2021-2022

I'm from everywhere and nowhere

My nationality only partly exists

My home is controversial

My identity torn into half by six.

I'm too Israeli for the Americans and too Arab for the Jews

I belong to three countries; all of which are enemies.

The battlefield only grows

Everything and nothing,

It's never-ending;

And I can't even answer the simplest question: "Where are you from?"

Because I'm stuck in the middle.

I'm the center of your hate.

No matter what I say you'll twist my words against me, try to make me 

manipulate,

Eliminate.

There can't be rhythm to aggression I can't write nice for unsolved crimes

problems prosper.

You can't hope for peace when extremity prevails.

You can't hope for peace when your boat doesn't even have a sail.

and so to answer your question;

"Where am I from?"

I'm from the ruins of Yemen

Built from ashes and steam

I'm from the war of Israel and Palestine 

And now I'm in the land of America

But even here I'm not free.

Kapara;

An old hebrew word derived from the testament

Where stories are first told.

Fashioned into speech and context of ritual

"My innocent one.

My dearest innocent one" 

It pleads.

Sometimes it might feel hard.

Too much classwork, not making friends.

But I know, you will get past it.

You will learn how to move on.

One step at a time,

Moving closer to the goal.

Work hard, and you will achieve, and feel right.

You will belong.

Never again

Will I take for granted

The things that feel eternal

For they can drift away as the moon and sun dance

And we stand

And sit

And sleep

And we go through our days

One after another

Believing everything is forever

But then it's gone

You wish you'd savored more

That you'd never complained

And you’d held on tight to those memories

Because now the world you knew 

Is no more

Running Out

No need to mumble  or whisper

No need to talk things over

No need to wait and wait

We need to Shout

Because we are running

Let our voices be heard

Because we are running

We need to Shout 

Because we are running

OUT

OF

TIME 

The times that I want to disappear,

But then want to be seen.

Sometimes there are moments where I feel alone.

In these moments,

I am lost.

These moments are when my true self comes out,

A coward.

The words hurt me,

I am fragile.

Each time, another hit to the heart,

Never shown, but

Weakening.

Weakening.

Stumbling to the next moment.

Caught in one frame of the movie.

Stuck.

But then I am back,

Back in my room.

In the dark.

I move on,

But hold in within me the moments of darkness.

Who will be my light?

Rain 

Rain. 

A light drip-drop, first. 

Faster: 

A pitter-patter 

A splitter-splatter 

Against the car windshield 

Splish, splish, splash! 

Through a puddle, droplets fly sky-high The world is soaking wet 

And yet 

I’m still warm and dry. 

The sky is a mess of grays 

The clouds: 

a dreary gray 

Drip, drip, dropping 

Water droplets. 

The sun! 

shining through 

Yet 

Still a light 

White-gray. 

We wait 

For a burst of rainbow. 

Rain.

The first time I ever laid my eyes on you,

 You were curled into a ball

Wrapped with a red blanket 

January the weather outside sunny and bright

You eyes were shut tight 

The hospital doors whooshing open and close

The chattering in the room congratulating

But my eyes were focused on you

The waves of joy, happiness

And a little fear hit me 

Was I going to be a good sibling?

Willing myself not to dwell

I touched you face 

With a caring grace

A tap on my tense shoulder,

 the quiet, calm nurse

Asking if I wanted to hold you

Nodding I held my arm out 

Tentatively wrapping my warm arms around you

As I held you, 

I felt a warm glow radiating from you

After months of waiting 

Months of dreaming about this exact moment 

Emotions flooded me, happiness, joy, excitement 

I looked up my mother staring at her two kids 

A huge smile on her face.

A little burrito you were 

Swallowed by the giant red blanket 

A present from me 

I had spent hours trying to find

The perfect for my perfect little brother

The blanket on you 

The color red as heart 

And bright as your smile 

You were wrapped in it 

A blanket of love from me 

I suck in my stomach

I pull on a hoodie

Lipgloss seals my mouth shut

Gum is the only thing I can eat today

Mascara is smeared around my eyes

I look like a raccoon

I sit on the bathroom floor

I can't force the tears out

I scream in silence

My stomach growls

Shut up, I cry internally

Boys look at me

I tug down my shorts

This can't happen again

But it does

Everyday

Repeat

Repeat

Repeat

Never ending

Censoring books has become an epidemic that threatens children's learning. Over 270 books were challenged or banned in 2020 according to Banned Books Week. While most of the challengers think that doing so is the right choice, quite often it can stop important lesson learning. One book that is commonly challenged is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In the book, select children in a post-apocalyptic North America are forced to compete in ‘The Hunger Games’, where they are sent to an arena and forced to fight to the death. The main character, a hunter in a poor community, inevitably gets picked. Although the book contains themes of violence without consequence, it also shows important messages of giving and getting help, and banning books takes away important discussions about difficult things, so it should be part of middle school curriculums.

Banning seems like a good idea because it shows people being violent with no consequence, seemingly destigmatizing it. After a boy is angered during the games, he blames another for his technology going awry. The main character, Katniss, narrates, “The boy from district three only has time to turn and run before Cato catches him in a headlock from behind. I can see the muscles ripple in Cato’s arms as he sharply jerks the boy's head to the side. It’s that quick. The death of the boy from district 3”(224). Although there are multiple people around, including Katniss, nobody steps in. This is harmful to middle school children because it seems to tell you that a life is not important, that a person is only worth four sentences. Also, with nobody stepping in to help the boy, this sentence can be interpreted as saying that killing is okay. There are also no thoughts from the main character or words from the other characters saying this is wrong and an out of proportion reaction on the part of Cato. With no one saying that, the book seems to tell you that hurting others is okay when they have done something that harms you, even if unintentional. This is quite obviously a bad message to be sending to kids, who may still be learning appropriate reactions and managing emotions. Then, when the main character’s friend is trapped, something happens to her and the main character decides to retaliate, “She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body. The boy from district 1 dies before he can pull out the spear. My arrow drives deeply into the center of his neck” (232-233). In this excerpt Katniss decides that since her friend was killed by a boy, she is going to kill that boy, quickly, and without any attempt at reasoning or discussion, while he was showing no apparent threat to her. This normalizes ‘an eye for an eye’ treatment, where wrongdoing on one person's part leads to wrongdoing on the others. Impressionable children reading this will take that lesson and bring it into their daily lives, instead of practicing methods like discussion on how someone's behavior affected them. Also, this quote normalizes violence, by explaining two very gruesome methods of killing.

However, the book highlights how it is okay to rely on friends for help and how important giving help is. The main character's family relies on her and her best friend hunting to keep them fed. When she gets chosen to go to the Hunger Games, she knows she will not be able to hunt for them, and begs her friend, ‘“Don’t let them starve!” I cry out, clinging to his hand. “I won’t! You know I won’t!”’ Page 48. She knows that it is highly unlikely she will survive the Hunger Games, and without her, their single stream of income, her family will likely be starving and impoverished. She knows that she will have to ask for someone else to help keep her family alive when she is dead. He agrees to help, even though he struggled to just feed his family hunting with her. Kids reading about her having a big request for someone to be so readily agreed to may feel more confident and like they can ask for help when they need it. This is important because there are a lot of middle school children who need help, and having the confidence to ask for it can ease a lot of their burdens. When the main character was little, before she hunted for food, her family were starving and on the verge of death. Another character, Peeta, intentionally burned some bread (getting beat by his mother in the process) so that he could give it to her. Then, when she saw him the next day, she looked away from his gaze, causing her to notice a dandelion, which she used to make soup and feed herself again. She says about the incident, "To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed" (32). When she didn’t have a way to support herself or her family, she was saved by a friend. Even though Peeta did not have to help her, he did. Even after his actions for her had gotten him hurt, he still wanted to help her. If she had not accepted his help, she and her family probably would have starved to death. This shows kids that it is okay to accept help when offered, an important lesson.

Moreover, having the book be widely available for reading encourages discussions with parents and peers about totalitarian government, ethics, and much more. A Common Sense Media article by Regan McMahon about banning books states, “Exploring complex topics like sexuality, violence, substance abuse, suicide, and racism through well-drawn characters lets kids contemplate morality and vast aspects of the human condition, build empathy for people unlike themselves, and possibly discover a mirror of their own experience”. The Hunger Games acts as a portal for kids to explore the above topics. As McMahon explains, well-written books with controversial topics help kids explore difficult realities in safe ways that help them build understanding and empathy for others. The Hunger Games can show topics like poverty, starvation and murder, in a nice book in a series with a happy ending. An essay published by Megan Palmer, a student at Southern New Hampshire University, states, “For students, book banning means a denial of First Amendment rights, a narrow world view, and psychological deficits.”. As Palmer says, banning leads to a narrow world view. Without challenged books, people will only know about their culture and lifestyle, and possibly other happy ones that un-challenged media shows them. They won’t be able to empathize with people in other socioeconomic or government situations. Banning books like  The Hunger Games takes away kids' natural curiosity and ability to learn about things like dystopian societies and totalitarian governments. This leads to a narrow world view that can keep them from making informed decisions about things like climate change. Without reading in this book how North America was ravaged by its devastating effects, how will a full picture be able to be painted for them?

The Hunger Games seems to normalize violence, but it also contains lessons about asking for help, and banning books is not good because it takes away lesson learning for kids, so the book should not be banned. While the totalitarian government described in the book was fictional and may seem exaggerated, it can help readers to empathize with those that live in other parts of the world under governments that do not provide the freedoms and protections that we take for granted. It can also help those with freedoms and protections realize when they are at risk.