Veterans Day Poem

       
"The Rows"

Cars lined up in three rows
This road has felt our car's weight for hours
Beeping and yelling arise from the sea of vehicles
I sit bored, staring out into the squabble

A old man of 60 walks along the rows
His long beard black and white
The baggy clothes fit loosely around his thin body
The baseball hat he wears shows the words "Vietnam"

A creased piece of cardboard is held up with his frail arms
It reads "Homeless Veteran. Please help"
The eyes of this man show pain and sorrow
His body shows guns and missiles

Loose change fills the mcDonalds up
The pennies and dimes that people don't care about
Are his only source of income.
He relies on the few cents that you get back at the store

Soon
He approaches our car

I can feel the plead he shows with his eyes
I can feel the pity that I myself encounter
I can feel pain in which many like himself have felt
I can feel the homesickness that haunted his mind

Thousands just like him
Roamed around the city

First Quarter Reflection Blog

        This quarter I have learned how to work well with others. Unlike previous years, I do not know a lot of people in this class. Many of these people I have never talked to in my life, opposed to people I have known since kindergarten. Conversations weren't easy, until a few weeks ago. I have learned to find things in common with students who I normally wouldn't talk to. This has helped me because I have become more social with my classmates, which helps me get my work done faster.

       There are a few things that I would like to improve on with working with others. One of these things is being able to have small talk. This would help me because I could get closer with my classmates and then be able to work more effectively. Another thing that I would like to improve on is engaging in conversation with my peers more. Sometimes I don't talk to my partner about our work as much as I should. If I talk more then my work could have more than one opinion in it.

       During this past quarter I have learned many things about the world. I did this by listening to other peoples AOW's during the last few weeks. One thing that surprised me in an AOW, was that almost half of teachers in a study were racist. This showed me that just because a law was passed, doesn't mean that peoples minds are changed. It is very hard to persuade someone to think another way. Another thing that I learned was that more people are getting pregnant when they are older. This surprised me because some of these women are 50 years old. It makes me wonder if the mother or the  baby have a higher risk of injuries than younger women.

      These next few quarters I would like to learn more things about the world. To do this I hope to get more involved with the news. That means that I would be watching the news more and looking at articles that involve the entire world. Doing this could help me understand the direction the world is heading in and how I could help make it better. It would have all started by doing my AOW.

     

Montresor's Confession

Montresor Task

        Hello everyone. My name is Montresor. I am here to tell you all my story. You all in the court and the stands have made up a situation that might be close or different from mine. This is what really happened, this the truth.

        It all started 16 years ago. I was merely an adult, as was he. Words cannot describe the type of bond we had when we first met. It was Carnival and we stumbled upon each other in a drunken haze. Laughing, singing and shouting echoed throughout the streets and I had never been so happy. He was my other half and I was his. We went everywhere together and shared many secrets.

        We had the same secret. Both of us, now this is very hard to admit, we were...what do you call it? Um, we both were attracted to the same gender. I hear the gasps in your voices and see the astonishment in your eyes. My dear friends, this is what I wanted to keep a secret. This is why I killed my old friend Fortunato. You see we were together for quite some time, and I thought we would be together forever. He, on the other hand, didn't see it that way. His family had been suspicious for a very long time and caught on to our secret deed. They threatened to expose us and laugh in the punishment of our lives if we didn't stop.

         Fortunato had always been the type of person to want other peoples praise. The deal with his family was soon made right after they announced it. The day he told me of his plans to marry his future wife was a horrible one. He came to my house early in the morning with a determined look in his eyes. When I asked him if he wanted tea he agreed and we sat at the table. There was a long pause until he finally spoke. I must tell you, my audience, that I felt the worst anxiety and adrenaline I had every felt in those few minutes. I wanted him to tell me that he loved me and how nothing was going to stand in the way of us. I yearned for the simple words of  "I love you". Those words never came.

         Instead of those three syllables he said, "I am marrying Camilla."
     
         My heart sank with those words. I saw my future become black and with it, my heart. Even though my soul felt like it was breaking, my face showed understanding. He continued on saying how we would have never worked and that we were better off. I could not hold it in any longer. My lips released the words, "But I love you". Fortunato's  face became red and distorted. He slammed on the table with his mighty fist, spilling the tea.

        "How dare you say that! You mean nothing to me! Go and live your filthy ways!"
       
         Instead of just a black heart, it became cold and angry. I wanted nothing more than to kill him right there. In moments he had broken my heart and turned it resentful. I no longer felt sad. I felt like killing the man who had made me want to hurt myself. If I saw him with his future wife I would definitely kill myself. In that moment I realized that it was either my life or his.

        You people in the court probably have a lot of mixed emotions right now. But I am here to tell you that you shouldn't imprison a man for his personality. I am the type of person who wants to survive. I am a survivor. I simply couldn't survive if I ever saw Fortunato and Camilla together. So, everyone in the court, let me ask you this. Will you imprison a man for his lack of good character, or will you take pity on a man who got his heart broken by societies flaws?

        And with that statement I rest my case.



I commented on:
Sophie M blog
Melanie A's Blog
Kezia's Blog

   

Life Line Poem "Together"

"Together”


Muslims and Christians unite
Ethiopians and Eritreans hug
In this night
We are one

This should be daily
So we will not wear scars

He disliked me because I treated everyone like an
Angel
Not a monstrous black beetle
I focused on what we can give
Not what we can take

It means a measuring stick
Measuring beauty
In
Each other, to
Give
Beauty to each other

It is that
She
Is our sister
Either throw us away with her
Or hug her with us

“She” is the million of refugees
“She” is the beetles
“She” is the angels