PONGO POETRY | New Way

Pongo Poetry Project's mission is to engage youth in writing poetry to inspire healing and growth. The Echo Glen Children's Center, a juvenile institution for youth serving criminal sentences, is one of Pongo's flagship program sites in the Seattle area. Studies of incarcerated youth indicate that up to 70% suffer from a mental health disorder and that many have experienced childhood trauma. The isolation, economic upheaval, and turmoil of the last two years have only exacerbated this issue. Youth at Echo Glen have endured significant mental and emotional challenges in the last two years, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, sleep issues, and behavioral challenges.

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 and how you can partner with it in inspiring healing and relief in youth coping with mental and emotional turmoil, register for Poetry In Motion, its upcoming youth short film showcase.

by a young person at the Echo Glen Children's Center

I've been angry today
I just want to be alone
I just want to push people away
but at the same time,
I'm wishing that they would stay

I just feel disappointed in myself
cuz it's hard to do good,
knowing I want to do good,
I have to learn to do good

Learning a new way is a goal
I have yet to accomplish
I have to rebirth my attitude
it's my mentality that really needs to change

Failure is hard
but it comes with the new ways
life is full of trials and tribulations
it's just frustrating to learn a new way
my old ways can't stay,
and my old friends have to fade away,
but I'll still be the same at the end of the day

My frustration just makes it hard to play
I don't know what to say
praying to God just hoping everything's okay

I have a while 'til I go home
but in the meantime, I'm still gonna feel alone
getting tired of no one answering the phone
doing regular day things
wishing I had a clone

by a young person at the Echo Glen Children's Center

I've been thinking about my freedom lately,
about my homies, my brothers, things I did,
things I want to do.

I've got two choices in life.
I can go back to the reason I'm here,
or I can straighten out,
and do the things my family wants me to do.

They say in this life you'll end up dead
or in jail for the rest of your life,
but it's not that easy to change.
I've got the devil on one shoulder
and an angel on the other.

As far as the devil,
this half of me wants me to do bad,
craving the feeling of holding a gun,
craving all the things I want to do that are illegal,
and that can get me sent back here.

As far as the angel,
this half of me wants me to do good,
support the ones I love,
change my lifestyle,
get out so I can have a life.

If I had a life I'd start a family,
be a great dad,
be there for the ones that were there for me,
in tough times.

Sometimes when I think about going back to my lifestyle,
I feel ashamed of myself,
cause I got lucky and my brother didn't.

Freedom to me
looks like not being locked in a cell,
being told when you can eat,
when you can go to the bathroom,
when you can move. 
Freedom is basically,
being able to do what you want to do.

My brother wants me to do good,
and I told him I would do good.
I'd be there for his family and be there for him. 
That's what freedom is.

My girl wants me to do good,
and I told her I'd change. 
I told her I'd be there and I'd never do this again,
not put her through this again,
that's what freedom is.

I told my dad and my mom,
I would be a better big brother. 
I'd be there for them.
I'd show them the right,
and steer them away from the wrong. 
That's what freedom is.

Those are the angels on my shoulder.

by a young person at the Echo Glen Children's Center

I wanna write about my family.
I wanna write about being here,
Echo Glen.
I wanna write about being homeless.
I wanna write about growing up.
I wanna write a poem about murdered and missing Indigenous women.
I wanna write about my culture.
I wanna write about being overwhelmed with emotions.
I wanna write about being incarcerated and being in and out of rehab.
I wanna write about my biological parents.
I wanna write about freedom.
I wanna write about grief and loss.
I wanna write about the voice inside my head.