Origin Stories

This week, poets at Poe Middle School in Ms. Agboola’s class wrote their origin stories.

Ms. Agboola 6th grade

Jameylah A. Jameylah A.

Jameylah A

was a name given to me by my mom

And I’m lucky for that.

Jameylah A

could have been Jamey Allen if it

wasn’t for my mom.

No thanks to my dad.

Jameylah A

is a rare name, well at least from

what i can tell.

Jameylah A

is tricky to pronounce for others, but

it seems simple to me

Jameylah A

is my identity and I can’t imagine

any one being me.

But if they were Jameylah A. I

imagine their life would be sweet.

Hayley My Name Hayley B.

Open my phone

I saw something I couldn’t imagine

a cousin

a cousin with the same name as me

The cousin with my name

likes the same things as me

my cousin… wanted to be?!

My eyes light up.

I saw her,

Hayley, the girl with the same name

as me

I closed them

I couldn’t see

I was able to breathe

but I was no longer able to see

the girl with the same name as me.

Ms. Agboola 8th grade

Anthony's Origin Anthony P.

My name means “priceless one”

Technically true,

there’s only me.

But there’s so many Anthonies

Like my dad,

His middle name is Anthony

That’s the inspiration for me

Original, right?

Many people share my name

like a Harvard alum

and a criminal

polar opposites, right?

There’s a lot of history

with my first names, and my last name

But, even though my name belongs to thousands

It’s still my name.

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