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I Want To Know<br />
Sundus Hussein<br />
Grade 2, Shoreham P.S.<br />
I want to know why?<br />
I want to know why my mom cries when she hears the news?<br />
I want to know why my dad panics when the phone rings at night?<br />
I want to know why my uncle does not send me emails anymore?<br />
I want to know why some countries are so dangerous to live in?<br />
I want to know . . .<br />
I want to know . . .<br />
I want to know . . .<br />
142 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
LA QUESTION<br />
Question! Question!<br />
Qu’est-ce que c’est?<br />
Qu’est-ce que tu veux?<br />
Tu me poses des problèmes…<br />
Pas de réponse!<br />
Carly Lien<br />
2e année—French Immersion<br />
Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S.<br />
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Skin<br />
It surrounds you<br />
Holds you<br />
Keeps you from cold<br />
Keeps you from hot<br />
Jonathan Biafore<br />
Grade 7, King Edward P.S.<br />
It comes in different colours<br />
Different people<br />
Different races, places and faces<br />
None the same<br />
Yet all are<br />
If cut it heals<br />
When wet it seals<br />
It touches and feels<br />
Yet it’s just the outer layer<br />
For you are underneath . . .<br />
144 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Sad faces make you cry.<br />
Faces<br />
Mad faces make you sad.<br />
Happy faces make you happy.<br />
Austin Kpiebewieng<br />
Grade 2, Daystrom P.S.<br />
Faces.<br />
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Christina Beharry<br />
Grade 7, Terraview-Willowfield P.S.<br />
Please Define Colours<br />
Please define colours<br />
for I do not understand<br />
how someone can be judged<br />
by the shade of their hand.<br />
Please define races<br />
for I cannot see<br />
what makes some so different.<br />
We’re all humans, aren’t we?<br />
Please define friendship<br />
for it’s a horrible experience<br />
when no one wants to be with you<br />
’cause of your different appearance.<br />
What gives others<br />
the right to do all this?<br />
Saying who’s good and bad—<br />
it’s a new friend they’ll really miss!<br />
Please define love<br />
for all I see is hate—<br />
the way most have been treated<br />
based on a family trait.<br />
So the next time you see colours<br />
of the people of our lands<br />
please treat them with respect<br />
and soon we’ll all join hands.<br />
146 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
I’m Blushing with Red<br />
Rachel Gertin<br />
Grade 2, Summit Heights P.S.<br />
What is red?<br />
Red is the rainbow that brightens the sky.<br />
Red is spunky and brave in a way.<br />
It is big and mighty, but calm and gentle.<br />
Red has passion and works with Blue to make Purple.<br />
Red mixes with Orange and Yellow in the fall.<br />
Red can move and jam and rock like crazy!<br />
Red can give you energy, movement or power!<br />
Red is scary and frightful.<br />
It is pretty and ugly and in between!<br />
It’s like pain from a leg or lips from a smile.<br />
Red is cuddly, cute, happy or mild.<br />
Red is the colour of your heart beating faster and faster!<br />
Red adds pizzazz to your life!<br />
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My Paradise<br />
Mithila Rajavel<br />
Grade 9, Jarvis C.I.<br />
I wake up in the early morning<br />
to watch the metamorphosis from night to day.<br />
The dark blue sky is fading<br />
into a deep solemn red.<br />
As dawn approaches<br />
the sky turns a brilliant orange.<br />
Then there it is, rising above,<br />
making the darkness cower away into nothing.<br />
The glowing star that brightens our life—<br />
the serene sun.<br />
I walk out onto the balcony;<br />
the gentle breeze immediately arouses my senses.<br />
The old tree down yonder<br />
stretches its long branches<br />
and clasps onto my balcony railing.<br />
My birdhouse is nestled into the branches.<br />
The chickadees are chirping their hearts out<br />
to welcome the morning.<br />
Their music, ringing in my ears,<br />
takes me to another world—<br />
an undisturbed peace.<br />
148 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
As I walk down the shoreline<br />
I can hear the waves crashing<br />
again and again<br />
into the bottomless ocean.<br />
The tide wraps around me<br />
and I let myself be taken.<br />
As I drift weightlessly in the calming waters<br />
I hear the sweet clicking of dolphins.<br />
They frolic playfully in the water—<br />
such gentle, innocent creatures.<br />
As I dive deep under,<br />
I see an endless variety of life—<br />
the fish swimming to and fro<br />
through a rainbow of coral,<br />
illuminating marine life.<br />
Night has fallen,<br />
I can hear the crickets chirping<br />
perfectly in tune with the throbbing silence.<br />
As I lie leisurely in bed<br />
I look out the window<br />
at the shining stars<br />
lighting up the usual barren sky.<br />
Taking in the beauty of it all<br />
I smile.<br />
Entirely my paradise.<br />
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There used to be a time . . .<br />
Maggie Mo<br />
Grade 10, Marc Garneau C.I.<br />
Life Not Long Ago<br />
When my only concern was whether<br />
I got to watch the afternoon Sailor Moon shows;<br />
not whether I would ace the math exam.<br />
When naptimes were still a valid school activity,<br />
and recesses were three times a day;<br />
having no lunch break because I spent it in the library finishing my essay.<br />
When the biggest task I wanted to accomplish<br />
was to sneak into the candy cabinet without getting caught;<br />
not to be successful in life having a career I love.<br />
When I was sure of what I wanted to be when I grew up:<br />
a secret agent, millionaire, designer;<br />
not something that ends in—logist.<br />
When the worst thing I could ever do<br />
was to fight with another kid on the playground,<br />
not disappointing myself, my parents or my teachers.<br />
When boys had cooties,<br />
and the minimum distance I could be near him was one meter;<br />
not so close that he could possibly hold my heart.<br />
When the prospect of adulthood<br />
was so many eons away it seemed like a joke;<br />
not so near that I could feel the weight of responsibility crushing my head.<br />
There used to be a time<br />
when I was young, carefree,<br />
expecting little, wanting little,<br />
and life was simple bliss.<br />
This is the time<br />
when I am on the path of adulthood,<br />
faced with turmoil, challenges,<br />
and looking forward to a new realm of life.<br />
150 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
And I remember<br />
And I remember<br />
running<br />
to the sound of the ice cream truck<br />
running past the other kids<br />
eager to get there first<br />
so there’s no line and no one to wait on<br />
Candice Dallas-Bartley<br />
Grade 9, L’Amoreaux C.I.<br />
And I remember<br />
feeling my heart race<br />
while I played manhunt with my friends in the sun<br />
scared of getting caught<br />
feeling my laughter rising in my throat<br />
even though nothing was funny<br />
And I remember<br />
swimming<br />
with my neighbour, Himali,<br />
swimming to the bottom of the pool<br />
after diving off into the deep end<br />
then racing each other to the other side<br />
And I remember<br />
watching<br />
the sunset in the smothering heat<br />
eating a popsicle<br />
watching the pinks<br />
the reds<br />
the oranges<br />
the purples<br />
and the yellows<br />
all mixing together<br />
and wishing summer could last forever<br />
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Time Goes By<br />
Madeleine Da Cambra<br />
Grade 7, Bowmore P.S.<br />
A<br />
Minute Minute<br />
Turns Into<br />
Hours Hours<br />
Turn Into<br />
Days Days<br />
Turn Into<br />
Weeks Weeks<br />
Turn Into<br />
Months Months<br />
Turn Into<br />
Years Years<br />
Turn Into<br />
Decisions Consequences<br />
Consequences Decisions<br />
A Lifetime<br />
152 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
In just that moment<br />
Everything else stops.<br />
Just One<br />
Marija Ojdrovic<br />
Grade 11, Humberside C.I.<br />
The world stops spinning like a dog chasing its tail,<br />
And that dog stops too.<br />
The wind stops breathing like a heavy smoker,<br />
And that smoker puts down the cigarette.<br />
The second hand stops ticking like a lifeless heart,<br />
And that heart promptly awakens.<br />
The gravity stops pulling like a tugboat at work,<br />
And that tugboat just floats.<br />
The stars stop shining like burnt-out flashlights,<br />
And those flashlights light up in one last burst.<br />
The pages stop turning like in a closed book,<br />
And that reader learns from the experience.<br />
It is but one instant that means<br />
The world, the chase,<br />
The breath, the urge,<br />
The time, the heart,<br />
The work, the rest,<br />
The sparkle, the light,<br />
The knowledge, the experience,<br />
The realization<br />
That in just that moment<br />
Everything else stops.<br />
What is that moment for you?<br />
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Clock<br />
A home for a tick tock<br />
as the hours go by<br />
in my grandfather’s clock<br />
that tick will never die<br />
154 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Jake Halliday-Conquer<br />
Grade 3, Wilkinson P.S.<br />
Inside a Piano<br />
Inside a piano<br />
is like inside our world.<br />
Athletes sprint<br />
across the chromatic scales.<br />
Children staccato<br />
into the white puddles.<br />
Yun Kao<br />
Grade 11, Victoria Park S.S.<br />
Inside a piano are distinctive<br />
keys of alphabets<br />
composing sentences of<br />
breathtaking melodies and harmonies.<br />
Sudden maledictions pop out of<br />
the misplayed keys in the score.<br />
Inside a piano inhabit<br />
people with abundant varieties of emotions.<br />
Sometimes they roar in anger,<br />
other times they give each other<br />
darkish romantic preludes.<br />
Inside a piano is a<br />
kid that plays through forte.<br />
When tired<br />
he decrescendos down to<br />
a pianissimo sleep.<br />
Inside my piano is a heaven that<br />
touches everyone’s heart and soul<br />
because what plays out of my piano<br />
is from the inside of me.<br />
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Piano<br />
Kevin Hsiao<br />
Grade 6, Brian P.S.<br />
There is a great piano<br />
slowly collecting dust, and quietly alone<br />
Until I apply my fingers<br />
there is no sound or tone<br />
Suddenly sweet music gently fills the air<br />
People turn their heads wondering “what” and “where”<br />
Slowly the music stops<br />
I walk away<br />
The old piano is smiling, showing his ivory teeth<br />
156 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Ludwig von Beethoven<br />
Prabha Poudel<br />
Grade 6, Roden P.S. Jr.<br />
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one two<br />
Time Wasted<br />
symphonic notes pouring<br />
through the walls<br />
windows<br />
doorways<br />
from that wretched<br />
thing<br />
three four<br />
once bringing me excitement<br />
wonder<br />
pride<br />
now dashed away<br />
with loathsome promises<br />
of work<br />
always work<br />
never once broken<br />
158 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Alexandra Koskinen<br />
Grade 9, Highland J.H.S.<br />
one two<br />
moments of staring<br />
into shining gold<br />
seem so undeniably<br />
pointless<br />
after it<br />
stole<br />
my saturdays<br />
three four<br />
sweet melodies turn<br />
sour<br />
with every passing moment<br />
oh how I<br />
protest<br />
ever falling<br />
for that stupid brass creature<br />
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Rap City<br />
160 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Aarani Paramalingam<br />
Grade 8, Highcastle P.S.<br />
Music (a tanka)<br />
Music can be felt<br />
It can touch your very soul<br />
Calming to your mind<br />
It can love you in the cold<br />
An opening of the heart<br />
Mishannah Stevens<br />
Grade 9, Weston C.I.<br />
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Chessy Jian<br />
Grade 12, Sir John A. MacDonald C.I.<br />
Fading Memories<br />
162 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Open those Gates<br />
Open those gates<br />
to your empty eyes.<br />
Listen to your surroundings:<br />
can’t you hear the tears of the sky?<br />
Take a tentative step<br />
and feel<br />
the silk whispers of the wind.<br />
It’s beautiful—<br />
let’s befriend it.<br />
Breathe deeply.<br />
Can you smell the dew on grass<br />
or taste the sunny mornings?<br />
Finally, let the sandy shores<br />
wash away those empty shells<br />
that used to be inhabited.<br />
If you can open your eyes<br />
and see those singing voices<br />
then you can paint the water’s sighs<br />
and realize<br />
for the first time<br />
you’re somewhere else.<br />
If one door closes for you<br />
I’ll open another one.<br />
Penny Zhang<br />
Grade 8, Agnes Macphail P.S.<br />
Promise me you’ll make it as bright as your smile!<br />
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Madeleine Long<br />
8e année—French Immersion<br />
Earl Grey Sr. P.S.<br />
Poème basé sur un livre :<br />
Les secrets d’Aramanth<br />
Dans le désert<br />
On explore<br />
Le char à voile<br />
Les Vieux Enfants<br />
On est capturé,<br />
Emprisonné<br />
Par des hommes qui ont des cheveux coloriés.<br />
On a entendu qu’on va être pendu.<br />
Notre quête<br />
Est incomplète.<br />
On n’a pas trouvé<br />
La vérité,<br />
N’a pas entendu<br />
Le vent chanter,<br />
N’a pas assuré<br />
La paix pour notre cité.<br />
164 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Freedom Surfer<br />
Gilad Lippa<br />
Grade 6, Maurice Cody P.S.<br />
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Being L.D.<br />
Don’t listen to words that hurt you,<br />
like you are stupid or wrong.<br />
Don’t listen because they’re not true.<br />
I used to hear those things when I was younger.<br />
Everyone else learned to print and spell.<br />
The more they learned the more I stood out.<br />
A lot of people thought that I was lazy.<br />
I really tried to be like other kids<br />
but I couldn’t be.<br />
I thought it was just me.<br />
Maggie Bisset<br />
Grade 6, Forest Manor P.S.<br />
I used to feel panicked when I wrote.<br />
My brain would tell me things but my hands weren’t fast enough.<br />
It never looked how I imagined it would be<br />
and things were missing that I thought were there.<br />
Sometimes it made me angry.<br />
166 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Even when I felt sad<br />
a voice inside my head told me to keep believing.<br />
It said that one day these stories that my hand wasn’t fast enough to write<br />
WOULD be written.<br />
I did find people who believed in me.<br />
They taught me things that changed my world.<br />
They showed me how to use a computer.<br />
They listen to me and talk to me.<br />
They are kind to me.<br />
Now the things in my head are getting written<br />
so that others can read them—not just me.<br />
If you meet a kid who can’t do what others do—<br />
a kid who can’t write or read like you,<br />
try to be a friend and be a person who believes in them.<br />
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Dani Tavroges<br />
8e année—Core French<br />
Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School<br />
Ode aux cheveuxs<br />
168 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Pauline Pangilinan<br />
Grade 3, Terraview-Willowfield P.S.<br />
Self-Portrait<br />
My brain is like a calculator.<br />
My eyes are like a window opening and closing.<br />
My heart is as warm as a hot chocolate.<br />
I live in a math textbook and I eat word problems.<br />
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Marionette<br />
Gueletina Ksenia<br />
Grade 8, Charles H. Best M.S.<br />
I’m lost like a marionette,<br />
dangling, with its feet almost touching the ground.<br />
I’m lost like a newspaper<br />
thrown away to the wind, not quite reaching the sky.<br />
I’m lost like a sock,<br />
doomed to uselessness without the other half.<br />
I’m lost like a broken toy;<br />
A toy car breaking a wheel just before reaching the finish line.<br />
I’m lost like a pop can<br />
rattling in an empty gutter.<br />
But at the same time,<br />
I’m found like a piece of fuzz<br />
flying on the wind and chased by little kids on a Saturday.<br />
I’m found like a shell<br />
unearthed by patient hands from the sand.<br />
My life, like any other life, is like a knot—<br />
tangled, complicated, useless.<br />
It’ll be unravelled at the end, but when it does,<br />
I’ll be sorry to see it go.<br />
170 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Maya Stewart Pathak<br />
Grade 8, Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S.<br />
I am From<br />
I am from transforming<br />
Like a caterpillar to a butterfly<br />
A listener to a teller<br />
From plastic cups sticky from<br />
Little hands<br />
Chubby cheeks flushed pink<br />
From smiling<br />
Mushed up peas, bananas with peanut butter<br />
A worn brown bear with<br />
Button eyes and a<br />
Lost nose<br />
To tall crystal glasses painted<br />
Green purple blue<br />
Freckled cheeks flushed pink<br />
From smiling<br />
Curried rice and peas, hot samosas and nan<br />
Climbing the sycamore tree<br />
Branches dancing and<br />
Peeling bark<br />
I am from transforming<br />
Like a caterpillar to a butterfly<br />
A scribbler to a poet<br />
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Mithuna Jeganthas<br />
Grade 5, White Haven Jr. P.S.<br />
What School is Really Like<br />
School<br />
An enchanted forest full of books<br />
A secret chamber full of knowledge<br />
A place that allows curiosity<br />
A path that leads to your imagination<br />
A memory you will never forget<br />
A message telling you “You could do it”<br />
An open gateway for learning spirits<br />
A journey to achieve your goal<br />
An adventure to succeed<br />
A road to your future<br />
A start to your life<br />
A learning palace<br />
School<br />
172 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Bronwyn Smith<br />
Grade 5, John Wanless Jr. P.S.<br />
What I Found in my Desk<br />
A mouse I forgot to feed<br />
A pumpkin with lots of seeds<br />
A sandwich with cottage cheese<br />
An ice cube that will not freeze<br />
A tennis ball that doesn’t bounce<br />
A rag doll that weighs one ounce<br />
A birthday card I did not send<br />
A pencil that doesn’t bend<br />
An art portrait that has no face<br />
A ribbon from last year’s race<br />
And one more thing I must confess<br />
A note from the teacher: CLEAN THIS MESS<br />
(modelled on Bruce Lansky’s “What I Found in My Desk”)<br />
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School<br />
The pens danced across the pages<br />
The words began to grow<br />
The erasers jumped on and off<br />
The papers started to complain<br />
The paperclips started to scream<br />
The staples began to sing<br />
The chairs were fighting<br />
Then the school opened<br />
174 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Katie Middlebrook<br />
Grade 9, Weston C.I.<br />
Jazmin Batey<br />
Grade 5, High Park Alternative School Jr.<br />
What’s On My Bookshelf<br />
Books that talk and tell me stories<br />
Beautiful beads that glitter and glow<br />
Family photographs holding memories<br />
Crinkled paper storing secrets<br />
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Deepa Prashad<br />
Grade 6, North Bridlewood Jr. P.S.<br />
Portrait<br />
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Pink Perfume<br />
I remember her pink perfume<br />
Enveloping her every move<br />
Tracing her footsteps<br />
Like a shadow.<br />
I remember her joyous voice<br />
Bobbing up and down<br />
As the ice cube in her drink<br />
Rocks gently from side to side.<br />
Deirdre McDonald<br />
Grade 12, Silverthorn C.I.<br />
Her lips, painted pale pink,<br />
framed a witty mouth.<br />
Her hands, soft, small,<br />
Carried a secret inside each crevice.<br />
I remember being captivated<br />
By her endless stories.<br />
Her laugh, her tight-lipped smile,<br />
And how her eyes would light up<br />
Every time she saw us.<br />
I can still smell her pink perfume.<br />
(Inspired by Dorothy Livesay)<br />
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Adrian Hagar<br />
Grade 9, Dr. Norman Bethune C.I.<br />
In the Eye of the Beholder<br />
I was beautiful<br />
once, porcelain perfection<br />
everything bright and good<br />
high above the shadows, and confident<br />
they couldn’t touch me<br />
it was unreal<br />
then I found you<br />
embodiment of darkness<br />
so alluring<br />
you stood there<br />
so calm in your defiance<br />
of everything I believed<br />
(I could imagine<br />
wings, black-feathered wings<br />
but that would be overly<br />
dramatic)<br />
you brought me down<br />
from the lies I stood for<br />
your kiss<br />
like liquid fire<br />
searing truth into my soul<br />
shattering my world and everything<br />
in it; everything right and wrong<br />
178 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
you held my hand<br />
all night<br />
as I cried tears of<br />
reproach and<br />
fear<br />
of what I knew<br />
the truth<br />
brought me through the<br />
darkness, the false light<br />
stopped me<br />
from ending it the easy way<br />
forced me to realize<br />
the flaws<br />
within and without<br />
I was beautiful<br />
but now I am alive<br />
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Juliet<br />
180 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Katherine Kouzmina<br />
Grade 10, Humberside C.I.<br />
The Diamond<br />
The diamond<br />
looks like<br />
it is<br />
from a golden chest.<br />
It looks like<br />
a rainbow umbrella.<br />
It is as shiny<br />
as a golden sun.<br />
It could be<br />
jewellery for a<br />
silvery mermaid.<br />
Merron Tegene<br />
Grade 1, Rose Avenue P.S.<br />
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Le matin<br />
Emma Buller<br />
6e année—French Immersion<br />
Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S.<br />
Il est 7 h du matin…<br />
Je dois me lever<br />
Mais encore ma tête reste<br />
Sur mon oreiller.<br />
Mes yeux sont fermés.<br />
Je n’ai pas bougé.<br />
C’est presque l’heure<br />
Du petit déjeuner.<br />
Mais je suis toujours au lit<br />
Jusqu’à ce que ma sœur me dise :<br />
«Réveille-toi! C’est samedi!»<br />
182 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Castle<br />
Melissa Kwan<br />
Grade 5, Diefenbaker E.S.<br />
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Sky Runner<br />
On top of the world<br />
we sit and watch<br />
the sun shipwreck into a sea of buildings.<br />
You look at me<br />
smiling a crooked smile.<br />
You look down.<br />
The city lights up<br />
to celebrate the fall of the sun,<br />
and, through your window,<br />
I can see the light turn on in your attic.<br />
Michelle Chan<br />
Grade 10, Riverdale C.I.<br />
The September wind kicks you up on your feet<br />
and you pretend to jump over the edge of the building,<br />
to dive into the ocean of speeding cars.<br />
Startled, I scramble to stop you,<br />
to save you<br />
from nothing.<br />
You laugh and pull me in.<br />
Into a run for our lives<br />
over the top of the skyline.<br />
September kisses my face<br />
and makes you flush a rosy red,<br />
barely visible in the weak light.<br />
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We leap over the gaps between the buildings,<br />
building a bridge for future<br />
sky runners.<br />
The world stops.<br />
So we stop.<br />
And hold our breaths in fear.<br />
We hold our breaths in fear of losing what we have created.<br />
Courage.<br />
We face our fears.<br />
I laugh into the night,<br />
and you mirror me.<br />
Nothing is broken<br />
so we keep running.<br />
What are we running from?<br />
You laugh.<br />
I smile.<br />
The city twinkles like a million stars below us<br />
as we float above our universe.<br />
It’s what we’ve created; it’s what we’ve made.<br />
Tonight, the city is ours.<br />
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I Need To Be Brave<br />
I need to be brave<br />
at night time to get some sleep<br />
but I have a light<br />
186 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Negar Karimi<br />
Grade 3, Fenside P.S.<br />
The Poetry Project<br />
A poem doesn’t have to rhyme;<br />
people write them all the time.<br />
Zoë Norman<br />
Grade 6, Bowmore P.S.<br />
It’s not very hard to make them unique;<br />
they could have sound effects—hinges that creak.<br />
Allusions so tortured, so dreadfully weak,<br />
to give them the syllabic cadence they seek.<br />
Bards sift through themes to find ones that will matter,<br />
displaying their words on a bright silver platter.<br />
’Cause when it comes to that deadline day,<br />
it’s not very easy to get an “A”.<br />
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Pen and Flame<br />
Meredith Laver<br />
Grade 7, St. Andrew’s J.H.S.<br />
The shadowy charcoal stains gaze moodily down from the creamy firebrick<br />
at the flickering play of colours that dance below, occasionally leaping up<br />
to grin obnoxiously, and then, twisting away,<br />
pulled by a fiery momentum.<br />
Silky flames brush amber lips against the stony chimney walls<br />
and then glide away to slip again through rusted bars.<br />
Smoky illusions twist in and out of shifting forms,<br />
weaving a translucent tapestry of clouded perfume.<br />
Flickering golden butterflies dart through the haze,<br />
sparking intertwining trails.<br />
An ad for cars sails gently on an updraft to smother the warm glow<br />
emitted by the sinuous threads of flickering illumination.<br />
A tangled web of ginger tendrils snakes through the fibres of the paper<br />
while greedy tongues lick hungrily at a once-bold headline.<br />
Pale ivory becomes molten copper, surging with waves of flowing passion.<br />
Golden worms devour the crinkled mahogany edges, nibbling away<br />
at a story of oppression and pain, destroying all evidence.<br />
It writhes to escape, but is caught on a whisper of air and is whirled furiously<br />
up the sooty chimney, clinging desperately to the flue.<br />
Scattered fragments, scattered words drift down and are lost<br />
amid the flaming sea.<br />
A wasted story.<br />
The flickering amber flowers retreat, laughing, into a fortress of charred logs<br />
where dusty white squares are split by ebony chasms,<br />
revealing a vividly glowing river of vermillion embers.<br />
A girl lies by the cooling hearth, scratching a pen across paper.<br />
She is trying to write a poem.<br />
188 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
The Feather<br />
The furry feather<br />
Looks like it has<br />
Lots of tickles<br />
In it.<br />
Madeline Koo<br />
Grade 1, Kennedy P.S.<br />
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Rina Kang<br />
Grade 7, Bowmore P.S.<br />
The Day My Consciousness Met Poetry<br />
Miss,<br />
Sorry to disturb your<br />
Charismatic fantasies, but as your loyal<br />
Conscious and Security Advisor,<br />
I must inform you that I have scavenged<br />
A most curious, dazzled soul lurking in Sector D of the<br />
Brain.<br />
I held him captive<br />
Under my most watchful eyes.<br />
Miss,<br />
In all the years of my most<br />
Loyal service I have never set eyes on a<br />
Being of such grand<br />
Character.<br />
His crystalline appearance was as<br />
Captivating as the<br />
Ghostly glow of the moon-lit night.<br />
He carried a fragrance of magnolia<br />
Ready to bloom.<br />
His demeanour was as<br />
Mystifying as the lost deserts of Egypt.<br />
190 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
As I stood there,<br />
A symphony of emotions<br />
Consumed his soul,<br />
And his body, no more.<br />
He gave me a sense of understanding beyond my years,<br />
Which I shall cherish eternally.<br />
Sadly enough, what I extracted little from him was<br />
His place of origin:<br />
The Monarch of Imagination<br />
And his name:<br />
Poetry.<br />
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Everything<br />
Don’t you hate—just hate it<br />
When every song,<br />
When every picture,<br />
When every word,<br />
When every thought,<br />
When just everything<br />
reminds you of that<br />
Special person …<br />
And that just reminds you<br />
of the one thing<br />
you don’t have.<br />
192 <strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong><br />
Shirley Lai<br />
Grade 7, Port Royal P.S.<br />
Poetry<br />
Writing a poem<br />
Is like knitting<br />
It is very difficult<br />
But it all comes together<br />
In<br />
The end<br />
Jillian Sprenger<br />
Grade 4, Millwood J.S.<br />
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Author and Artist Index<br />
A<br />
Laila Abdulhadi – Forest Manor P.S. 123<br />
Faria Abedin – H.J. Alexander C.S. 40<br />
Caleb Ajao – Anson S. Taylor Jr. P.S. 132<br />
Ashleigh Alexander – L’Amoreaux C.I. 70<br />
Brian Aouad – Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School 48<br />
Marina Apostolopoulos – Brian P.S. 121<br />
B<br />
Pranav Balakrishnan – Daystrom P.S. 130<br />
Rashaun Baptiste – Humberwood Downs J.M. Academy 122<br />
Jazmin Batey – High Park Alternative School Jr. 175<br />
Christina Beharry – Terraview-Willowfield P.S. 146<br />
Jonathan Biafore – King Edward P.S. 144<br />
Maggie Bisset – Forest Manor P.S. 166<br />
Kianna Blair-Washington – Willow Park Jr. P.S. 36<br />
Hana Brath – Withrow Avenue P.S. 69<br />
Abigail Buller – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 4<br />
Emma Buller – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 182<br />
Kaitlin Burek – John G. Althouse M.S. 138<br />
Heather Burt – John Ross Robertson P.S. 75<br />
C<br />
Yvonne Cadogen – L’Amoreaux C.I. 74<br />
Joshua Cambranes – Cordella Avenue Jr. P.S. 87<br />
Anne Chambers – Humberside C.I. 105, 117<br />
Michelle Chan – Riverdale C.I. 184<br />
Tithi Chowdhury – John A Leslie P.S. 92<br />
Sophia Christopher – John Ross Robertson P.S. 57<br />
Marisa Coulton – North Bridlewood Jr. P.S. 60<br />
Liam Cummins – Bowmore P.S. 126<br />
Josh Cunningham – Roden P.S. Jr. 84<br />
Julia Cuthbertson – Broadlands P.S. 62<br />
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D<br />
Madeleine Da Cambra – Bowmore P.S. 152<br />
Candice Dallas-Bartley – L’Amoreaux C.I. 151<br />
Roxanne De Souza – Silverthorn C.I. 34<br />
Katarina Djuric – Rosethorn J.S. 47<br />
Amanda Dmytryshyn – Silverthorn C.I. 17<br />
Jennifer Do – Kane M.S. 112<br />
Lexia Donaldson – Selwyn E.S. 67<br />
F<br />
Jing Yang Fan – North Bridlewood Jr. P.S. 137<br />
Zhiliang Fang – Corvette Jr. P.S. 95<br />
Dahir Farah – Cordella Avenue Jr. P.S. 54<br />
Gemma Foley – Dovercourt Jr. P.S. 51, 59<br />
Deborah Francis – Sir Wilfrid Laurier C.I. 53<br />
G<br />
Aniza Galbete – Gracedale P.S. 13<br />
Jenfay Gan – Port Royal P.S. 139<br />
Rachel Gardiner – John A. Leslie P.S. 52<br />
Rachel Gertin – Summit Heights P.S. 147<br />
Agrin Ghiasvand – Brian P.S. 135<br />
Molly Gladstone – Bowmore P.S. 141<br />
Dominique Glassman – Riverdale C.I. 128<br />
Sveta Gosteva – Charles H. Best M.S. cover<br />
Monica Guan – Henry Hudson Sr. P.S. 63<br />
Adiya Guzmán-Durakovic – Montrose P.S. 8<br />
H<br />
Adrian Hagar – Dr. Norman Bethune C.I. 178<br />
Shakira Hakimzadah – Victoria Park S.S. 100<br />
Jake Halliday-Conquer – Wilkinson P.S. 154<br />
Will Hanna – Maurice Cody P.S. 30<br />
Christine Hansen-Gealon – Highland J.H.S. 106<br />
Yasir Haque – Rene Gordon E.S. 18<br />
Elizabeth Harvey – Lambton-Kingsway J.M.S. 50<br />
Daniel Haynes – Clinton Street Jr. P.S. 109<br />
Taher Hitawala – Woburn Jr. P.S. 86<br />
Jordan Hofmann – Palmerston Avenue P.S. 64<br />
David Hong – Weston C.I. 9<br />
Hinako Hosoya – Queen Victoria P.S. 44<br />
Kevin Hsiao – Brian P.S. 156<br />
Lily Huang – Clinton Street Jr. P.S 94<br />
Saniya Hussain – O’Connor P.S. 125<br />
Sundus Hussein – Shoreham P.S. 142<br />
Peter Huycke – John Wanless Jr. P.S. 85<br />
Michael Iwamoto – John Ross Robertson P.S. 79<br />
J<br />
Mithuna Jeganthas – White Haven Jr. P.S. 172<br />
Mithila Jeyakumar – Queen Victoria P.S. 111<br />
Chessy Jian – Sir John A. MacDonald C.I. 162<br />
Christopher Jones – John G. Althouse M.S. 32<br />
Zainab Jumshaid – North Bridlewood Jr. P.S. 58<br />
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I<br />
K<br />
Sophia Kane – John Ross Robertson P.S. 75<br />
Rina Kang – Bowmore P.S. 190<br />
Yun Kao – Victoria Park S.S. 155<br />
Evangeline Kapsalis – Woburn Jr. P.S. 42<br />
Céline Karkaby – Dunlace P.S. 119<br />
Negar Karimi – Fenside P.S. 186<br />
Jasmeet Kaur Ajrha – Humberwood Downs J.M. Academy 27<br />
Jessica Keffer – St. Andrew’s P.S. 14<br />
Peter Kim – Sir Wilfred Laurier C.I. 108<br />
Jamieson King – John Ross Robertson P.S. 56<br />
Jada Kinnaird – Chine Drive P.S. 11<br />
Madeline Koo – Kennedy P.S. 189<br />
Alexandra Koskinen – Highland J.H.S. 83, 158<br />
Katherine Kouzmina – Humberside C.I. 180<br />
Austin Kpiebewieng – Daystrom P.S. 145<br />
Gueletina Ksenia – Charles H. Best M.S 103, 170<br />
Candice Kung – Don Mills C.I. 24<br />
Melissa Kwan – Diefenbaker E.S. 183
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L<br />
Shirley Lai – Port Royal P.S. 192<br />
Janice Lam – Port Royal P.S. 129<br />
Sandy Lam – Carlton Village Jr. & Sr. P.S. 65<br />
Iyma Lamarche – Palmerston Avenue P.S. 1<br />
Meredith Laver – St. Andrew’s J.H.S. 188<br />
Mary Lee – Agincourt C.I. 22<br />
David Lee – Highland J.H.S. 82<br />
Hudson Lennie – John G. Althouse M.S. 37<br />
Cece Li – North Bridlewood Jr. P.S. 12<br />
Clement Li – Cummer Valley M.S. 49<br />
Lauren Li – Millwood J.S. 66<br />
Carly Lien – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 143<br />
Ruyang Lin – Grenoble P.S. 88<br />
Gilad Lippa – Maurice Cody P.S. 165<br />
Alanna Lipson – Humberside C.I. 6<br />
Tommy Liu – R.H. King Academy 23<br />
Yevin Liyanapatabendi – John A. Leslie P.S. 131<br />
Michael Locatelli – Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School 134<br />
Madeline Long – Earl Grey Sr. P.S. 164<br />
M<br />
N<br />
April Masongsong – West Glen J.S. 26<br />
Katarina Mayer – Rosethorn J.S. 110<br />
Lauren McCarthy – Rosethorn J.S. 45<br />
Maggie McDonald – Williamson Road P.S. 68<br />
Deirdre McDonald – Silverthorn C.I. 177<br />
Yeats McNally – Earl Grey Sr. P.S. 46<br />
Katie Middlebrook – Weston C.I. 7, 174<br />
Maggie Mo – Marc Garneau C.I. 150<br />
Rahim Mohamed – Thistletown C.I. 136<br />
Nasir Mohamed – Westview Centennial S.S. 140<br />
Quadriy Naimi – Willow Park Jr. P.S. 101<br />
Sean Nemett – Norway P.S. 102<br />
Maxwell Norman – Bowmore P.S. 116<br />
Zoë Norman – Bowmore P.S 187<br />
O<br />
Marija Ojdrovic – Humberside C.I. 153<br />
Chris O’Melia – Maurice Cody P.S. 30<br />
Jamie Onyshko – Diefenbaker E.S. 93<br />
Ivy Osei – Lamberton P.S. 120<br />
P<br />
Pauline Pangilinan – Terraview-Willowfield P.S. 169<br />
Matthew Papadatos – Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School 19<br />
Aarani Paramalingam – Highcastle P.S. 160<br />
Maya Stewart Pathak – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 171<br />
Thomas Poltoranos – Princess Margaret J.S. 89<br />
Anya Pospiech – George Peck P.S. 133<br />
Prabha Poudel – Roden P.S. Jr. 157<br />
Deepa Prashad – North Bridlewood Jr. P.S. 176<br />
Thomas Pryor – John A. Leslie P.S. 3<br />
Rafay Qadri – Forest Manor P.S. 16<br />
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Q<br />
R<br />
Aryana Rabii – Lillian P.S. 80<br />
Tharmila Rajasingam – R.H. King Academy 38<br />
Mithila Rajavel – Jarvis C.I. 148<br />
Ravin Ramnarain – Anson S. Taylor Jr. P.S. 39<br />
Cameron Redlich – Princess Margaret J.S. 78<br />
Lillian Ross-Millard – Horizon Alternative School 31<br />
S<br />
Brahm Sanger – Daystrom P.S. 33<br />
Peter Sarellas – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 96<br />
Eilythea Senis – John Buchan Sr. P.S. 20<br />
Caitlin Seto – Diefenbaker E.S. 97<br />
Danielle Shachar – Cummer Valley M.S. 72, 99<br />
Justine Shackleton – West Rouge Jr. P.S. 5<br />
Tori Shin – Lillian P.S. 21<br />
Andrew Shon – Cummer Valley M.S. 28<br />
Sulaxi Sivakumar – Glamorgan Jr. P.S. 61<br />
Bronwyn Smith – John Wanless Jr. P.S. 173
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Jillian Sprenger – Millwood J.S. 104, 193<br />
Lathika Sritharan – Sir Wilfred Laurier C.I. 91<br />
Nicole Staios – Terraview-Willowfield P.S. 2<br />
Mishannah Stevens – Weston C.I. 161<br />
Vinoj Suthakaran – Highcastle P.S. 90<br />
Moshin Syed – Willow Park Jr. P.S. 127<br />
T<br />
Dani Tavroges – Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School 168<br />
Candice Tay – Bayview M.S. 124<br />
Merron Tegene – Rose Avenue P.S. 181<br />
V<br />
Carrie Viegas – Faywood Arts-Based Curriculum School 98<br />
W<br />
Jerry Wang – Forest Manor P.S. 77<br />
Emily Webb – Roselands Jr. P.S. 81<br />
Cassandra Wells – Weston C.I. 10<br />
Valerie West – Queen Victoria P.S. 114<br />
Rachel Wilson – Brian P.S. 29<br />
Y<br />
David Yang – Lambton-Kingsway J.M.S. 41<br />
Grace Yao – Lescon P.S. 25<br />
Quincy Yee – Runnymede Jr. & Sr. P.S. 55<br />
Stephanie Yip – Brian P.S. 73<br />
Alice You – Cummer Valley M.S. 35<br />
Z<br />
200<br />
Jerry Zhang – Lescon P.S. 76<br />
Michael Zhang – Dovercourt Jr. P.S. 115<br />
Penny Zhang – Agnes Macphail P.S. 163<br />
Mari Zhou – Jarvis C.I. 15<br />
Max Zidel – Vaughan Road Academy 118<br />
<strong>Urban</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> • L’écho de la ville <strong>2007</strong>