Figure me out!: Devyn Pleasants

unpublished poem by a youth from Larkin Street Youth Services
*typos and capitalization are [sic]

12/27/10

Figure me out!
It's not that hard
To remove the bandages
covering those scars

Now ask about!
Even if it's not clear
Where they came from
And why they're still here

Get into my head!
You know you want to
so don't play around
Or I will taunt you

Don't hesitate!
Can't you see?
I want you to understand
What I really need

Don't fight the urge!
I won't mind
The questions you ask
Or the answers you'll find

Break the skin!
Keep probing till you get
What you're looking for
Or til I forget

Give a push!
Don't stop in your tracks
You're on a roll
So don't look back

Open my mouth!
If it won't budge
To find out how
In the past I've loved

Follow me!
And I'll show you a way
To my darkest room
Down decaying hallways

Push me harder!
If I try to resist
When you ask me questions
That just get me pissed

Don't leave me alone!
'Cause you'll never hear
How I came so close
To living in fear

Rape my seanses!
I will oblige
Now it's up to you
To figure out why

My Bromo Called Me: Vinnie

11/10/10

My BRoMo CaLLed Me
She Put on HER Canclled TwitteR
Account A Lie of CouRse!
-My Mind Is A Rubkis Cube that HAs
BEEN Passed aRound, kicked, DRopped AND Had
The stickers pulled, peeld, mismatched
And EveEN HAD A FEW Just DissapearR!
HowEVER ThRu The ConFusioN, FRustRAtion,
IRtation, Even BetteR oF my ENDAMETic SELf!
I Go Back To Basics, I Rip oFF the stickers
And Get the Solution To Make
aLL The Sides ThE SamE CoLoR! BLANK!
I WRITE!
WhEN you ARE Ready To Have what I
ahve BROMo ComE Join ME!
CLEAN Sinc Day ONE Plus ALive Equals OnEself.
How Can You Ask ME wheRE IMAT? wheN I have
BeeN HOME This whole Time, How EasilLy you
FoRGet, You LiE!
I wiLL READ This shout Out Loud
FOR You, Much LovE!
Only Content... only Forgivness
Only CLean and conTent HearT Just FoR you!
IM Just Me, Im Just Vinnie
And Now I Let My Hands Be my
Painting of writing Poems
In My Spoken WoRd
Against you My BRoMo!

Im Starting to Give up, Give In: Vinnie

unpublished poem by a youth from Larkin Street Youth Services
*typos and capitalization are [sic]

Im STARting To Give up, Give In
Im starting To Give up ON
A Reality that CaME about Oct 17.
The DAy I Met My RacheL!
She Seemed To ComE AT Me
FRom BEhind and my cLosed eyes oF mind!

And UnCoveR Them To Something Real
and Overwhelming, To Good To Be TRue
she Once Said.
Those Words Seem To Be The Reality at this Point!

Looks Like I HAve No other
choice But To GiVE up, LEt Go!
Give up An Emotion Not
Wanted By HER..
But StiLL HERE And SAy
I LoVe you RacHeL
But Why Do I LoVE You?

Been Seven Long Days: Vinnie

unpublished poem by a youth from Larkin Street Youth Services
*typos and capitalization are [sic]

3/10/10

Seven Long Days Since I Saw That Face
Look Back at me with that
ExpressioN oF AnGeR
No SmiLE Anywhere To Be Found..
No Love To Be Seen Anywhere IN Sight..
Seven Days Since I FeLt The Warmth
of you RacheL!
Only To Be Swept away In a MatteR of Moments!
Swept Away by your UncallEd FoR
YET Confusing ReactioN!
Seven Days Since Those WoRds escaped
FROM your LiPS!
Those UnTruthFuL WoRDS
I Now what I BeLievE
SEven Days IN The DARK
With No ANsweRs To BE HEARD
SEven Long DAys!

I am a sad poet: Devyn Pleasants

unpublished poem by a youth from Larkin Street Youth Services
*typos and capitalization are [sic]

"I am a sad poet
My words are bleeding
Who cares, you poets
Are forever teething

I am sad in here
You only need one eye to see
Tears are found here
And the edge is steep

I have cried and hoped
Death would be release
But that is far from
The rest I need

And each time it ends
In a lover's bout
Adds scars visible
To you, no doubt

But are invisible to me
Are shielded and concealed
Like wounded soldiers minds
Are falsely healed

Seeing I 2 I: Warren Ross

unpublished poem by a youth from Larkin Street Youth Services
*typos and capitalization are [sic]

Seeing I 2 I
to know, think about, and tolerate is one thing
to contemplate, understand, and accept is
Another entirely.

Let me put this out there right from the start.
I am me.
Warren
Edward
Ross
No one Else, got it?
Good.
And now I just wanna say I am really
starting to get annoyed with this whole
label, label stereotype thing every
one And their Mammas seem
to be rolling with these days.
Do you think what if the whole world went
blind, people would really know who's standing
beside them. Maybe we'd finally look past
appearance, and actually get to know
the people behind the cover
or maybe

I'm just
crazy
could
be.

I don't know
I just don't understand
why the world is so fucking judgmental,
Can I just be me?
Can we just be humans together?

Freedom: Samone Marshalek

unpublished submission from the youth at Larkin Street Youth Services


Sometimes it's hard to listen to the rain
When its [sic] clarity isn't clear enough.
The rashes off my skin tell a person im [sic] not well enough
for a day without innocence.
Inch by inch I'm loosing my own
with every tear leaking from the corner of my eye lids.
No one seems to claim the stranger inside me
so i [sic] walk along my torn pieces.
voices keep winding through my soul
speaking love appearance but i [sic] cluster under my clothes
that makes me invisible to glance at.
I'm opposed to the volume of the crowd
that makes me want to shout out my rough edge
but no one seems to know that.
Bleeding but no fear of fighting
the tall waves from above my head
sometimes makes the freedom comes [sic] out again.