PONGO POETRY | when will i drop?

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

do you love me or do you hate me?
like a rose
there is a gorgeous side
and a bad side
bright
like the red petals
but ugly
like the spiky thorn

every day that my petals fall
i wonder when they're all gonna drop
blooming into birth
of promised death

when will be my last day sitting in the sun
and standing in the rain?
when the sun goes away
i can't sleep
but
when the sun comes back
my growth continues
growing with death on my mind

if i lost all of my petals of life
would everybody look at me the same
or would they step all over my roots?

when will i drop?

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

Like an animal in a zoo imprisoned,
scared, sad, lonely too
like an animal in a zoo.
this is just my point of view
I've got feelings too.

I miss my mom
I miss my dad
I'm hurting so bad

but it's ok I'm writing a poem about my lifestyle.
tell me how I'm supposed to be
I tried loving, healing,
but you took it all away from me.

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

I used to think freedom was being able to do, 
say what you wanted,
and go whenever you wanted.
I used to think I wouldn't be able to be
free until I no longer had to press a
button to use the bathroom.
Ask for doors to be unlocked
or finally having a choice in what
food I ate.
I was wrong in so many ways.
I discovered freedom when I let go of
the rope connected to all my anger.
When I finally let go and allowed
the burns to heal.
I discovered freedom when I didn't
allow the pain I hid to continue to
drown me in silence.
When I finally came up for air.
I discovered freedom when I unlocked
the shackles bonded by childhood
trauma
When I finally allowed the weight
to disappear.
When I finally allowed my wings to
spread mentally
When I allowed my mind to soar.
So while I'm still physically behind
these walls and confined in these
buildings.
I'm as free as ever.
I've learned freedom is a mindset
and that mindset is something that
no one can ever take away.
I've finally set myself free.

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. 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 of inspiring healing and relief among youth coping with mental and emotional turmoil, register for its upcoming event, Envisioning Voices, on Dec. 10.