Black Lens staff
Nikita Habimana (10th grade, Shadle Park High School) was selected as this year’s first-place winner, Alima Tambwe (12th grade, Rogers High School) received second place, and Donalda Brantley (12th grade, Rogers High School) received third place.
Below are the poems of three high school students on the issues of environmental justice and human trafficking. The Links, Incorporated, Spokane Chapter looks forward to seeing more submissions in the future. The hope is to grow the Young Master Writers Program into a community staple that provides an opportunity for students to use creative expression as a means of advocacy for social justice.
For questions on future community programs related to youth with The Links, please contact Services To Youth Chair April Eberhardt via email at: aprilriv1976@gmail.com or linksspokane@gmail.com.
The Links, Incorporated, Spokane (WA) Chapter (chartered in 1978) recently facilitated a city-wide Young Master Writers Contest centered around social justice themes for high school students. This is a new initiative that aims to stimulate creativity, awareness, and activism among our BIPOC youth. The Links’ five facets of focus for community programming are as follows: The Arts, Services to Youth, International Services and Trends, National Services and Trends, and Health and Human Services. Spokane Chapter President Shalena Armstrong shares that “providing a safe space to cultivate and encourage creativity in our BIPOC youth is key to sustaining art in our local community.”
Mother Earth
By: Nikita Habimana
Mother earth is dying
You would think her children would be crying
Some are
While others stand around and feed her to the flames.
More money, more power
What good is money when everything is dead and gone
What good is power when people start dying due to poisoned air
Air poisoned by our own greed.
Mother earth is crying
Crying for her children who are dying
The oceans, lakes, and polluted streams.
Mother earth is weeping
But nobody pays heed to the sounds of her screams
Mother earth is fighting
Fighting for people to listen to her warnings
Pay heed to the calls of nature
Feel her rage boiling like volcanoes in the summer
Her disappointment as cold as snow in the winter.
Mother earth is silent
No longer do we see polar bears in all their might Nor the fishes swimming with all their might
And no longer do we see the stars shining bright
The earth is dying and it’s time we do something about it
No longer shall we stand aside while she burns
Her rage palpable through the at of the summer, her discontent as cold as the winter ice It’s time we came together and fight for our environment
Money, power, and greed all go away
But the beauty of the night sky remains
The atmosphere of a breathtaking sunset stays the same
Unless we do nothing about it and the beauty of nature truly fades
A Letter From The Earth
By: Alima Tambwe
The earth – crowded, the sky – polluted, the seas – filled with trash and oil murdering the animals that live within
Before the over population of humanity my skies were as clear as day
My land was nontoxic
Numerous animals did not go extinct every other year
Their human bodies were not infested with diseases from chemicals they themselves filled me with…
Everyday, I give signs, signals, anything to get them to realize that they are destroying me
Me!
The place they live in
The place they explore
The place they spend their lives in
For centuries, I never asked for anything of them, not even to quiet down
Not to do anything
But for once, just this once, through this letter I ask of them to stop
To stop filling me with oil
To stop fogging my views with acids
To stop murdering my animals and my trees
It may sound like a lot but for once I no longer want to stay quiet
I cannot sit and watch all that I was be flushed out
This time I will fight back
If not for me than for the good of mother nature
Never At Night, Never Alone
By: Donalda Brantley
I enjoy running.
My hair tied back, and my shoes tied too.
I enjoy running because it clears my mind. Well at least it’s supposed to.
I put my AirPod in and listen to some music
But make sure the volume is not too high.
I must be on alert just in case somebody decides to walk by
I’ve been barked at, catcalled, and drove by a million times
Still I’m thankful I was one of the ones who got to survive
To all the women and men who have not been as fortunate as I
Your footsteps have not been forgotten
They have transformed into awareness and warning screams
For the next headline on TV
Never at night, never alone
Never at night, never alone
And don’t ever take the same route home
When I’m running, I always try to get in the zone,
But I can’t ‘cause I’m too worried
About my location updating on my phone.
I work hard to keep myself healthy
I have to work harder to keep myself safe
I run in public places, so I don’t end up the victim of a criminal case
If I ever end up taken, I hope you remember my face
But to ensure I make it back I just need to remember:
Never at night, never alone
Never at night, never alone
God just let me make it back home