Project 2

“ Varsity” Brock Kingslay

He would come home with his clothes covered in wrappers and trash

He would come home crying but would never tell us why or what happened at school

After I dropped him off at school I told myself “ This cant get any worse”

When he got home that day, his eye was as dark as the night and swollen

My wife and I wanted answers but he wouldn't tell us anything

After 30 minutes of asking “Why are you not telling us?”

He caved and started crying

And gave the different types of torment he’d been facing in the locker room

I called the school and hope the boys get what they deserve

But I also questioned “Why would they bully someone with special needs?”

“First” Ryan van Meter

Aubrey and I are in the back of my mom’s station wagon

Watching cars speed by as she smiled

At that moment I knew I loved her

We were 8 years old

Aubrey was the first only green eyed girl I’d fall for but certainly not the last

My mom was driving the car as always

While Aubrey soccer cleats and soccer ball clanked and rolled along the floor

We live in the same neighborhood, 2 houses apart

While waiting for the bus I asked Aubrey to marry me

Reluctantly she said “Yes”

My mom wasn’t happy with me

She said “Black people and white people can’t marry during the 1870s”

I chose to modify these two stories because of the deep meaning behind each of them. The texts I modified in the “Varsity” poem by Brock Kingslay was the POV from the father and how he was dealing with the situation between him and his kid. Also for the “First” poem by Ryan Van Meter I took a young African-American male POV during segregation. One challenged I’ve faced was picking deep and meaningful topics for both of my poems. I solved this issue by putting myself into the situation as if I was there in the moment. What I’ve learned from POV is being able to immerse yourself and other people into your story.

#Project 2