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 Theo Aufray

I get those candles every time, yeah, you come around, yeah
Sometimes I forget about culture and gender and I lay down on the grass
I let nature satisfy me as it is
I am laying down on the grass enjoying summer time.
The sun is bright and yellow
It is so so hot,
My blood is going to boil
Beautiful summer
If you are not in the sun, it is a bummer
I am a boy but I wonder how I would see the world if I was a girl
Hoping not to stop until I die
Different culture different ways of things were taught
Different culture different ways to think
All of me that is good is part of you
Cold heat burns my veins
Every bit of my blood and my body was made from the dirt and the air,
Different cultures are unique
Celebrating and singing to myself
Is it still summer

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