Pieces of a Poetic Family

When challenged to make an inspirational video using poetry, the freshman class at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, WA, prevailed.

After composing poems based on Nikki Giovanni's "Ego-Tripping," a small group of dedicated poets, artists, and musicians assembled the best lines, orchestrated fitting music, and photographed several hundred freshmen.

They did these things to elucidate and enlighten the soul.

All pictures used with permission. (Unpictured freshmen were absent or declined to have their picture taken.)

Text of the poem:

PIECES OF A POETIC FAMILY

I was married to the mountains
I was born on the icy caps of Everest,
cousin of the clouds
I shower in the temperate rainforest
My every waking thought
dictates daily waterfall
I am the sister of sunshine
I roam the earth, scorching day with silent night
I am so magnificent, so majestic, so superb
I am prestigious

I was one hundred feet under and cried the Columbia
Not only do I travel to Mecca, I live there
I sailed across the world tracing lines of latitude and longitude
I am inconceivable

My gravity aligns moons in ecliptic patterns
I reached up and grabbed it
leaving fingerprints on its surface
The Sahara makes up my sandbox
I drove a stake in the ground and split Pangaea
I was once sad and my tears salinated the ocean

I scribbled on a map
with a Sharpie and called it the Black Death
I am the creator of pulp fiction
master of sci-fi and the reason
for popular belief

Men created stories of gods
because they don't understand me
I built the lighthouse at Alexandria
I rock

I sailed the ocean blue to conceal a world of knowing
I took cover in a bunker
to conceal myself from an atomic wasteland
Atlantis was my bath toy, Poseidon walks beside me
I can never make a single mistake
except by my appropriate approval

Mother Nature bows to me
She created mountains so
I could touch the sky
She created the great lakes
so I could splash
It was I who laid the first slab of concrete
on God's green earth

I returned to the homeland
and planted fruit for my relatives
For them I also brought drums
They are often heard as thunder
over your world

I stand for what in my eyes is true
My voice reflects the citizens; thoughts
The stars shine with a mere half my radiance

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Poetry
• War
• Freshman
• English
• PHS
• Peninsula
• High
• School
• Gig
• Harbor
• Freshmen

[smithdl]

MelloxMaster makes some really good points. I always figured that the correlation between the students' pictures and the text of the poem was obvious, but now I see that it's not.

The way I see it: Freshmen (and teenagers in general) are often stereotyped and underestimated. By pairing these everyday pictures of freshmen with lines of poetry that speak to great ambition and great potential, it, well. . . it shows people what teenagers can do.

[smithdl]

Dear Mythical Genius,

Thank you for your feedback on the video, and for taking the time to post a response to it. Not very many viewers are so kind.

Please keep in mind, though, that a lot of people worked really hard on this, and while your criticism may hold validity and weight, it is more likely to be accepted if delivered in a constructive way.

Thank you,

Derek Smith

[smithdl]

10,000 hits y'all.

[FASTMOVINGBROOK]

i dont know u guys???? I think u got somthing more in there, somthing better

[elindiokiller]

that was fagish

[JoelFandel1]

god alex lanz is a sexy beast

[hamslice1600]

wow, you guys r even smarter. i was calling them freshman when they were freshman. i think i would know they arent now since i go to school with them. way to be stupid guys

[xoelizabethleeox]

Well aren't you smart. It's almost been a year since this, so obviously were not freshman anymore.

[powpuGR]

their not freshman anymoe dumbass

[hamslice1600]

FRESHMAN NOOBS!!!!!!

[sayyestoemo]

Its ok for freshmen work I guess...It seems kinda well boring though. Just add somestuff to make it stand out and make people want more..,like if I was in assembly and heard this I would fall asleep.

[jamesdas2]

0:33 rocks

[massault]

Tyler and Marshan have the best expressions :P