Student Work

From a SpeakTogether virtual workshop, Talent Unlimited High School, Spring 2020

This poem was composed during a six-week session conducted by author and spoken word artist Sheri Booker, who worked with a class of 10th-grade students to develop their voices. This workshop took place during a global pandemic, a national lockdown, and uprisings across the country to end police brutality and structural racism. Read more about the works in this collection, which are artifacts of this period and a true testament to the vision, creativity, and resilience of these students.

Listen to a recording of the following poem above. 

Final Poem

by Ruby Rivera

Since I’m in quarantine,
some things don’t go unseen.

I see the world different.
I see the world ignorant.

Hard when you are just 16.

Why is the world indifferent towards,
Parents, grandparents seem so transparent.
Is racism insignificant?

The only thing setting us apart is culturally.
The only virus I see is society.
Don’t say it’s accidental.
Really it is continual.
To me, it is strange.
We must bring about change.

Ruby Rivera was a sophomore at Talented Unlimited High School in NYC at the time of this recording.