Born By Herself
by Bryanna (8th grade)
I was born with death close by waiting,
but not today I say.
I was born poor with tags on my back but knowledge in my head.
I was born to be an hourglass.
As I pour out, I watch man wither away into nothingness scattered across all seven continents.
I was born a jewel covered by the cool earth,
hiding me from the hungry and vicious that may seek me.
I was born to the blood-stained sidewalks of Brooklyn,
that is where I have seen my story.
I was born to always be one with my roots, so that I will never forget.
I was born to…believe…to fly…be me.
I was born.
2016
So Much Depends on Stretching Your Positivity
IS392, Brooklyn, NY
Melanie Maria Goodreaux, writer‐in‐residence
Melanie Maria Goodreaux is a playwright, poet, and native of New Orleans who has made her home in New York City since 1999. Her poetry and plays—including Saydee and Deelores; Walter, Bullets, and Binoculars; Mo'Batz' Ride; Controle's Predicament; and Sometimes It's Very Much About Ownership—have been performed at Yale University, the Lillian Theater in Los Angeles, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and the Chelsea Playhouse in New York City, and at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. She is a teaching artist with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Creative Writing, and the Manhattan New Music Project, teaching creative writing and drama in all the boroughs of New York City.