oh, cat.

Double Minded Man

By Qwanda Kelly (TAB South II)

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Or is he? One minute you are in love, and the next you are not. Do you want to be wealthy? Maybe not, because the money goes on the stupidest things. Lies are the epitome of you. It’s not the essence of who you could really be.  Are you a good man? Yes, but not really.  A double minded man will stay in confusion. Get it together.

Many a Journey

Lori  (Ubuntu family shelter)

Many a journey we’ve traveled on the road.

As you help me carry life’s load.

You lead my direction and later

You’re part of my reflection.

You listen well, you’ve picked me up when I’ve fell.

You’re not of many words – but all advice heard.

You seem to know what I’m thinking at all times.

“Living in peace divine.”

When I walk looking down, you tell me

“Hold your head up – don’t frown.”

You’re here everyday, consoling in every way.

You’re beautiful to sight, even more so at night.

Precious to me you are because we’ve gone so far.

Sexy, caramel brown, with you I just want to hit the town.

You’re so long and thin, when I look at you I can’t help but grin.

I love the way you shine,

Uhm! You so fine.

You’re so gentle to the touch,

Wow, I love you so much.

With me you walk through the rain, feel my pain.

My tears often shower you

For that I’m sorry, Boo!

Women are jealous of what you do for me.

I tell you, “Let it be.”

As I stare at you, you stare back.

All I can say is haters,“Stop trying to get on my track.”

Even though you wiggle in a funny play,

You’re just perfect in every way.

Nothing but blessings

do I wish to my foes because

“You are my toes.”

Hopefully

Keyvon (It Takes a Village)

Hope is the water that floats the boat of my life. Without hope, my life is the Titanic on the icy sea floor. The sea seems so vast and open, with no relief in sight. It rocks me to sleep on those cold lonely nights. When I am sad, a tear drop can fall into this and disappear. This lets me know hope is always near. When I think of all my problems in life, write them down, fold it into a paper boat and float it out. I hope it floats them away.

Stumped

Sasha Adams (TAB South II)

As I sit here imagining ideas to wite on this blank sheet of paper, I come up with none.

So much that goes on throughout my day, but still I come up with nothing.

Is it that my mind is too cloudy with ideas to pick one, or too empty to come up with one?

Sitting here with nothing to write actually gave me something to write about.

Nothing?
I guess!

The Pain

Sasha Adams (TAB South II)

The pain is real.
Can’t you feel it?
I awaiting someone, something to come and save me.
The pain is real.
Can’t you feel it?
Where is the source of this pain, where does it come from. LOVE.
The pain is real.
Can’t you feel it?
I love you so much it hurts to love you.
My heart is so fragile and I need you to comfort it.
The pain is real.
Can’t you feel it?
Bay, I really can’t be away that long only because our love is way strong.
You tell me that its okay to hurt, but why am I the only one hurting?
The pain is real.
Can’t you feel it?

 

The Big Man

Michelle (Mercy Housing South Loop Apartments)

 

THE BIG MAN

BIGGER THAN EVER.

STRONGER THAN MIGHT.

ABLE THAN ANY MAN THAT WALK.

CAN NO ONE NOT PRAISE THE UPMOST HIGH.

WHAT PROBLEM THAT MAY OCCUR.

THE BIG MAN IS ABLE TO HANDLE.

KEEP A SMILE ON YOUR FACE.

THE SUPREME BEING IS ALWAYS THERE.

KNOW WITH-IN YOUR HEART HE’S

ALL WAYS SMARTER THAN YOU.

 

Delight in the Daylight

Anonymous Author (T.A.B. South)

There’s delight in daylight,

When the devil isn’t at the door.

Full of delirious, delicious dreamer’s talk –

There’s no devotion that wouldn’t be a delight.

Even dying – would I really be so distraught?

I want to drink down my destiny.

Then all this passes.

It turns to night.

I ‘m a diplomat again watching my own life –

The night has dropped down to bewilder me.

 

Faith

LaCretia Reed 

If we have faith in the power that God has given us, and fly like eagles, there’s nothing that we can’t do.  Our ancestors should have convinced us that we are, and always will be, Kings and Queens.

 

Shelter

Latoyrina Carter (T.A.B. South)

The shelter – what is a shelter

Why are we here we ask that question and nobody knows

we come we go but we leave we come we find are on we don’t

but in the end we in up back.

A poem what is a poem I ask why

do we write them what do they mean.

 

Before I Got Here

Kristen (TAB South II)

Before I got here, I was lost
And I was determined to leave there at any cost.
Beyond being out of my mind with confusion,
My life could have been called “the big delusion.”
But now that I’m here, I’m on the right track,
And when I get clouded again, the only answer is to bounce back,
Keep the negativity away, keep a smile on my face.
All the good will fall right into place.
When I finally get there, all I’ll have to do is keep up the steady pace,
And when I look back there, I will have won the race.
Power to Change

Author & Shelter Unknown

If I was given the power to change, I would change their thinking, which controls everything else.  If the thinking changes, conditions change. Like being a good person and caring for others. And when that changes, there’s no end to what to change. And then, a connection is made, harmony is born, and we all are one.

 

Better at the End

Author & Shelter Unknown

There is a lost cold world and lost faces many of tears and fears nowhere to hide from fear nobody to care about the simple emotions. Days become nights and nights become days a place with every step comes a slip or a constant shiver. The pain and intensity of each heartbeat becomes the loss of every hope and dream.  And all the old familiar ways and faces become a far away distance from reality.  From the four seasons to the heart that disbelieved, there can be only joy and hope.  Then, suddenly, rain turns into sunshine and the world takes a smooth rotation – no more rocky roads, no more hidden or forbidden ghost.  The world now doesn’t seem so cold anymore – the rapid warmth of the sun reveals all the treasures of love, hope, and devotion.  Like a fairy tale, it all starts off bad in the beginning, the worst in the middle, and better at the end.
SELECTED WRITING from 2008-2009 Outreach 

 

Haiku

Lita King

Thump tha-thump…palpitations…

I gasp for breath.
The rhythm of the bongo.

Raindrops…warm, flowing

I walk slowly in them. “I can’t!”
They are my tears.

 

Winter

Waltarsha Jackson

You look into sky and mostly all the birds are flying south

You can feel the shakes and shivers like we in the North Pole
Basically ever car headlights are covered with icicles
Many of streets are so slippery
The trees are covered with patterns of white flakes
Children are riding the hills on sleighs and creating
A new frosty
The fireplace keeps sparkling firewood as it blazes arise
Thicker clothes are needed before we go outside –
The excitement of the different color light that shine
in the window or on a tree
The beauty of the cold midnight sky
The twinkle of the frosty stars higher above the earth
The strong sound of the wind twirling and spinning rapidly
The education of what below zero means
The reality of what warmth truly means
All these things occur in the wintertime

Legacies

Felicia Lea

Both of my grandmothers are legacies because they both raised me and my siblings. They taught me how to do everything, as well as my mom, so I guess I see three people as my legacies. I believe everybody has a legacy, whether they are famous or just ordinary people. One of my grandmothers has passed on, God rest her soul, but her legacy lives on through her family and that is my mother’s mother, Willie Ruth Echols. I miss her smile, her touch, her voice, everything. She was one of the best women in my family beside my other grandmother, Sevella Mae Lea, who is still living. God has blessed her with longevity in life. I have been blessed to have her around still. I also still have my mom, Earnestine Thomas. She is my support system when I am down. God bless her. Also I am glad to have been around to share the time and space with them. I just want to say thank you.

 

Dream

ShaRon Jones

I dream that I’m not here.
I dream that all the pain could go away
Also has dreams have never come true
As I sit here dreaming it seem
Like the pain is slowly going away
for yet space for something else to
dream about.
If I could dream about the past,
I’d be a sad person
If I could see the “future” then maybe
all my dreams would be over
If I dream about tomorrow then
what would really happen
But as far as I know dreaming is
for believers & seekers
But for me I just want this dream
to be pain free.

 

Why Is Sorrow My Best Friend

Kristen Jefferson

Why is sorrow my best friend
Every time I look up it’s back again
Why is sorrow my best friend
I blame myself that our relationship ever began
Throwing pity parties for your self is never right
Because trying to look ahead your days won’t be bright
You look forward to sulking, being moody and downright down
What’s the point of walking around with a continuous frown
Why did I ever let sorrow attach itself to me
Because I wanted to be blinded and not properly see
But I’m distancing myself now and trying hard to be strong
And yes I know that this is the way I should’ve been all along
Sunshine is ready to beam down on me
It’s time for me to go ahead and just let it be
Why was sorrow ever my best friend
I can’t really answer that but I’m glad our relationship is about to end

The View

Melissa Benson

From where I sit, what I see is
the world pass me by. The hungry child cry for
more…please may I have some, please.
The single mother sigh…why God why?
Do I have to fight this all alone?
A lost soul trying to find their way home.
In this cold world with no house of my own…
When the sun rises to the east and I
rise to my feet and look at the walls
surrounding me I can’t breathe…
Is this all a dream
or maybe a nightmare. I want to
wake up now but don’t know how.
From where I sit, what I see is the
future in front of me the past
behind and the present a gift
untold.

 

The Next Four Years:  November 5, 2008

Anavia Davidson

What I believe will happen now that Barack Obama is president is that the U.S. will make a big turnaround. Those that thought they wasn’t going to make it in life thinks, and some knows, that they can make it now. The economy is going to be back on track over a period of time, health insurance won’t break us as much, the single parents that doesn’t abuse the system is going to get better assistance, those that want to further their education can go as far as they want to go. The guns is going to vanish. Basically to me now that Obama is president, those that really want to be stable in all aspects of their life, they can, because 11-4-08 we saw change being made and if Obama can work hard, so can we. The harder you strive and work hard, live right, stay stress-free, eat right, treat people in a humble manner, and most of all pray, everything is going to be just fine.

 

Alone in My Space

Mark Jones

I’m having a pity party alone in my space
Tears wet my face
Rick is gone off the line
His heart popped
His body stopped
I feel like I’ve been dropped
Just yesterday I gave him a dollar
I still owe him five
We were friends who started out
Fighting each other
How can you love someone
You didn’t like
Truth is hungry men find ways
To feed themselves
You can’t fight and feed yourself
You can do anything if you have help
Rick and I made money together
Passed money between each other
Worked well together
Now I have to go on without him
Carry him inside me
Make him proud of me
One day I will be with him
Today is not my turn
Tears wet my face
Rick is gone
I’m having a pity party alone in my space

 

Summer Vacation

Tom Haban

Girls wear painted toes, and sandals

Tight blouses and short shorts.

Laughing self-consciously, wishing they

Were older.

 

Older girls, at lunch break from work,

with painted toes and sandals.

Looking at the teenagers and wishing

They were young again.

 

I sit alone, watching everything,

Wishing I was happy.

 

The Day the Masks Fell Off

Tom Haban

I sat down by the ocean, talking

with my wife.

The clouds rolling in had a strange,

purple-ish look.

She smiled at me, and her mouth

was smeared with purple.

Uh-oh, here it comes.

 

I smiled at her, and laughed.

“Why is your mouth all purple?” she asked.

We both laughed, and laughed.

Here it comes.

 

We looked down at the rocks we

were sitting on, and they were breathing.

The snails were laughing at us, wriggling

their little antennas.

Oh no, here it is.

 

We both were laughing so hard, we

tried to get up and go back to our

little hut.

We couldn’t walk, we had to crawl.

When we finally got back inside,

we looked at the floor we

were crawling on and started

laughing.

That was the funniest floor I

had ever seen.

We laughed until our cheeks

were cramped, our eyes burning

with tears of laughter.

We didn’t stop laughing for the

next 12 hours.

 

Summer Vacation

Wesley Hymon

Day dreaming of vacation fun

Packing bags on the run

Thinking – food and soda and gum

Don’t forget the car and the hot sun

Love the thought of summer.

 

Voices

Wesley Hymon

Lost in a house of dreams

A child in dear hearing screams

Looking for life where no one is around

Truly there’s no journey here or abound

But still in his mind, voices.

 

Geleana

Wesley Hymon

Cars in park drive and reverse

I’m riding my bike to get a soda for thirst

Where crowds are in the street on a hot summer day

Sweating from heat trying to pass the time away.

 

Who is Master?

A. Hargrave

Oh little town of no hope

Confederate flags blowing in the wind

Big men sitting in their easy chairs

Sipping their evening beer

Cars alining the street from corner to corner

Waiting for the rally to begin

High up on the hill.

Sits the master of ceremonies

Waiting for the street lights to shine

Oh-oh here comes Andy and Barney

and not too far behind is Opie and Aunt Bee

So I wonder where is Otis!

Ernest T has broken all the

Windows out of the Wax Museum

and laughing all the way out of town

Riding his bike faster and faster

 

Summer Vacation

A. Hargrave

The sun is here, warm temperatures

blue skies. Barbeque on the grill

kids playing baseball. Swimming

Great America, frisbees being tossed

People laughing, loud music.

Happy times are here again!

 

Lost Dreams

Morgan Connard

Lost dreams, Lost dreams

Who would have ever thought that

at such a young age, we would all have

dream to look forward to. Dreams

that all of us want to come true,

I have a dream too. Who sends us

The thought to even think of a

dream? No one will ever know what

a dream is either, lost or found.

Dreams can come true and can be found

Through the eyes, and within the heart.

A lost dream.

 

Sunday Morning

Sylvester Harvey

Reminds me of a street where a young walks familiar with the

surroundings. An odd lady stares down at the crowd from the apartment

above the cafe. The young man is on his way to the  V.F.W. further

down the street where he will meet his father. An

old retired marine. He meets them like clockwork every Sunday morning

to discuss the previous week’s events with fellow veterans.

There’s a sidewalk sale to the cafe, and the young man stops to see

the owner’s wares.

The Wax Museum around the corner is open this morning.

A kid is riding his bike in traffic.

The church bells are ringing. It’s noon.

 

Unfinished

Sylvester Harvey

Love begins, but not completed,

Opportunities missed, knowledge

Of a life started, love just

Stared. The love, the making of

Love, unfinished. To only

Have a chance to finish just

Once.

 

Why do you stare?

Bob Hampton

A small town with a lot of things going on,

The similarities to the differences,

Who cares?

You just stare and stare.

A car on the street,

A boy on his bicycle,

Who cares?

You just stare and stare.

Everything is whole,

Everything is in his place

But who cares?

They just stare and stare.

 

True Feelings

Bob Hampton

Today true feeling is my everything

It gives me good direction. It unfrees

My soul and motivates my mind.

It displays my actions and makes

My wheels turn for a free life

Is this not true feelings?

 

Summer Vacation

Bob Hampton

Summer and vacation are two words. I never earn.

 

Small Town

Byrd

A town small,

Patriot flags,

People enjoying their day,

Old cars along the way,

Street lights for the night,

Many trees of beauty.

 

Unknown

Byrd

Like what makes light shine

Like what makes darkness

Why are there four seasons

Why are there stars in the sky

Why do it rain

Why is there thunder

One seeks the unknown

The answer is somewhere, lost

 

Summer comes but once a year

Yes, it’s vacation time again

Time to enjoy, no worries

A time for no cares

To leave home to be free

 

My View

David McGowan

I look at the building and I see the Wax Museum.

I look at the flag flying and I see people shopping.

I look at the cars parked and I see a boy on a bike.

I look at the street lights. And i see the old building, glowing

I look at the crowd of people and I see many women talking.

 

I look at the crosses on the rooftop and

I see peace in a small town.

 

Seeking

David McGowan

When I think of seeking, I think of finding something that I have

lost! I think of the innocence I once had – I would love to recapture

it, and be worry free. Pleasing myself and others would totally be ok

if seeking goodness was included.

 

Seek

David McGowan

As I seek my true feelings, I do not want to waste time on a lost

dream. The unknown journey I’m going might seem dangerous. And

sometimes I might be sad, but if my journey is unfinished, I will

never find my true feelings.

 

Summer Vacation

David McGowan

Summer vacation was a time when it meant that I could have a complete

week with my loved ones. We would try any and everything they wanted

to do. Summer Vacation was the time of year when my family and I

became one as we ventured out to enjoy life.

 

The Road

William Mormon

Where does it lead

Do we know where the road goes

What’s around the corner

Who’s around the corner

The long stretch of road no one can see,

No one can, here.

Do we really know what’s down the road?

 

Finding My Way Back

William Mormon

Where do I go, what shall I do?

What can I say that will get me back?

Who must I know?

What must I have that will get me back?

 

Why must I try?

Why must I want?

If i can’t find my way back,

All I know is I must continue

To find my way back.

City Sights

Tom Haban

The main street bustles with tourists

They’re smiling grimly, happy but un-happy

They wish they were in Georgetown ,

Seeing the White House

Or in the French Quarter, watching

Some tired old musician fake his way

Through “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In”

For the thousandth time.

 

The old church peeks its head over

The town, watching over everything.

Like it has done for a hundred years.

The windows of the tower are boarded

Up now, like closed eyes.

The church has already seen it all.

 

Maybe next year we should go

To Des Moines and watch the corn grow?

Yes dear, I’d like that.