Poem: Gangs

What are they for
Why are they here
To claime terrotory
They do not possess
To fire a weapon
At an inosent child
Bring drugs to our streets
To tear up our familys
Gangs
What do they want
Do they want our possesions
Do they want our kids
Are they here to steal drugs
To act as the greatest
For what
What happened to civil rights
I thought color didn't
Matter
Now if you throw on
the wrong color
You loose your life.

A.M., age 14

Poem: The tunnle to the Camera

I see the light, at the end of
the tunnle, it sure is bright the
close I get the faster i run
it sure has been bad but now it's
getting better, I wanted to stay in
this dark dark tunnle but it
sure is cold, in the camera room-
Im on in 10 minuet watch I guess it
is okay they do it to see if
im dead today, I made a mistake,
letting myself think these thoughts but im
pretty chill, talking to control.
Thank you valdez, sending me
here, I hope you see that I have
changed. Please.

L.S., age 14

Poem: Love

Love it's just a word
It sounds so upsurd
It comes from above
Just like a dove
Some people say it's crazy
I say it's like a daisy.
When your in this trance
You want to dance.
You follow this feeling
completely willing
When it comes down
On your crown
You get so sad
Poor little lad.
you need to be careful
& still be thoughtful.
Lend your heart for a whil
& trust me you will smile.

A.D.A., age 15

One Thing I'm Going to Do Differently...

-"I will listen to my parents and Go to school." R.C., age 14

-"I am not going to play the Victim in life." S.S., age 17

-"As I leave O&A I am going to be changing my mentality as a person. Changing the way I view things. Being Drug Free." K.R., age 16

-"I am going to go back to school." A.L.,age 16

-"When I go home I am going to spend more time with my family and less time with my friends." M.D., age 17

-"I will live a pure honest life following the path of enlightenment. Through the rules of Dharma, I will be a good influence on my nephew. So he doesn't make the same mistakes that I have. I will think before acting by thinking of all the consequences. I will prove that I have changed Because I know actions are better than words. I will use what I have learn from O&A to help me succeed and reach my goals to become who I am destined to be." R.S., age 16

-"What I am going to do different is am not going to talk back to anyone." P.S., age 15

-"When I get out I'm going to work harder to be better!!!" T.C.

-"One thing I will do different when I leave O&A is I'm not going to worry so much about friends but I'm going to focus on school my family & sports." M.Z.

-"One thing I am going to do diffent is stop hang out with those negitive friend and givin the cops a bad time." P.R., age 16

-"One thing I'm gunna do differently when I leave O&A is follow through with my probation so I dont get in trouble no more." M.H., age 16

Poem: If Only

Though heart ache can take and take and leave you so awake,
don't want to sleep just wee and weep,
you cry for lovers sake
the dreams are sad and lonely too
it hurts to sit, day dream about you.
My tears are acid, they burn my eyes,
wondering if you hear my crys
I ask for help, you just ignore
If only, if only you'd just adore
I hope one day, I wake up happy
because looking at the ceiling makes me feel like I'm mping
My soal is an adventure, so I take my time
I don't understand it but I will someday find.

R.M.

Poem: Look What You Did to Them

Look what happened,
Look what you've done,
Look at the example you made,
See the way you've become!
See the way you've changed,
See the way you've hurt them,
Do you know how to change,
Do you care at all.
Do you have any idea,
What will you do,
What will happen next,
What is going to change

T.H., age 17

Poem: How do I

How do I
Become the one
The worst of all
To answer the devils clal
To walk then fall
I used to walk so tall
But then I fell
Fell in love
With the rush
It had me there
For a while
Then I think
Is it time to change
Change the past
Stop wearing the devils mask
I don't have to
Be the one
Always feal
I have to run
Runaway
From all my troubles.

A.M., age 14

One Thing I'm Going to Do Differently...

-"One thing I am going to change/do differently is go to school stay in school. Change my friends listen to my parents be responsible for my own actions dont blame other people. Respect my brother & siblings." D.I., age 16

-"I will change the way I think about myself and respecting authority. Authority is essential for society, therefore must be respected. Respect Authority!" S.

-"I will not go back to my old friends." E.C., age 15

-"Stay in school." V.R.

-"Stop doing the crimes that got me here and get a job." D.T., age 16

-"I'm going to respet more This program is good for you." D.P., age 15

-"When I leave O&A I will spend more time with family and get rid of my bad friends." A.G.

-"What I'll do differently is be where I say I'm gonna be, be around the people who help better me, be a role model for my 3 little sisters, and a support for my older brother. If I accomplish these things I know I will succeed in everything good I want for myself. I will never come back to a place like this. I can do it." M.L.

-"When I get out of O&A I will make shore to think before I do things also not to hange around negative people also spend more time with loved ones and family." J.M., age 16

-"One thing Ima do different when I leave O&A is change my life and stop doing drugs!" S.M., age 14

-"One thing I will do different when I leave O&A is reach my goals that I have set and stop doing drugs and most important, treat my family with more respect. I will also make better choices on everything especially friends." C.L., age 17

-"Stop Smokin." L.J., age 14

-"When I get out I will not smoke weed, or fight anymore. I will be honest with myself and everyone else." D.C., age 16

-"I am going to stop drinking and go back to church." D.J., age 17

-"I'm going to stay drug free and get back into sports." M.R., age 15

Short Poems

Pride

My Pride gots the best of me

You best believe these streets are

Going to be the Death of me

I never had time to hit the 

Penetentury

------------

Who Down
who's down to ride
who's down to roll
let me know right now
because I am
walking out da door

------------
Lost in a cloud of smoke
I was lost in a cloud of smoke
And I can't see to find my Way
Back home to you.

-----------
Pain
As he beats too
you try to get away as
you try to get away
but he grabs you
'n' beats you again.
tell your black and blue.

------------
When Im High
When Im high
Im High to the sky
When I am in the sky
I meet a man
a man that set me free from my pain
that I have inside me.

B.C., 15

Poem: I am a Goldfish

I live in a tank
I eat in a tank
I sleep in a tank
I suffer in a tank
I died float in a tank
I am a goldfish.

I wish i was not in a tank
I wish i was out of this tank
I will get back out of this tank
I hope i go home to the sea and not in a tank
I will get out of this tank
I am a goldfish.

I will go home someday
I am going to get out
I am getting out someday
I will sea my family again
I will get back out
I am a goldfish.

D.S., age 14

Poem: Pain, That's what it brought me

All the choices I have made.
Had me locked behind a door.
On a cement slab is where I laid
Wishing I could do more.

What I was doing was wrong
"This isn't me" I would say.
For I knew I was strong
To put my foot down and turn away.

I was living a life of hell
What I thought was fun, you see,
was really pain hiding in a shell
And pain, is what it brought me.

Plus what is fun anyway?
Disrespect, lies, and the laws I was breakin'?
Friends were not friends at all
For I had surely been mistakin'?

Now the present is what it is,
The past you cannot change
But by making right choices
The future you can arrange.

I can no longer live this life,
going down this destructive path,
It's time I end this strife.
And put to death this awful wrath.

I've chosen to again rise above,
to live right, pure and free
to reach out to the ones I love
Because pain is all it brought me.

N.O., age 17

One Thing I'm Going to Do Differently...

-"Im going to go back to school and do good in school." L.D., age 13

"When I leave O&A, Imma drop some of my friends, stick with family, show Them I can do good & not fail at everything I do I can do it. Im thankful that I came to O&A." M.P., age 15

"I'm going to stay Sober & Healthy." D.B., age 17

"When i leave O&A one thing i will do diffrently is try my hardest to succeed in life no matter how hard it gets." D.M., age 16

"Thank you for helping with my problems You guys are the best You know why because you helped O&A you helped me a lot thats all I have to say to my peers Thank you for helping to understand" A.M., age 17

-"Things I will change is my behavior and my perseption. I have learned Alot from this program and I intend to apply it. I messed up a couple years in my life and will not let it happen further." A.H., age 16

-"When i leave O&A I'm going to stay off drugs and acohol. My family needs me and they want me to help them. This is the longest I've been away from my family. I want to be a leader and follow my own leaders. Gratitude is Truely the secret to true happiness! A smart man learns from his mistakes, a smarter man learns from others!" M.R., age 16

-"When I leave O&A I will chill till I done and do what I got to do when i need to do it." M.M., age 16

-"One thing im gonna do differently when i leave O&A is... Im gonna apply what i learned in this program when im on the outs." J.G.

-"I'm going to find new friends and stick with sports and them to find positive ways to get away from my old life." N.K.

-"When I leave, my family is going to see a big change in me and Im going to love and protect my family more!! Im going to show them Im not like my stepdad." B.P., age 16

-"Stop making the easy choices and start making choices for me." K.A., age 17

-"I am going to be honest in all things. have integrety be strong it won't last forever." B.J., age 17

-"When i get out of O&A im going to have a better life and stay out of trouble and walk away from problems." J.L., age 14

-"One thing I will do differently is: stop hanging around old friends, and make the right decisions and live a happy, prosperous life." S.C., age 17

Poem: Addiction

feeding off hatred and evil with every breath
with clouds of darkness feasting off flesh
my conscious is flowing with deadly illusions
behind these walls of so much anger and confusion
I need it to stop, which it probably never will
with its parasital urges so eager to kill.

C.M., age 16