"The
Lady or the Tiger?"
New Ending by Tra-Shawn C
She raised her hand and made a slight, quick movement toward the
right. The princess's lover moved quickly to the right, but for some reason he shifted himself and looked back at the
princess. He took a short, quivering breath and began walking towards the left door. He took a deep breath and
opened it. When he did, the fair maiden appeared from behind the heavy cloaked door. Her glistening eyes sparkled
as she stared at her new husband. Her flawless smile mesmerized the youth, for he now had forgotten all about the princess
in those few seconds.
Then the youth spun around quickly and evilly glared at the
woman that he thought had once loved him. He was brutally brought to his senses with this cruel realization of false
love. He was crushed that the princess could have saved his life, but she didn't. He was livid that
she would let her jealousy get to her and purposely let a savage tiger feast upon him. With those thoughts, he picked
up his prize and carried her off.
A swirling ball of rage began to build up in the pit of the princess's
stomach. However, all she could do now was let the burning tears she had trickle down her flawless, velvet cheeks and
say....I'm sorry my love.
Poetry
Parodies
She wears a mask at school that lies
It hides her arms; no one knows she cries.
Inside she feels so alone with needs
For every cut her arm will bleed.
So in this mask her face she hides
Until the day she hopes she dies.l
-DaZhane G. (January 2012)
How do I bother thee? Let me count the ways.
I bother thee no matter what age or height.
I'll go to your room and break anything in sight.
In front of our parents, I act with poise and grace.
The truth is I bother thee every day.
Some say it's wrong, but it's a brother sister thing.
Right?
-by Elizabeth B. in Block 3
My friend wears the mask which grins and lies
It hides her cheeks and shades her cries
She pays too much attention to what people say
With her bleeding heart, her smile fades away
Her big brown eyes frown
Making her wear the mask that's a clown
-by Nabria A in Block 3
Monster
(rap
by Freddie R and Devan J, 2008)
Let me tell y'all a story
'bout a boy name Steve
It's so messed up
It's hard to believe
Two other boys
Killed Mr. Nesbitt
Now Steve's locked up
Where people
Get their heads kicked
In court his name
Came up again and again
Osvaldo and Bobo
Identified him
When he is in the cell
People always fight
While Steve sits back
And cries at night
Wondering what's gonna
Happen to him
Thinkin' of challenges
Ahead of him
He was judged innocent
By all of the jury
Then he was removed
Of all his fury
His mom and dad
Cried a lot
His life was a race
To beat the clock
People were cryin'
His lawyer thought
He was lyin'
Meanwile every day
Time was flyin'
God
Will Hear
My name is Ismael.
It comes from Spanish and Hebrew.
My name means "God will hear."
Just like God heard my family
When they asked for someone like me.
My name comes from the Bible
And the famous story of Moby Dick.
But the name that fits me best
Would be Ishmael from Moby
Dick
Because he was a good man
And a hero.
To me
My name sounds like a whisper
Of waves on the shore.
I like my name
Because it is unique and
Not many people have it.
If I had the chance to change my name
I wouldn't change it at all.
-by Ismael F. (2008)
Change
I was a lost boy
I remember all of my struggles
I heard many hurtful things
I saw many awful sights
I worried if I was going to live to see the next day
I thought I was a lost cause
But . . . I want to change
I am smart
I think of my past and know that I have to change
I need some help
I try to stay out of trouble
I feel that it finds me
I forgive everyone who did me wrong
Now . . . I can change
I will grow up to be successful
I choose to graduate high school
I dream of being a football star
I hope I get that chance
I predict I will have a good life
I know I will be what I want to be
I will change my life around
-by Kenneth S. (2008)
Polyphemus
Poem
I’m a
giant with no eye
Because it was stabbed by a little guy.
It started when I found the men snooping in
my home
So I locked them in my cave and made sure they never got home.
I
ate a couple of men for dinner, only two at a time
And then washed the flesh and blood down with some good wine.
The wine got me tired and put me to sleep
Until I remembered I had to let out my sheep.
As I start to awaken, I feel a sharp pain
It was a spear shoved in my eye, done by a man without a name.
So I get up screaming as I stand in front of the stone door
Telling myself I wouldn’t let them escape that’s for sure.
After I let out my sheep I didn’t hear the men
I paused for a second and then thought again.
The men had escaped, so I waited to hear because I could not see
All of a sudden I heard voices coming from the sea.
The man started to shout at me, as if he was bad to the bone
So I reached to the ground and grabbed a huge stone.
I threw the stone where the shouting was coming from
So
angry I let them escape with my sheep, how could I be so dumb?
By
Luis R. (2008)
Personal Narratives
I was frozen. I was locked in
my place and unable to will myself to move forward. Furniture was thrown everywhere, photos ripped from the walls, and memories
torn to shreds. I stood in the doorway of my home and silently cried as I looked upon a scene that no child should witness.
My home, the place that was once my mother’s and mine, the place where I grew from a child to a young woman, was destroyed.
When I finally forced my legs to move and walked into the disaster, I burst into a rush of tears that seemed to have no end.
I slowly sank to the floor finally understanding all that had taken place.
Each realization came as quickly as the tears that rolled down my face, and it seemed as though the world had stopped.
I realized that I was too late. Too late to stop the madness that had become my mother's life, too late to turn our home into
everything it once was. I have failed her I thought to myself in that moment. I failed to show her the wrong that she was
doing as I had done so many times before, but then I had another thought. If I could fix the house to the way it should be
then maybe she'd come back home and we could pretend this whole thing never happened.
As quick as lightning, I was on my feet. I began to set the furniture right and pick up broken glass from the floor.
It was then that my father arrived and shook me from the state I was in. As I looked at his face, I was brought back to reality.
He took firm hold of my shoulders as I began to cry and said everything I wasn't ready to hear.
"Your mother has been arrested and the house raided," he said with pained eyes. "You're going to be staying with me now."
He told me to take with me whatever I wanted from the house and put it in the car. We wouldn't be coming back again.
He left me then to do what I needed to and to say goodbye to the life I had had here.
Closing the car door and setting in beside my father, I gave him a look that must have had all my questions written
on it. It must have said how can I go on after this, how can I face the world without the one person who has always been there
for me? He told me that even though it hurts now, I would get through this because I was the strongest of all the people in
the family. Maybe it was the look on his face or the way he said it, but I believed him and it turned out that he was right.
(by Jamie S., February 2006)
"WHERE I AM FROM" POEMS
I am from the place where people
talk the talk and can’t walk the walk
where women sweep outside with
rollers in their hair
where cars blast
music at 6:30 in the morning.
I am from where girls go outside
in their pajamas to the corner store
where long weaves and big earrings
are worn
where boys chill on the corner
and try to be cute.
I am from a school that is
a fashion show
where people are fighting instead
of getting an education
where young men and women blame
others for their mistakes
I am from a warm - but scary
environment.
Where am I from?
TRENTON
By Shanise T
I am from the town of gang
territory.
I am from where you can’t
wear certain colors.
I am also from where people
stand on the corner to get money.
I am from where you have to
watch what you wear.
I am from where girls walk
to the store wearing pajamas.
I am also from where girls
are having babies at a very early age.
I am from where kids are smoking
and drinking to have a good time.
I am from where you have to
have the latest fashion to fit in.
I am from Roca Wear, Baby Phat, Timberland, Akademics, and Nike.
Where I am from you have to
have a chirp to keep in contact and the latest ring tones.
The little town that I am from
has a lot of stuff going on around me
By Zakiyah W
I am from a home where there
aren’t enough beds for everybody –
where the kids don’t
have their homework as their first priority.
I am from a family where my
mom has to work the nightshift –
which means that I have to
be more than an older brother to the kids.
I am from a neighborhood where
the hustlers hustle, from dusk until dawn –
and their kids are getting
baby-sat and raised by their mom.
I am from a city where the
wrong colors are to be feared – where the quiet ones get things done, cause they don’t waste their time talking.
By Derrick L
“The Lady or the Tiger”
(an alternate ending by Irvin J.)
Without
the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right and opened it. The room was pitch black, and it appeared as if
there was no lady or tiger there. Then suddenly, there were two big brown eyes walking towards the door. There was a moment
of silence in the king's arena. The princess looked, waiting for the creature to step out. Shockingly to the young man and
the town's people, the lady walked out; she was more beautiful than ever but not more beautiful than the princess.
She
was dressed in an all white wedding dress and glass slippers; she looked something like Cinderella. The young man was relieved
to see her step out, but he was unsatisfied with the fact that he couldn't be with the princess. He kneeled on his left knee,
awaiting his bride. She walked out the door gracefully as the town's people cheered. The young man put out his palm, and the
lady gently placed hers on his. He rose up from the ground, and they both walked towards the priest.
The
princess's and the young man's eyes met, both filled with sorrow and regret. Did the princess really want to lose him this
way? The princess just turned away, trying to hide her true feelings. The king sat there, smiling in relief. Then, the unthinkable
happened. The man let go of the lady's hand.
He
ran into the middle of the arena. The arena was filled with gasps from the town's people; the king felt insulted. The princess
turned back towards the arena to see what was with all of the commotion. The man ran over toward the left door, still shut,
and looked up at the princess one last time before he gave himself to the hungry tiger. His eyes said to her I love you as
hers said I love you, too. He sighed and forcefully opened the door and out came the tiger.
The
man screamed in pain as the tiger gnawed at his flesh. The princess turned away, crying hysterically. The king still sat there
with that same smirk on his face. The princess did not understand the man's decision, but she figured that he did it for their
love. In her head, before he opened the door, she thought of him saying, "If the princess cannot have me, then no one shall
have me." Now her love was taken from her, gone forever.
Abstract Poems
(Abstract nouns explained
with concrete imagery.)
Love is...
Walking hand in hand with the person who belongs deep down in your heart
The irresistable scent that will keep you attached like a magnet
The flowers that bloom on the window sill every morning to brighten the day
The paper cut that stings when your heart is broken.
- by Anida M
Fear is...
Red eyes poking out of your closet at night
The gentle tapping of branches on your window behind a shadow
Eerie noises from the basement
Lights turning on and off by invisible foosteps
Screaming for help in a burning building
Screams from an uninhabited house next door
- Edzaida C
Fear is . . .
The damp breath of evil on your neck
The smell of rotting flesh when you wake up
The touch of an enemy's hand
The sound of footsteps outside your bedroom door
The sight of a monster in your closet
-
Michael S.
Happiness is . . .
A friend's face
A hug from your grandmother
The words I love you from your mom
The smell of hot chocolate chip cookies fresh from the over
The taste of Popsicles in the summer
-
Kevin D.
Love is . . .
The alluring words spoken to comfort the mind
The feeling of gentle hands caressing the skin
The beautiful face of your love
The attractive fragrance used to appease the smelling sense
The taste of flavored lip gloss as lips meet
-
Juan O.
Freedom is . . .
Seeing the birds fly over the ocean
Touching the grass in a public park
Hearing the sound of traffic every day
Smelling the fresh air when you awake
Tasting the foods that your loved ones have made for you
- Efrain R.
Fun is . . .
The taste of dirt when sliding into first base
The sound of the bat cracking the ball
Smelling the hotdogs from the stands
Feeling the leather glove in your hand
The sight of the crowd in the stadium
- John M.
Hate is . . .
Seeing a person of your family getting shot
Hearing the sound of someone yelling
Feeling the hand of a young man that has just died
Smelling the blood of a man that has gotten cut by a blade
Tasting the same food day after day after day
- David T.
An original sci-fi story
by Victoria
C, Ricardo G, Aubrey M, and Althea L – 04/27/05
Consequences of Disrespect
“Ok, if that’s what you really want Mr.President, our agreement is settled.”
“Great, we’ll have it tomorrow. Now tell me, Orion, Why did you come here?”
I remember so clearly, the day I went searching for life in other galaxies…
The engine roared as I traveled
through the wormhole. I had no idea where it would take me. I figured I would find out when I got there.
I made it out the wormhole safely. I looked around wondering if I would
be successful. I was ready to find a signal of life from my computer when the radio went off.
“This is Sergeant Pecivial from the Snickers galaxy. What’s your location Orion?” he sounded concerned.
“This is Orion, I’m pinpointing my location now.” At that time I booted up my computer and found
my location. I replied, “It seems as though I landed in the Milky Way galaxy.” I was shocked and curious. I have
studied this galaxy for years, but I had not visited it until now.
“Be careful Orion, you’re our top scientist! I can’t afford to lose your knowledge or you!”
Sergeant Percivial said angrily with a hint of concern.
I began to hear a beeping sound from my computer. I was picking up a signal. I reported to Sergeant Percivial. “I’m
picking up signals of life from my computer. It seems as though the signal is coming form Earth. It also says that 75% of
the Earth is water, that’s one sign of life.” I said with much excitement. “I will launch in 15 minutes,
set coordinates, ‘Earth’.”
“Good job, contact me when you get there.” The sergeant said professionally
I put down the radio and by now, I only had 10 seconds left until launch. I flew toward the planet Earth, as I entered
its atmosphere my heart began to pound harder and harder. My ship was going to land quickly, too quickly for my taste!
¤ BOOM ¤ Rough landing, all power in my ship shut down consequently. I stayed in my seat trying
to calm myself down. After a few seconds, I climbed out. Men, who looked just like me, immediately ran up and grabbed me.
Matching uniforms and guns, I figured they must be like our defense team at home. I was so excited to have finally met aliens
from another galaxy; I did not notice where they were taking me. They took my ship away on a large machine and they handled
me with a lack of care and respect.
I found myself sitting in a cold, dark room, with a bright light shinning in my face. They questioned me, asking me
weird questions like if I was hostile, how did I get here, and where did I come from. They were acting as if I was a creature….
The president pulled his whiskers, “What exactly are you doing on
our planet? What is your business here?”
“I came to this planet because I’m searching for life throughout the galaxies. I have searched for seven
years. I have traveled from wormhole to wormhole and finally I found life. Personally, I’m not happy with what I’ve
found.”
His eyes grew wide with shock. “Why aren’t you happy with our planet, Orion?”
“Well, personally, your planet is too violent. So, if you don’t mind, can I have my ship? I’m leaving,
and I need to prepare my ship.”
“As the President of the United States of America, I cannot allow you to leave. You have landed on U.S. soil
without proper identification.” His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked so uncertain of his statement.
“But, we had an agreement. I tell you the secrets of traveling by wormholes and you let me go home.”
Realizing his mistake, he cleared his throat. “Yes, that’s true. I am a man of my word. I suppose after
you reveal your secrets, you may be free to go.”
It’s a day later, and I’m standing here happily, watching my ship being brought out to the airstrip. I
handed a folder with all the information needed to travel through wormholes to the President.
“It’s all there, Mr. President.”
He smiled “I’ll take your word for it.”
We shook hands and I boarded my ship. The power was on again and I quickly took off.
“Orion, are you there?” Sergeant Percivial sounded concerned. “We’ve been trying to contact
you for several days.”
“I’m here sir. I’ve been held hostage on the Planet Earth. The U.S. leader demanded the secrets of
wormhole traveling in order for me to return home.”
“Damn them! They can’t have access to that information so easily. We’ve spent too long researching
how to travel through wormholes for them to just take it. I’m ordering our defense team to obliterate this so called
planet Earth.”
