Pongo Poetry Project’s mission is to engage youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. For over 20 years, Pongo has mentored poetry with children at the Child Study Treatment Center (CSTC), the only state-run psychiatric hospital for youth in Washington State. Many CSTC youth are coping with severe emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Approximately 40% of youth arrive at CSTC having been court ordered to get treatment; however, by the end of their stay, most youth residents become voluntary participants.
Pongo believes there is power in creative expression, and articulating one’s pain to an empathetic audience. Through this special monthly column in partnership with the South Seattle Emerald, Pongo invites readers to bear witness to the pain, resilience, and creative capacity of youth whose voices and perspectives are too often relegated to the periphery. To learn more about Pongo’s work of inspiring healing and relief among youth coping with mental and emotional turmoil, register for Speaking Volumes 2024 today.
Content Warning: sexual violence/rape
by a young person at CSTC
At the dawn of the next chapter of my life,
I will start to focus on my self-love
Because I cannot love someone important
To me till I can love myself,
So, I want to work on me
And what I need to do—
Which is being able to commit
To one person,
And when there’s an argument
Trying to work through it
Instead of ignoring it—
before I can focus on
That important someone
’cause there’s gonna be struggle,
You can’t avoid it forever
It just makes the problem bigger
like a magnifying glass
looking into one soul
and seeing the pain
from the avoidance of the problem.
When the morning sun
Dissolves the past fog,
I will be able to love myself
And that person together
Like penguins
Mating for life
Sheltering together from the cold;
I will be able to be in a
Healthy relationship
Where communication and commitment
Are a priority
Where we can be happy and content
With our life
And with each other.
Where we can grow and be good
For each other,
Like roses blossoming
In the springtime,
But that’s not possible
Until both of us
Start to work on ourselves
And love ourselves
Before we can love each other.
by a young person at CSTC
I have a lot of rage
To the point I want to pull out a page
Of Stephen Hawking’s journal with his intelligent brain
It feels insane
When he was diagnosed with ALS he was angry with the world
He was only supposed to live an extra 3-4 years
He felt like there was nothing to work toward and didn’t want to learn
He met this girl named Jane
And he realized he no longer had to feel pain
For being in a chair — he had an intelligent stare
And some good stylish hair
I went a couple years of my life hating myself
Because I have autism
Eye contact was hard and I felt misunderstood
and hid beneath my hood
But I came to realize it is what it is
Autism is what you make it
Because at the end of the day
Autism is just okay
And I have things to say
by a young person at CSTC
Love is like a dove, flying through the air,
a pair like one that will never leave.
Pain is like a million-pound weight
pushing you to the ground.
But don’t give up
there is hope.
Hope is like a rope
pulling you to safety
in the middle of a hurricane
that is destroying everything.
Fear is like a spear
stabbing you with pain
but the rope of hope can pull you up
to safety from the spear.
Love is like a dove
holding an olive branch
for the people I love—
like my mom and my dad and siblings.
Pain is like a million-pound weight
Like holding the sky
After a loved one dies
And after you are raped.
Hope is like a rope pulling you to safety
after my mom died
and people helped me by taking me into their care.
Luck is like a duck
Happy and cuddly.
When I moved away from Dave.
The man who raped and hurt people, including me.
Fear is like a spear
After I was raped
And then my mom pulled me back to safety
after we moved away from Dave.
Love is like a dove
Flying home with me
After I was hurt and raped
Even in the hardest times.