When I Hear Your Name by Aesha

When I hear your name
All I see is a dark, dull dreadful sky.
It seems to make everything
fade away.

When I hear your name
All I feel is the rough, gritty dreadful pain.
It makes me want
to go Insane.

When I hear your name
All I smell is the must smell
of the beer you always drink.

When I hear your name
All I taste is the dryness from my mouth.
The peppery taste
of the anger you left me with.

When I hear your name
All I hear is the screeching of tires.
Crashing of cranes.
The roaring of a tiger.

All On My Own by Jayla S

I spend all of my time thinking
Wondering if I will every say
the right thing.

I spend all of my time crying,
Thinking of my broke down daddy
and unstable mother.

I spend all of my time helping others
And still yet I am the one being
hurt by so many.

I spend all of my time praying
Hoping God will send me some
answers to my jigsaw puzzle life

I spend all my time by my
Self...well there's nobody else,
so I am left all by myself.

I spend all of my time all on my own.

To the Fullest by dahzmione

dahzmione
Smoove wild enchanting
wonderful fun exciting
and bold

Sad harmful unwilling
screaming urgent

Some say you've only got one life
why not live it to the fullest?
I think about death and I say Bluff!

I'm young and wonderful
So I'm saying live life as much as you can

Life's short, so I'm going to
Live it to the fullest
[Last name]

Memory List by Destony

Donut tree
Apple tree
Attacked by a dog.

Juicy steak
and butter baked potatoes
Easy-mac and cheese.

Making necklaces and
Living in Shepherd Square.
Neighbor got shot.

Neighborhood parks.
Taking walks on hot summer nights.

Sprinklers and swing sets
Hop scotch.

Fireworks on the fourth of July at water parks
Photoshoots
Easter egg hunts
Falling off the swing
Food fights.
Fighting; faking sick.
Bubble bath - I was scared of the drain.

If Only You Knew by Jayla S

Lying awake every night
Just wishing the pain would go away
-if only you knew.

Running back and forth through the good and bad
Until I've been shouted at
-if only you knew.

Crying every day about the thing
That obviously will never change.
-if only you knew.

Believing you would come back soon
And stop pretending to forget.
-if only you knew.

To go from never having a want
To always having to need.
-if only you knew.

Opening your eyes for the first time
Without a tear
-if only you knew.

Wishing the lies would come to an end
And the end become a beginning
-if only you knew.

How tired my heart is of trying
To love you
For what my mind was wanting you to be.
-if only you knew.

When I go to take my next step
And you're not there to guide me.
-if only you knew

I can care less about your attitude
And head for a full life.

Oh wait, that's right...
You didn't care enough to know.

Memory List by Aesha

Jahari
Kamari
La'Monica
La'Vada
La'Jada
A big house
but not enough space
Camera,
Teddy bears
Candy
Friends
Game called "Mamma" -
Getting a woopen with a houseshoe.
Fish Rockie and Boo-Winkle
Cat Rex
Iguana Spike
Turtles
Fighting.
Sports
Cheerleading
Basket ball
Karate
Bar-B-que
Ribs
Mac-n-cheese
Mashed potatoes
Easter egg hunts.

I was always the baby.
Now those days are gone.
They just seemed to fade away
day by day.

Memory List by Lexus

I come from Power Puff sheets and blankets,
Cracks in the streets and being scared of flushing toilets.

I come from New Jersey,
Heavy music at night, my family.

I come from shocking memories.

I come from smoky charcoal on Sunday,
I come from the corners.

I come from the belt being raised in the air,
whizzed.

I come from tears,
I come from threats.

And when I heard you died
I was hurt but showed no emotion.

When I heard you were gone, a huge hole
Dived deep into my heart.

When you died,
A recording of our memories came back to me.

When you died you were gone,
but never forgotten.

I come from you.

Long and Gone Away by Jayla L

I remember those days
When I would come in church and sit on your lap.
I would ask you for one of your peppermint candies
and you would laugh.
You would always tell me to pay attention
to the Lord's Word, and be thankful
I was on earth another day,
'cause I was given another chance.
But those days are long and gone away.

I remember when I would ask you to come outside'n play.
You would get up with a smile on your face.
If I had known at the time that your had cancer,
I would've been a little less playful,
and made you more comfortable,
so you weren't achin' with pain.
But those days are long and gone away.

I remember, I remember, I remember!
But that's all I got are memories
of you and I together, hopin' they would never
fade away.

I remember walking up to see you one last time,
before you were closed and shut away.
You had your eyes closed, hands folded one over the other,
with a smile on your face,
and I knew deep down you were saying
"Everything's gonna be okay,"
'cause you were now in a better place.

I remember and I won't forget,
but that's all long and gone away.

A Dark World by Jayla L

Where I live
is now turned into a dark world.
What was once peaceful is now filled with anger
the saddened faces of people as they get beat;
they cry out for help;
death fills their eyes.
They leave knowing a dark world.

Knowing that any second is my last,
I have no more hope.
They hear our cries, but still refuse to send help.
This is beyond a dark world,

We hold our families as we cry
They go one by one,
chopping and slashing as they go by.
This is a dark world,

We keep asking and asking and asking for help.
They say we "have the whole package"
except that we are blacks, Africans, negroes.
Another way for the white man
telling us to go to Hell.
This is a dark world,

they leave us crying, dying, begging for mercy
to spare our lives.
They leave man, woman, boy and girl;
the new born and elder in a world of hatred,
anger, destruction.
This is a dark world,

I stand up from the ground.
I am the last one standing.
I look around what I once called home
now, torn down.
Where is my family?
They are nowhere to be found.
I am scared I want my mommy and daddy to hold me,
comfort me, carry me, but they are gone now.
I close my eyes and open them,
hoping that it's just a bad dream,
but when I open my eyes I was facing reality.
I hoped that the conflict wouldn't come back,
but it never left.
It was just pushed into another country
where the masacre could happen again.

This is a dark world.

(Based on the movie "Hotel Rwanda")

Impatient to Know by Ty'Shea

What does the word "love" mean?

Can you feel it? Hear it, touch it, play around with it? Mixed thoughts about this one little word called "love."

Yeah, you say you love me. True, I say it back. But I really don't know why I say it. How can you say you love somebody when you don't even know if it's true or not? It's just killing me to hear the word used and abused when truth be told, I'm steadily trying to figure out what the word means.

Love.

People say it means sex. Others say there's more to it. Some say it's when all you can think about is the other person. But I'm shaking my head on that one, because I tell my mamma I love her all the time, but I don't sit there and drool over her. Or keep writing her name a million and one times, over and over... Still questioning myself: what does the word "love" mean? Just a young girl trying to make someting of herself, stuck on one word called "love."

Granny says, "Oh you too young to be thinkin' about love! You wanna know a thing or two about love? Well, I'll tell you. Love is when you and the other person can take care of each other. Put up with the drama, the arguing, the fussin' and fightin'. Love is when you haven't seen that person all day, and when you finally do see them, your heart drops and starts to melt."

That's what granny says love is. But I'm thinking: not true. I love my mamma, granny and family members to death, but hey, I don't think about them twenty-four seven. (Unless they're sick on their death bed or something...)

Keep askin' myself what does the word "love" mean.

If it ain't love, then I have no clue what to call it. Every time my phone rings... Is it him? I hope so... Nope. Just another friend. Dang.

Every time I see him all I can do is smile, smile, smile.

Every time he holds me, my body gets hot to the point where I'm melting into him... Is it love? Nah, couldn't be.

But if it ain't love, what is it? All day, every day thinkin' about him. Lookin' in the mirror, talkin' to my reflection, as if it was him. It's hard when I've got all these thoughts running through my head. When is he going to call or text? Maybe even walk past me? And then my heart drops. I get that one text that makes me feel unstoppable... "Babe wat r u doin? i miss u"

My cheeks turn red. Without hesitation I respond: "NUTHIN...BEEN THINKIN BOUT CHU ALL DAY. AN I MISS U MORE." Impatient to see what his response would say.. 1 second, 2 second, 3 second, 4, 5, 6, 7 seconds... Hurry up and text back. 2 minutes later, "See babe, that's y i luv u."

Still, I question myself, what does that four letter word mean?

Two Poems for Daddy by Aesha

Just One Day

You weren't here
You weren't there.

I pray and say for you to stay
Just one more day.

Now all my love for you
Has grown into a strong hate.

It just all seems to be displaced.

Even though you can't say my name,
I hope you will stay one day,
So I will regret all this pain.

I try to hide so I won't be seen;
It's just not for me.

I'm afraid to wake up one day
To see you in my face.

Wait, what happened?
Where's my daddy?
He said he was coming home today.

Not tonight. Just go back to sleep.

For some strange reason,
It was all just a dream.



Forget You

You weren't here when I needed you the most.
I hate to say it,
You make me my worst.

It shows me that there is hell on earth.

Why did you leave me when I needed you most?

Daddy, I'm sorry.
I just miss you.

The longer you're away,
I just don't want you to stay.

Wait what's going on?
You took too long.

Get out of my face!
Stay out of my way!

I just get tired of playing these
Waiting games.

I'm just done with you and your boose!
And you know what? Forget you, too!

I Said I Was Sorry by Jayla S

for Dad


I didn't mean to hurt you.
I really cared.

I wish I never left you.
And don't be scared.

I thought I knew what to do...
I guess I was wrong.

This is new to me, too.
I know I am strong.

I know I always jump in and out.
Guess I lied again.

Promised I'd never shout;
Should've been your friend.

Oh yea, almost forgot: I am sorry.

Daddy loves you.

Which Way? by Jayla S.

for Mom



Not knowing what turn to make,
I turn.

Not knowing which step to take,
I walk.

Is there anyway out?
I am so trapped, so closed in.

Burried under lies and pain
locked behind doors and walls

Listening to her voice...

Take my hand; trust me.

Playing over and over...
Still, there's no way out.

So where to go from here?
Which way is out; I quit.

Let It Shine by Jayla L.

When you're having a bad day
With a dark, gloomy rain pouring cloud over your head,
Remember to let it shine.

When you're having a breath-taking day, and
You feel like you can say no more,
Remember to let it shine.

When you're having a sad day and you feel
Like you just can't let out a cry anymore,
Remember to let it shine.

Whether you're having a mad, sad, breath-taking
or stressful day,
Don't let all that's been going on get in your way.
Look past it all because life's too short
To be living that way-
All you gotta do is let it shine your way.

The Unknown by dahzmyoine

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate-
Our deepest fear is not knowing the unknown.
My deepest fear is not knowing what's going to happen next-
My deepest fear is loving you.

I hate when people say they love me,
Simply because everyone who has ever said they love me
Winded up leaving me.
I hate that most things are out of my hands-
If I could describe one word about myself it would be disoriented
I never know what I want.

My deepest fear is not me misunderstanding myself-
My deepest fear is being powerful beyond my own measures.

Coming Soon

We are a group of seven eighth grade girls and one outrageous teacher. We're starting this blog to express our feelings and share them with the larger world. Our hope is that people can better understand the life of a teenage girl, and that teen girls can be inspired to achieve.

Introducing the girls...

Ty'Shea - holds us up; she's our backbone

Lexus - the mama of the group, nurturing but firm

Dahzimyione - bubbly, giggly goofball

Jayla L. - passionate poet

Destony - wide-eyed and expressive

Aesha - our newest member, but not shy

Jayla S. - outspoken, emotional and...loud.

Ms. Yost - artistic, caring and a bit nerdy

One thing about all of us girls is that we're never afraid to speak our minds and let you know what we think.

Subscribe to our blog - you won't be disappointed with what we have to offer.