I look in the azure blue sky at fluffy white clouds. As the sun rises, I walk through a field of fluorescent red butterflies that flutter around me. I smell beautiful purple orchids and fresh lime trees. As the vermillion sun sets, I look at the mountains and feel the heat that warms me. The colors of spring are like mellow music that soothes the soul.
Sabrina
3/16/10
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Spring Cleaning
Open the windows and let the smell of fresh air and cut grass come in the house. Get all the stale, musty air out. Paint all the rooms for a sparkling, bright new look. Wash the dull, dingy windows to let the gleaming sun rays warm your face. Put up light, transparent curtains to cheer up your mind. Wash the rugs to remove the last trace of winter. Rejoice the coming of spring.
Merry
3/16/10
Merry
3/16/10
Spring
Bright blue sky bursts with cotton-like clouds each day.
The sweet-smelling air of colorful, fresh flowers
Glistening in the bright sun.
New born birds
Waiting and fluttering their tiny wings
For their mother to return with breakfast.
Trees budding, erupting, sprouting.
Everything abounds with new life and energy.
Merry
3/3/10
The sweet-smelling air of colorful, fresh flowers
Glistening in the bright sun.
New born birds
Waiting and fluttering their tiny wings
For their mother to return with breakfast.
Trees budding, erupting, sprouting.
Everything abounds with new life and energy.
Merry
3/3/10
Spring Training
Spring training for me is one of the best times in my life.
It is a great feeling of achievement to use my determination to
make myself stronger and faster, while acquiring the skills for
playing football, basketball, and baseball. Whatever I
accomplish as an individual makes me a better team player of
the game. That’s how I experience spring training.
Justin
3/1/6/10
It is a great feeling of achievement to use my determination to
make myself stronger and faster, while acquiring the skills for
playing football, basketball, and baseball. Whatever I
accomplish as an individual makes me a better team player of
the game. That’s how I experience spring training.
Justin
3/1/6/10
Spring is in the Air
Spring makes you feel like you want to do things that are new. Spring makes you feel happy. You feel good about yourself. You have more self-esteem. You feel more reassured. All sadness, depression, and worries go away when spring comes.
In the spring we ladies feel we want a new beginning. We change things about ourselves such as new hair styles and new hair colors. We try to lose weight, we exercise, we even take up yoga. We change our clothes from boots to shoes to sandals, to cotton clothes and spring jackets. We like to get together with friends we haven’t seen in a long time. We like to go out to eat and chat about what’s happening like new loves, new houses, new pregnancies, and new neighbors! New is the beginning of many things to come.
Eileen
3/10/10
In the spring we ladies feel we want a new beginning. We change things about ourselves such as new hair styles and new hair colors. We try to lose weight, we exercise, we even take up yoga. We change our clothes from boots to shoes to sandals, to cotton clothes and spring jackets. We like to get together with friends we haven’t seen in a long time. We like to go out to eat and chat about what’s happening like new loves, new houses, new pregnancies, and new neighbors! New is the beginning of many things to come.
Eileen
3/10/10
Spring Fever
I try to catch up on all my chores. I have to rake up the dead grass, then put fertilizer down on the grass in the back yard. I need to fix the vinyl fence the dogs broke. I’ve got to clean out the shed and the garage, fix the garage door, and put insulation in the walls between the house and the garage. I want to caulk all the windows. I need to fix the hole in the deck. I’m going to make a new patio. Then I’ll take the old patio blocks and make a pathway from the shed to the house. I hope to be done sometime in July so I can play.
Bruce
3/10/10
Bruce
3/10/10
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Cinquains by Myrna
arts
bright, transparent
shaping, creating, smiling
a happy feeling of accomplishment
Myrna
party planner
creative, cheerful
making, decorating, giving
surprised faces bring pleasure
Myrna
Puerto Rico
sunny, tropical
swimming, singing, playing,
spectacular ocean view
paradise
social worker
rude, disrespectful
frustrating, waiting, calling
not helpful
case manager
MT
4/09
bright, transparent
shaping, creating, smiling
a happy feeling of accomplishment
Myrna
party planner
creative, cheerful
making, decorating, giving
surprised faces bring pleasure
Myrna
Puerto Rico
sunny, tropical
swimming, singing, playing,
spectacular ocean view
paradise
social worker
rude, disrespectful
frustrating, waiting, calling
not helpful
case manager
MT
4/09
Woman of the Night
When I look at the moon, it’s round and sexy.
I become two women; one is good and one is bad.
I become a woman of the night!
See at night I can become whoever I want to be;
No pressure.
And I feel free.
I don’t have to pretend who I am.
I love dancing, drinking, and going to parties.
Every woman has a dark side to herself.
But in this case, my dark side really wants to get out.
I feel sexy; in control.
I feel alive like nothing is holding me back.
Sabrina Flintroy
5/18/09
I become two women; one is good and one is bad.
I become a woman of the night!
See at night I can become whoever I want to be;
No pressure.
And I feel free.
I don’t have to pretend who I am.
I love dancing, drinking, and going to parties.
Every woman has a dark side to herself.
But in this case, my dark side really wants to get out.
I feel sexy; in control.
I feel alive like nothing is holding me back.
Sabrina Flintroy
5/18/09
John the Dispatcher
There was a dispatcher from the town where I worked. His name was John. He knew I had a problem.
I pulled out of the school parking lot and I stopped at a stop sign. All of a sudden there were flames and smoke coming from the engine of the brand new dump truck which belonged to the town. I stopped the truck, opened the hood, and flames came out. I jumped back in the truck and called John, the dispatcher, whose number was 905. I was so nervous, instead of calling 905, I called 203, which was the number of my vehicle. John called back and said, “Bruce, are you trying to get a hold of me?” I said, “Yes, my vehicle is on fire!” I couldn’t read the street sign to give him my location, so I told him I was about two blocks away from Smith School.
While I was talking to John, the speaker from the radio caught on fire! I could hear him talking to me, but I couldn’t speak because the flames were coming out of the floorboard and dashboard. I jumped out and ran to the passenger side of the truck and opened the glove compartment. It was hot! I pulled out papers and keys to all the town buildings. Then I stopped traffic and kept people away.
When the fire department came, they had gone someplace else first because I had given the wrong location. John, the dispatcher, straightened them out.
BM
12/09
I pulled out of the school parking lot and I stopped at a stop sign. All of a sudden there were flames and smoke coming from the engine of the brand new dump truck which belonged to the town. I stopped the truck, opened the hood, and flames came out. I jumped back in the truck and called John, the dispatcher, whose number was 905. I was so nervous, instead of calling 905, I called 203, which was the number of my vehicle. John called back and said, “Bruce, are you trying to get a hold of me?” I said, “Yes, my vehicle is on fire!” I couldn’t read the street sign to give him my location, so I told him I was about two blocks away from Smith School.
While I was talking to John, the speaker from the radio caught on fire! I could hear him talking to me, but I couldn’t speak because the flames were coming out of the floorboard and dashboard. I jumped out and ran to the passenger side of the truck and opened the glove compartment. It was hot! I pulled out papers and keys to all the town buildings. Then I stopped traffic and kept people away.
When the fire department came, they had gone someplace else first because I had given the wrong location. John, the dispatcher, straightened them out.
BM
12/09
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Survival
Survival is something you have to think about. If you want to survive, you have to have a plan. Take your important papers, your birth certificate, your social security number, all you children’s papers, their birth certificates, their social security numbers, their immunization records. Put them in a drawer under panties, in a shoebox at the bottom of the closet, under a rug, or wrapped in aluminum foil inside a zip lock bag in the freezer.
Talk to a friend who your husband doesn’t know. It has to be someone you can trust. Mention this to no one. The friend will need to find the phone number and address of a shelter where he/she can take you with your children. The shelter needs to be as far away as possible.
The people in the shelter will help you get on your feet. They will give you counseling and the healing will begin. They will give you shelter, food, and beds for your children. When you are among other women who are in the same situation, you will learn how to survive on your own. You will cry a lot, and you will share different stories. Some of them will share their anger, their frustration, their distress, their fears about life and what they will need to confront when they get out of the shelter.
Healing will be a long process but you will survive.
ES
1/10
Talk to a friend who your husband doesn’t know. It has to be someone you can trust. Mention this to no one. The friend will need to find the phone number and address of a shelter where he/she can take you with your children. The shelter needs to be as far away as possible.
The people in the shelter will help you get on your feet. They will give you counseling and the healing will begin. They will give you shelter, food, and beds for your children. When you are among other women who are in the same situation, you will learn how to survive on your own. You will cry a lot, and you will share different stories. Some of them will share their anger, their frustration, their distress, their fears about life and what they will need to confront when they get out of the shelter.
Healing will be a long process but you will survive.
ES
1/10
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Mom and Dad…..a Photograph
Beautiful young couple in the grass,
So much in love.
She in flowered sarong,
Long dark curls
Falling shamelessly over
Soft, bared shoulders.
He so virile and strong;
Handsome as a matinee idol
With chiseled jaw and carved cheekbones.
So many dreams.
So little worries.
Faded shades of gray….
So long ago.
NW
8/09
So much in love.
She in flowered sarong,
Long dark curls
Falling shamelessly over
Soft, bared shoulders.
He so virile and strong;
Handsome as a matinee idol
With chiseled jaw and carved cheekbones.
So many dreams.
So little worries.
Faded shades of gray….
So long ago.
NW
8/09
Mother’s Love
A mother’s love is like a sunburst in morning
That shines in her heart,
With warmth that you can see in her eyes,
And love that melts your sadness away.
She is there when you need a big hug
Or just someone to talk to.
A mother’s love is the best love of all.
Merry
2/09
That shines in her heart,
With warmth that you can see in her eyes,
And love that melts your sadness away.
She is there when you need a big hug
Or just someone to talk to.
A mother’s love is the best love of all.
Merry
2/09
It’s a Bitch Being a Single Mother
No one asked to be a single mother,
Doing anything to please her children,
Doing everything by herself.
No one understands unless they’ve been through it.
So before you judge a single mother,
Take a good look inside yourself.
Now I know everything in life has a consequence.
It’s so damn hard being a single mother!
Sabrina Flintroy
5/09
Doing anything to please her children,
Doing everything by herself.
No one understands unless they’ve been through it.
So before you judge a single mother,
Take a good look inside yourself.
Now I know everything in life has a consequence.
It’s so damn hard being a single mother!
Sabrina Flintroy
5/09
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Releasing the Demon
Another day at Read to Succeed; what a drag! I’ve been coming here for two years now and I don’t see the end. What keeps me coming back are the teachers and tutors. They are always ready with knowledge, wisdom, encouragement, advice and help.
It does not matter what kind of mood you’re in. They always find a way to make you feel better, either by listening to you “whine” or giving you a hug or some advice. To me, Read to Succeed is not just a school. It's also a family.
I don’t believe people truly understand the importance of this program and what is does for its students. I have seen people come in who are very timid when they start the program. They probably feel that they are alone with their past failures and disappointments. I know I felt that way too.
The staff and students at Read to Succeed made me feel at home and very welcome. Although it’s a lot of work and time commitment, the success I have achieved has helped to build my confidence. I’m trying things now that I would never do before. I will get up in front of a group and read. I even share all the poems and stories that I have written. I take tests for different jobs that I would never dare to do two years ago.
I hope to use these skills that I been learning to my advantage and maybe help somebody that has trouble reading. I can be a mentor to them. I might even become a volunteer myself some day.
I ask myself, "Why not share this fortune I have found with as many people as possible?" It may release a lot of people from their demon of failure.
JM
9/09
It does not matter what kind of mood you’re in. They always find a way to make you feel better, either by listening to you “whine” or giving you a hug or some advice. To me, Read to Succeed is not just a school. It's also a family.
I don’t believe people truly understand the importance of this program and what is does for its students. I have seen people come in who are very timid when they start the program. They probably feel that they are alone with their past failures and disappointments. I know I felt that way too.
The staff and students at Read to Succeed made me feel at home and very welcome. Although it’s a lot of work and time commitment, the success I have achieved has helped to build my confidence. I’m trying things now that I would never do before. I will get up in front of a group and read. I even share all the poems and stories that I have written. I take tests for different jobs that I would never dare to do two years ago.
I hope to use these skills that I been learning to my advantage and maybe help somebody that has trouble reading. I can be a mentor to them. I might even become a volunteer myself some day.
I ask myself, "Why not share this fortune I have found with as many people as possible?" It may release a lot of people from their demon of failure.
JM
9/09
My First Snow
My first memorable moment of a snowstorm was at the age of five. I remember looking out my window and seeing white stuff falling from the sky. I thought it was raining ice. I was excited to see it. I asked my mom if I could go outside.
I remember putting on pajamas, heavy socks, snow pants with straps over the shoulders, a winter sweater, heavy boots, a thick jacket, a hat, and mittens. I headed out the door to enjoy the wonderful feeling of the snow day.
I felt the cold wind brush across my face. The snow felt like icy
cold water on my tongue. I felt excited and tingly.
I fell down on my back and started to move my arms up and down.
Then I got up, looked down and saw a snow angel.
I watched my neighbor across the street gather up snow with his hands. He molded it into a ball. I copied him. I made a snowball and smashed it in my face. Then I made another snowball, bent over, and rolled it on the ground. It got bigger and bigger. Soon my snowball was up to my thigh. I couldn’t pick it up because I was too small, so I started rolling another big snowball. I couldn’t pick that one up either. I rolled them together, side by side. I put a stick in one and called it a fallen down man.
My mother called me to come in the house. I was soaking wet and freezing, so I wanted the warm sensation of hot chocolate. My mother told me to take off my boots by the door. She told me to take off my wet clothes and put on the dry ones that were laid out on my bed.
Then I settled down in the living room to enjoy my hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, and cartoons.
JA
1/10
I remember putting on pajamas, heavy socks, snow pants with straps over the shoulders, a winter sweater, heavy boots, a thick jacket, a hat, and mittens. I headed out the door to enjoy the wonderful feeling of the snow day.
I felt the cold wind brush across my face. The snow felt like icy
cold water on my tongue. I felt excited and tingly.
I fell down on my back and started to move my arms up and down.
Then I got up, looked down and saw a snow angel.
I watched my neighbor across the street gather up snow with his hands. He molded it into a ball. I copied him. I made a snowball and smashed it in my face. Then I made another snowball, bent over, and rolled it on the ground. It got bigger and bigger. Soon my snowball was up to my thigh. I couldn’t pick it up because I was too small, so I started rolling another big snowball. I couldn’t pick that one up either. I rolled them together, side by side. I put a stick in one and called it a fallen down man.
My mother called me to come in the house. I was soaking wet and freezing, so I wanted the warm sensation of hot chocolate. My mother told me to take off my boots by the door. She told me to take off my wet clothes and put on the dry ones that were laid out on my bed.
Then I settled down in the living room to enjoy my hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, and cartoons.
JA
1/10
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
My Dog Jake
He likes to walk, he likes to swim,
He likes to run and play.
He seems to bark at everything,
But he makes my day!
When I come home from school,
I like to take a nap.
When I do, he licks my face
And wakes me up to play!
He is my buddy.
BM
5/09
He likes to run and play.
He seems to bark at everything,
But he makes my day!
When I come home from school,
I like to take a nap.
When I do, he licks my face
And wakes me up to play!
He is my buddy.
BM
5/09
Precious Wings
The butterfly gracefully glides from sweet-smelling flower to flower, making the butterfly so delightful, dancing in the wind like wheat in a field, fluttering its wings back and forth like wings of angels, like snowflakes falling softly. The beautiful butterfly journeys for miles and miles on its quest to seek other butterflies. There are hundreds and hundreds of them resting peacefully, delicately, creating one extraordinary collage of rainbow-like colors burning brightly. The stillness of the scene makes me feel tranquil and without worry.
Merry
8/09
Merry
8/09
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Falling in Love
Falling in love is like planting a flower. First you plant the seed, and then you must water it and give it plenty of sunlight so it will grow. The same is true of a new relationship. You must first build a foundation by getting to know each other.
In order for a flower to continue to grow, you must water it, talk to it and give it love. This should also be the process for a new relationship. Nurturing the relationship with communication, understanding, love and care will allow it to grow.
For a flower to reach its growth and bloom, you must continue to care for it on a daily basis. To keep a relationship growing and blooming a lot of work has to be put into it.
There are several things that are critical in making a relationship flourish and last: communication, understanding, support, and love.
JM 3/09
In order for a flower to continue to grow, you must water it, talk to it and give it love. This should also be the process for a new relationship. Nurturing the relationship with communication, understanding, love and care will allow it to grow.
For a flower to reach its growth and bloom, you must continue to care for it on a daily basis. To keep a relationship growing and blooming a lot of work has to be put into it.
There are several things that are critical in making a relationship flourish and last: communication, understanding, support, and love.
JM 3/09
No More Sadness
When I read it’s like a breath of fresh air,
Freedom rings, a good feeling comes over me
Like the blue sea running free,
Just like the flowers, birds, and trees,
Like the summer breeze.
Dreaming to read is not a fairy tale for me anymore.
Learning the correct way is the key.
No more sadness when I pick up a book.
Always believe in yourself. You will see.
Always believe in yourself. You can do it.
No more sadness when I pick up a book.
Sabrina Flintroy
7/22/09
Freedom rings, a good feeling comes over me
Like the blue sea running free,
Just like the flowers, birds, and trees,
Like the summer breeze.
Dreaming to read is not a fairy tale for me anymore.
Learning the correct way is the key.
No more sadness when I pick up a book.
Always believe in yourself. You will see.
Always believe in yourself. You can do it.
No more sadness when I pick up a book.
Sabrina Flintroy
7/22/09
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