9th Grade Creative Writing Piece of the Month

"What inspired me to write this piece was Alan Gindsberg's original Howl. All I did was make it a little mroe up-to-date and I included some things he left out." - Rainey O.

Howl 2008

I have seen the best minds of my generation
with death riding on their back, scythe held
to the neck, as gravity pulls them down from the top of the projects.
I wanna blurt out the truth accompanied by some curses. It hurts,
I can't stop and it's making me nervous. Okay?
Anyway, here's what I have to say today.

Destroyed by little digital, mushroom eating plumbers
who constantly tried to save mega-pixels, I have seen
a princess always attacked by the same mega-pixel manifested
green turtle.

whose wings don't sprout because of false
authority and teaching from the wrong Rabbi,
speaking satanic destiny and trial by fire

who slowly slip through the cracks,
fall into the black,
buy another sack,
smoke a little crack,
take another trip not knowing that you're never
gonna come back.
Yeah, I've seen that.

I've seen minds turn to ash because of
my people killing monkeys to concur the planet

cold like Alaska my breath escapes in the
summer, degrees rise, IQ's fall, ex cons
travel with their backs against the wall.

I've seen kids like me die because of
an accidental bullet fired into the night sky,
you cry because you don't believe it was
their time.

Single mothers wait for soldiers with
their babies in hand, not knowing that
their name tags are buried in the sand.

I've seen people like me who are expected
to drop bobms on enemy cities and wipe
out any trace of life left, as if they understand
you in the back of the jet, politicians
not caring, trading missiles in the back of the tent.
We are the pieces in the gods's and devils' sick
game of chess. I've seen the worst in the game
slaughter the best, but it doesn't matter what I
say next, cuz this heart won't pump anymore from
inside this chest, now listen as my pulse is slowly put to rest death.

Rainey Ovalle won one of the prestigous Scholastic Gold Key Awards with this poem. DY Prep is very proud to have such a talent.