Poem: For My 10th Grade English Class / Class of 2026

People will use your trauma
To keep you down
Keep you bond
Keep you dependent
Keep you focused on pain
Fear
Anger
Hatred
Those who encourage your
Helplessness
Seek to control you the most
Be alert
Be ready
Be protective
Of your growth
Your life
Your hopes
Your dreams
Question
Why someone wants
To do everything for you
Make class easy
Give you things you haven’t worked for

What’s your story if you never
Learn?
Never hurt?
Never feel?
Never heal and recover?
What have you accomplished
If someone can tell you they did everything for you?
Your voice is the gateway to your life.
Use it.
Say who you are.
Be who you are.
Improve yourself every day.
Your story becomes more dimensional
With each new experience –
Good bad happy or sad
Everything in your life builds you
Into the person you are
Becoming
Be intentional
Be mindful
Be aware of the fact that
Who you are today is not
All you will ever be
But you have to feed your future self
Something
Start now

By LaShawnda Jones
October 7, 2023