In this poem I connected Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) to Oakland. It is related because the first sentence is a line from the sonnet. This part later on shows that instead of it being the Montagues and Capulets, it is just the city of Oakland. Hope you enjoy my poem and please leave comments.
Two households, both alike in dignity
Separated by the thin line of hate
Boundaries being claimed
So many gangs could be named
9 am
Boom !
A gunshot from a distance
The echoing as it fades away
Being confused if it’s a firecracker or an attempted murder
Hearing a helicopter flying nearby
Being scared in your home not even knowing if you are safe
The sirens of police and paramedics arriving to the scene
The paranoia lying in your bed as the noise gets louder
11 am
You drive to a destination you are so eager to see
The brightness of the yellow tape as it shouts CAUTION
And yellow cones all with numbers on them
A crime scene
Bags and belongings on the floor
Thinking back to hearing the ricochet of bullets as they fell down
Being anxious for the traffic light to turn green
So you could flee the scene
Feeling apprehensive of all noise around you
Because it could be anything
Oakland
Hoping for violence to end
So we could roam the streets
To freedom
Dear valerie,
Your is outstanding. I like the part when you compared oakland to gun violence. The fact that you chose to write about gun violence shows how you care about it. I also like how you started with the prologue of romeo and juliet it was good. I like how there is a lot of detail in this poem. Keep up the good work.
sincerly , diego rivera
Dear Valerie,
Thank you so much for sharing your poetry. A line that stood out to me was “The brightness of the yellow tape as it shouts CAUTION” because it was very descriptive and in my head could see that very clearly .
Your poem also reminded me of how I felt after hearing about all of the recent shootings .
Thank you so much for writing and I look forward to reading your next post.
Katelyn