Teach Literacy through the Arts in DC, MD, and VA

War and Grace: Spoken Word Residency at William Wirt Middle School 

By Regie Cabico, Slam Poet and Story Tapestries Teaching Artist

Working with honors 6th grade, 7th grade and ESL 8th grade allowed me to try several strategies to engage students in writing and performing original poetry. The 6th-grade class was open to movement and writing poems with their superpowers and or some romantic telenovela type poetry. The range was staggering. 6th grade generated images and worked together and encouraged each other to perform their work. 8th graders generated 11-word poems and built to performing short poems packed with imagery. The 7th graders excelled with their poems by daring to be open about life and courage moments. I owe a lot to the teacher Ms. Anderson, from Bushwick, who broke the story of loss when losing a brother to violence. We dared to share our fear and courage moments. Students talked about mental health. In a time when parents are trying to understand their children. These students are very articulate, eloquent and fierce with humor and courage. This residency had a strong impact on the students. The 8th graders who read at the culminating slam performed with confidence. The 6th graders brought out young women who do not normally come out of their shells. The 7th graders totally rocked out their fierceness. What follows are samples of some of the 7th-grade students. I am also honored to be able to work at William Wirt Middle School during the spring of 2020 to culminate in a Family Night Poetry Slam.  

R. R. (7th Grade William Wirt)

My Soldiers March

When I was young

I was a soldier

Marching past anything that hurt me

Except for the time that my dad left

That was the only thing that broke me

My role model

Though always in jail

My rock

Even though he was hail

My loving father, who I adored

Even if he’s the reason behind my scars

When he left me

The music stopped

The sky went gray

My heart dropped

When he left the family 

Nobody cared

But when he left me in the dust

It was a man down

The war was lost

He tried to make things better

But I stopped caring

I stopped depending 

I stopped listening

That’s when the soldier came back to me

That’s when I got back up and continued my march

So I thank him for going

Because if he didn’t I wouldn’t be as strong

G. A.  (7th Grade William Wirt Middle School)

The Definition of Grace 

I am a ball of energy

Calm as the blue sky

Fiery like the sun.

My life is never an open window, closed to those who want to know.

I am bold and confident, A river flowing of mixed emotions.

Happiness, Anger, Hatred and I am too vague to be squeezed into the barriers of a closed square.

My shots may never be perfect, But I’ll ALWAYS keep trying.

I am a girl of fire, My zodiac even proves it.

I burn with passion, my life played like the strings of a violin.

I am an imperfect heart, with cuts and bruises that tell my story.

Many of my dreams I found too unrealistic so I flushed them down the toilet.

I am a girl climbing up the creaky ladder of life, and though I may fall, I always pick myself up.

Sometimes, I am a drowning soul, waves crashing on me despite the hurricane that blows my beliefs away.

I am a girl who always keeps glowing, never giving up.

Like the sun in the day, or the moon in the night.

D. O. (7th Grade William Wirt Middle School)

Love & Hate

I hate how people call me short, I know I am 

I hate how socks get wet, so mushy

I hate people who are Ungrateful, just appreciate what you have 

I hate homework 

I hate how there are only so many hours in the day

I hate Clothes shopping, I prefer not to be naked, I just don’t like the process of shopping

I hate essays

I hate how I’m growing up

But the thing I hate the most

My brother

But that’s okay 

Because He hates me too

The things I love in Life

I love Fridays 

I love tacos

I love pizza

I love my friends

But most importantly 

The thing I love the most

Memes

Links:

• http://storytapestries.org/