RDASC Poems of 2007

In the spring of 2007 the Western Neighborhoods Project partnered with the Richmond District Neighborhood Center to bring local history to hundreds of children in afterschool programs at Lafayette, Argonne, Alamo, and George Peabody elementary schools.

With the semester-long focus on community stories, WNP displayed old photos and gave a series of neighborhood history presentations to spark the children's imaginations. The talented RDASC artists who lead the afterschool programs gave the children instruction in developing their own stories into creative works. A cumulating performance of visual arts, music, dance, and poetry by the youth took place on May 3, 2007 at Presidio Middle School.

We're happy to present some of the creative poems that came out of this project, and to show how today's children are making their own Richmond District memories:

Children in RDASC 2007 - Photo by Aaron Hathaway F&N

I love...
I love the Ocean Beach.
On the wet and dry sand.
Watching the waves from Cliff House.
Playing with the ocean wave.
Running on the minerals to gather.
Surfing on the high waves.
Maybe swimming but freezing.
Watching the ocean telling me about it.
Just play and watch.
Make a sand castle with wet or dry sand.
Throw the sand but don't get it in your eyes.
I love the Ocean Beach.
--- Natasha Chen

Little Henry's
Little Henry's -
The pizza is so good
It makes me die!

Popcorn is made out of pops.
--- Lorenzo Javier

Balboa Street
wind blowing plants
flowers getting picked
schools being fixed
green plants shining
cactus hurting all
dried up
yellow flowers
in the bushes
shadows of
trees
prickly flowers
that hurt
--- Simran Kanwar

My Neighborhood
My neighborhood is foggy and invisible.
With ghosts on a ghost ship,
with an ice cream floating in the sky.
On the cliff show mummies with air mummies
attacking them.
--- Igor Miroshnykov

Bacia (My Grandma)
Bacia, you're so nice.
You are like candy to me
but I don't pay for you!
I like it when you buy candy for me
at the end of school.
You cook raviolis and I like raviolis,
they're my favorite.
You let me watch your cable TV.
You come from Poland where
in winter it's sunny
and snowing in summer.
--- Anthony Zasada

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!

Page launched 9 May 2007.