Dance calm and steady so girls won’t think you’re doing too much

You could say I’m a comedian among my friends
We tell jokes about boy stuff, you wouldn’t understand

I talk with friends about their day or what’s going on in our families
My old friends in Kent, I could talk to them about anything
My new friends here don’t have time for all that,
Too busy on social media
I think social media makes you braindead,
Only caring about popularity and looks
I care about making people happy and respect, that’s it

Be silent so you can learn
When no one’s around for me to talk to
I Youtube math skills and games, silent and learning

First thing when you wake up, take a shower
It will wake you up so you don’t fall asleep in class like me

In the Winter of your life, make sure you have a good heart
When me and my mom were homeless people helped us
Because we gave respect to them and they gave respect back to us

In the Spring of your life, make sure you remember life’s steps
How did you get here?
How did you treat everything and everyone to get where you are?

In the Summer of your life, make sure you never forget where you came from

In the Autumn of your life, make sure you cherish having your whole family around, don’t take that for granted
When I have a bad day, I can always think about the time when I was ten and people accepted who I was
Now people don’t accept my jokes or who I am

I still have these memories though
When I was ten I was right at home at my school
Right at home with my family
Right at home with my Italian cousins, eating and laughing
The scent of real wine and good cheese
We don’t see them anymore.

I still have these memories though
They keep me warm through the Winter.

This poem is published in The World in Me, a compilation of original poetry written by young people ages 8 – 17 who stayed with their families in housing at Solid Ground’s Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing for women and children. The young authors who contributed to The World in Me are not identified by their real names, and some details have been changed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of them and their families. The authors retain copyrights on their individual works.