Black Women (sestina)

What is the typical black persona?

Is it the coarseness of their hair,

Or is it the immaculate width of their nose?

Perhaps the chocolatey tint of their skin

Or is it the hanging gravitational force of their lips?

Maybe it is the difficulty of arriving on time.

He could care less about the time

He finds beauty within their skin.

Secretly lusting for those soft lips,

Wanting to frolic in her thick hair,

Seeing nothing but beauty in her broad nose

And longing to share with that earnest persona.

I devote hours and hours at a time
to enjoy a head full of rich thick hair
or to have the width, and beauty of your nose.
If only I could be that persona,
because I too long for the thickness and darkness of your skin
or the fullness and beauty that protrude from your lips.

There is nothing sexier than the heart shape of a black woman’s lips.
Their sweetness and softness, that leave kisses on my nose,
used to smell her meals of her devoted time.
I love the depth and richness of her skin,
and the genuineness of her persona.
My weakness: The way I can always rub my fingers through her hair

I don’t have the straightest hair,
But words of wisdom flow from these lips
the plight of black women I can sense with this nose,
a sense that God has helped me develop over time
You may not like my persona,
but I, honey child, am comfortable in my silky skin.

But does God judge us by our skin?’

Is a really big factor truly our lips?

Perhaps a substantial part is our persona.

Or does he put in consideration the trouble with time?

Did He purposely institute such thick hair?

And a great, broad nose?

I devote hours and hours at a time
to enjoy a head full of rich thick hair
or to have the width, and beauty of your nose.
If only I could be that persona,
because I too long for the thickness and darkness of your skin
or the fullness and beauty that protrude from your lips

-Erin

6 Word Memoir

Eating and sleeping, what else matters?

At first I was I just wrote this down as a joke to show my friends but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. When you really think about it the only real necessities in life are eating and sleeping, everything else is not permanent. I realize that this may seem as if I'm some really lazy procrastinator, but i don't mean for it to sound that way. To me it is much deeper than just being a lazy person- which I am by the way. Life is long and most of the things that we worry about, the people we meet, and the things we do, pass in time. The only real necessities include eating and sleeping. This though just helped me put into perspective some of my problems. In a couple of weeks school will be over and most of the problems that I have to deal with right now will move to the past and be removed from my mind forever. As teenagers all of us tend to exaggerate our problems and make it sound as if they are the difference between life and death, even though in a couple of days these problems will not ever be dealt with again. Eating and sleeping are the two constants in life, everything else is variable and is what we make of it. 

Jehan T.

Six Word Memoir

     As I was working on my senior memoir, I actually decided to save my six word memoir for last. My main idea right now is "Je souhaite que pourrais parler francais," which according to many internet generators, roughly translates to "I wish that I could speak French." It was supposed to be sort of funny because its actually in French, but it was mostly inspired by my Europe trip because I fell in love with every city I visited, especially Paris. While I was on my trip I promised myself that after I mastered Spanish, I would start learning French because I would love to go back to Paris and really immerse myself in the culture and I am thinking about studying abroad there when I go to college, although that opportunity won't come for a few years. Europe had a huge impact on me and I feel that the experience was very important to my senior year, so I felt that it was appropriate. Going there only reinforced the love for foreign languages I have and I would like to eventually be fluent in many. Also, because I hope to have a career in the art world, I think speaking French and Spanish would be helpful because Spain and France are such art capitals.
     Anyways, I would really appreciate the help of any kids who take French (I take Spanish) who would like to help me write it correctly in six words because I'm sure what I have now isn't totally correct, as internet translators have a tendency to not be right.
~Bobby R

Art and Literature in "Edward Scissorhands"

I don't know how much these pieces of art work inspired Tim Burton while he made the movie, but watching Edward Scissorhands definitely made me think of these works of art:

The eerily suburban neighborhood that the film took place in reminded me of "Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale" by Max Ernst. At a glance, the surrealist painting shows a pastoral scene and blue sky, but a closer look reveals that the painting includes a girl with a knife chasing a bird, another girl laying on the floor apparently dead, and on the rood is a man carrying a girl away. These morbid aspects mixed with the suburban setting is quite like the morbid activities in the movie's setting.

The life sized sculpture "Supermarket Shopper," by Duane Hanson is very reminiscent of the characters in Edward Scissorhands. Through the sculpture, Hanson was trying to depict what he felt to be a creature that lived a lonely and unfulfilling existence, which is very similar to the way that Burton portrayed the women of the neighborhood, whose only excitement in life was gossip and what others were up to. Both the film and sculpture seem to be sending a message about how drab suburban life can be and the emptiness people may experience in life without even knowing it.

Edward's scissor hands in the movie reminded me of "Cadeau" by Dada artist, Man Ray. The piece is supposed to have a humorous effect because it takes an iron that is supposed to flatten and make clothes nicer and puts nails on it, thus ruining its sole purpose. It is very similar to the way Edward's inventor gave him scissors for hands, thus ruining what is such a crucial tool for normal humans, thus making his existence difficult and almost impossible for him to build normal relationships.

The film as a whole also reminded me of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein because of the very similar plots. In both works the protagonist is a man-made creature with disabling features that eventually lead to their demise. However unlike the creature in the novel, Edward eventually finds his life, but unfortunately due to the intolerance of the neighborhood and the inability for them to have a normal relationship, their love is doomed and he must leave her.

-Bobby R  

edward scissorhands

i have never watched this movie before. at first i thought it was scary how there was a man with scissors as hands but now my views changed. xD haha johnny depp is such a great actor and he played the character well.
from this movie, i learned that everyone has feelings... even a manmade man with an artificial heart. :)
just wanted to share....
-angela h

I love mrs. elliott :D

mrs. elliott ! you have been so supportive of your students. you are so patient and kind and you never give up on your students. i am so happy you were my ap english teacher this year. thank you for giving us time to discover what we truly want from literature by not packing us with constant work. because of this class, i learned to enjoy literature and its meanings. thank you for being the best teacher in the world ! :)
-angela h

My Mom!

We did this little writing practice a while back and this fell under "10 People I admire"

My mother is the master of every task. She is a dependable source of comfort; she is so strong,  yet so gentle.  While maintaining a full time job working graveyard shifts, she nurtures her kids in every way possible. She is a lover.