Let’s Celebrate Poetry in Motion!
This year marks the 16th annual “Words on Wheels” program and it promises to be bigger and better than ever, once again featuring the selected mobile masterpieces developed by Baltimore City students, interpreted and brought to life as art by students at the Maryland Institute College of Art. A select number of the posters will be featured on MTA Buses and Light Rail Trains for the remainder of the year.
The participating Baltimore City Students are: Da’Shae Forrest, Destini James, Taj Logan, Precious Castro, Kiyia Johnson, Tasja Slaughter, Aurelia Zeltzman,Diarra Boatswain, Tehle Ros, Madison Mattison, Marius Benicho, Ariel Chambliss, Yonathan Camillo, Gianna Given, and Joshua Fitzhugh.
The participating M.F.A. in Illustration Practice students are: Aimee Chang, Cinyee Chiu, Melissa Crowton, Jia Liu, Ricardo Nunez, Meltem Sahin, Qieer Wang, Ashley Yazdani, Jackie Zhu, Shreyas R. Krishnan, and George Wylesol.
Words on Wheels is supported by Maryland Department of Transportation. and MICA's MFA in Illustration Practice..
Early Morning Riser
Student: Da’Shae Forrest
Artist: Aimee Chang
Student's grade: 4th Grade
School: Edgewood Elementary School
Teacher: Kaitlin Loftus
Poem: The Early Morning Riser
I am getting up at seven so I won’t be late
I am getting up at seven so I’ll go to school by eight
Can you hear the alarm clock ringing
Rise up and hurry on your way
Can’t you hear my mother shouting
You fool! It’s Saturday.
Peaks and Valleys
Student: Destini James
Artist: Cinyee Chiu
Student's grade: 9th
School: Success Academy
Teacher's name: Jacqueline Cummings
Poem: Peaks and Valleys
When I’m down so low there’s no hope,
I wonder if it is ever going to go,
That feeling of redemption, pain and loneliness,
You just wanna give up and get away.
Well, I’m here to say there are better days,
And what you’re going through is a valley,
Your peaks are just ahead,
Coming at you at full strength.
You may not notice, but you will see the sun come out more,
Friends hang out, improved attitude,
Learn from your valleys,
and it will teach you to stay on your peaks.
Rise Like The Sun
Student: Taj Logan
Artist: Melissa Crowton
Student’s grade: 8th
School: KIPP Ujima Village Academy
Teacher: Daniel Brown
Poem: Rise Like the Sun
Every day you fall
Like the sun at dusk
Making mistakes
And being human
Falling down the rope
So you know how to climb back up
Every day you rise
Like the sun at sunrise
You rise, and overcome obstacles
Like an avalanche survivor
You rise like magic beans, sprouting vines and leaves
You rise
My Skirt
Student: Precious Castro
Artist: Jia Liu
Student’s grade: 2nd
School: The Mount Washington School
Teacher: Margaret May
Poem: My Skirt
My skirt is warm and cute.
I wear it at school sometimes.
It helps me twirl a lot.
I wish it could make me fly to my grandma’s house.
If I lost it I would ask my dad to buy me a new one.
Someday I will wear it all day at school.
Mixed
Student: Kiyia Johnson
Artist:Ricardo Nunez
Student’s grade: 6th
School: Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle
Teacher: Ashley Storey
Poem: Mixed
They struggled to find a way.
Coming from different places and different cultures,
My great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers.
Irish
African-American
German
Native American
People ask me, tease me
Not understanding there’s so much for me to be.
Who I am, is not easy…
but it’s beautiful.
Who Will Cry
Student: Tasja Slaughter
Artist: Jia Liu
Student’s grade: 12th
School: Baltimore School for the Arts
Teacher: Joy Bacon
Poem: Who Will Cry?
Who will cry for the little girl, lonely and mistreated?
Who will cry for the little girl, heartbroken and defeated?
Who will cry for the little girl, whose been harshly abused?
Who will cry for the little girl, whose been scratched, scarred, and bruised?
Who will cry for the little girl? All of her tears have been cried!
Who will cry for the little girl? To whom can she confide?
I will cry for the little girl. I understand how she has felt.
I will cry for the little girl! She reminds me of myself.
By the Sea Shore
Student: Aurelia Zeltzman
Artist: Meltem Sahin
Student’s grade: 3rd
School: Hampstead Hill Academy #047
Teacher: Lauren McKinley
Poem: By the Sea Shore
The waves lap the shore
The wind is in my face
Free as a gull soaring high
Sun shining down on my freckled face
Never want to leave this place
Beyond
Student: Diarra Boatswain
Artist: Qieer Wang
Student’s grade: 8th
School: Cross Country Elementary Middle School
Teacher: Ingla Covington
Poem: Beyond
As we stand upon all that’s right and wrong,
We all think we were born this way
Standing in the same line that was given to us
Although I’m wondering why should we stay?
I want to just run and break free
From the book that kept me!
As the light shines upon us, we all look beyond,
Beyond all the pain and fear that hurt us before
We are much more than what we are and already know
So tell me, why do we stand here when we could go beyond?
Let's discard all the troubles that once ruled us
Because surpassing all our pain will show us the way.
Beach Day
Student: Tehle Ross
Artist: Meltem Sahin
Student’s grade: 4th
School: Roland Park Elementary
Teacher: Allisun Baumgartner
Poem: Beach Day
Three energetic children push to exit the silver automobile
They land in a heap of arms and legs on the dusty sand like a human tarantula
The sky is stained with a pinkish wash
Scarlet clouds trimmed with royal gold drift
Meanwhile, the sea of sapphire crashes and angrily roars
Alpha and Omega
Student: Madison Mattison
Artist: Ashley Yazdani
Student’s grade: 8th
School: The Midtown Academy
Teacher: Whitney Birenbaum
Poem: Alpha and Omega
I’m the Alpha and Omega,
The beginning and the end.
The start to the finish
The top’s where I begin.
I never back down,
I’ll only walk up.
I think of life as a glass half full,
So what’s in your cup?
I’m tall then I’m short,
I make the strong look weak.
I’m the Alpha and the Omega,
So what do you think?
Remarkable Day
Student: Marius Benichou
Artist: Jackie Zhu
Grade: 5th
School: Baltimore Montessori Public Charter
Teacher: Ms. Melissa
Poem: Remarkable Day
Cool breeze whistles through
the blue open sky as the
leaves fall upon you
Dreams
Student: Ariel Chambliss
Artist: Aimee Chang
Student’s grade: 10th
School: Baltimore Design School
Teacher: Deanna Delgado
Poem: Dreams
It’s hard to dream
When your eyes are wide open,
But if you keep them closed,
You’ll never see how far you’ll actually go.
Then again, maybe I’m just a dreamer
And the world was never really my home.
And on the outside of my mind
Is the only place I belong.
Two
Student: Yonathan Camillo
Artist: Jackie Zhu
Student’s grade: 4th
School: Afya Public Charter School
Teacher: Lora Reed
Poem: Two
When the sun goes down, the moon comes out.
When a dog dies, a new one is born.
When a scientist fails, another succeeds.
When a planet explodes, a new one is created.
When someone dies, it rains.
When there is a fire, then it pours.
Things happen by two.
Pandas, Pandas Everywhere
Student: Gianna Given
Artist: Shreyas R. Krishnan
Student’s grade: 4th
School: Wolfe Street Academy
Teacher: Ms. Houck
Poem: Pandas, Pandas Everywhere
Pandas, pandas everywhere!
They’re black, not blue.
They love bamboo.
Pandas, pandas everywhere.
Could I have one maybe here and there?
Someday I might, but not tonight.
Unless…
Pandas, pandas in my dreams!
Pandas, pandas everywhere.
Heros
Student: Joshua Fitzhugh
Artist: George Wylesol
Student’s grade: 7th
School: KIPP Ujima Village Academy
Teacher: Jason Farber
Poem: Heroes
I can be a hero that stands up and fights,
Or I can be a hero in the community that does what’s right,
Be inspiring for all the kids
And look back at the good things I did.
I can be the hero that saves endangered lives,
Or a hero that will always strive.
I can be the hero that will always save the day,
Or I can be the hero that always has something good to say.
You want to be the hero that saves people from falling down hills?
Or do you want to be the hero that donates dollar bills?
So try to do something you can do—
The hero is you.
