Grade 10 Language and Literature students completed these poems as part of their unit about "Decolonizing Language" to uncover the emotion and values conveyed in our words. Students wrote about their multilingual identities, the family values shared across dinner tables, and their inspiration to find their own definition of gender or success. The pieces shared in this series explore their experiences as multi-locals whose many moves have imprinted on their identities.
Closed eyes and hoping for a better life
I sing along, the emptiness of the ceiling stares back at me
The worries of tomorrow plague my mind
I’m drowning, the waves of daunting thoughts, depriving me of air
I will the music to fill my mind, the melody the harmonies the rhythm and then i can breathe
Oh, and there we were all in one place a generation lost in space
We sing along
Your strained voice grapples with the higher notes
It wasn’t that bad
A hairbrush as a microphone
The music soon drowned out by our unrestrained laughter
We don’t claim to be perfect but we’re free
We sing along as we hang from monkey bars
At a playground we had long outgrown
The cold snow numbed our hands
As we watched our steps on the icy path
And when she needs to shelter from reality She takes a dip in my daydreams
We sing along
Cold water rushes through my nose
The smell of chlorine fills my lungs
Treading icy water to stay afloat
Dumb Decisions, maybe
But our stubborn minds were filled with summer thoughts
Livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams and you know, we're on each other's team
We sing along
The light filters through the canopy of leaves above
Our voices echo through tree tops
The water mirrors the sky and i see the reflection of our group
Our legs long for a break but our minds dismiss their worries
Our little group has always been and always will be till the end
We sing along.
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Tilda Arsovski and Amaya Sevilla Manso de Zúñiga are Grade 10 students at the International School of Helsinki.
