Addressing what has wronged you can be healing, a way to clear the air. The high schoolers of MLA asked themselves what they liked and what they wanted to change about their school before watching “High School Training Ground” by Malcolm London. After discussing invective poetry (or clapback poetry), students chose an institution or ideology that has wronged them and confronted it. Moving, reflective, and direct, students challenged society, schooling, and religion, to name a few, on their own terms.
Ms. Higgins (Group A)
“Dear Society“
by Yasmin M.
You say be yourself but only if it fills the mold
you make me feel not skinny enough
you like filters more than faces,
bodies more than souls.
“Mixed Feelings“
by Jennifer A.
You make me feel disappointed,
by the way you treat me and my family.
You make me feel left out,
by the way you left me and my family during tough times.
Church is a way to better your life
but you made sure my family didn’t
Church is a way to make life long friends
but everyone left when I needed them the most
I love getting closer to God and learning more & more
even though we get weird looks and laughs that does not
stop us from being close to him.
“Why I don’t like this school“
by Maylin M.
They do too much and all they
do is yell and I feel like they want
to be the best school but it’s not
going to happen because of everything
that has happened and I hate that we need
to wear our uniform and whenever we
don’t have to wear it they tell us
things that we need to put on and things
that we can’t, all they do is yell
at us.
Ms. Higgins (Group B)
“Aliens?“
by Josias N.
Latino America, the land of the people,
where the happiness comes from,
the hard work is shown,
and the effort is always present.
Donde se disfruta la vida,
where people are always giving their all,
buscando una mejor vida pa’ sus familias,
They’re always willing to do anything,
y si no saben como hacer algo, se lo inventan.
Going to a “better” country for money
but in exchange they get called ALIENS!
The same people that have been building
this country, son los mismos a los que quieren correr.
The ones that do the most, will always be the ones
that get the least.
Ungrateful!
Ungrateful people who don’t appreciate their work,
Ungrateful people who think they’re superior because of their color & race.
Ungrateful people who think they could do our work.
Pero al final, we are only aliens.
“Simply A Soul“
by Jocelyn A.
A system was set into all
Stuck in a place to no real freedom
Blame will follow the soul
A soul that is no different than yours
The hatred will follow and follow
At last the soul will never rest
“What you’re supposed to be“
by Nathaniel M.
You’re a guide to nowhere
You’re a crooked path to a stone wall
You’re a split map that has no purpose
You’re a shallow puddle next to a lake
You left me lost
You left me an unfinished path
You showed me a locked gate
You should have shown me a clear path
You should have fed my mind like a bird feeds its chicks
You should have
