Hands For A Bridge

Every year a theme is chosen as a focus for facilitating discussion and initiating artistic collaboration among students. Back home in Seattle, we examined the concept of “walls” in poetry, memoirs and historical conflict. We found that we create walls in our daily lives to shield us from change or protect us from exposing ourselves to new and different people, places or conversations. This theme applied especially to our experience in South Africa, where the presence of walls is entirely visible and plays a part in South Africans’ every day lives. For some, turning off the highway into a township or a single-race neighborhood might never cross their minds, or communicating with someone outside your own community could be the most dangerous risk of all. On our retreat in South Africa, we shared Robert Frosts’ poem, “Mending Wall” (which we studied during 1^st semester), with our buddies from Isilimela and Bellville. That weekend, we used the theme of walls to ask questions and learn more about the source of this deep-rooted conflict. Our weekend’s culmination was the creation of a performance of poetry and interpretive movements centered on the theme of building and breaking down walls. On our last Thursday, we hosted a community performance and open mic where we presented our “Wall” poem and the entire HFB group to our parents, teachers and friends.

We formed groups of six students, two students from each school, and each contributed a short thought to create a poem. Then we created a “book-it” piece that incorporated movement and added emphasis to certain phrases by using more than one voice.

“We create walls when we fear ourselves, when our insecurities change us, hide us, from others, we are preemptive beings, and we stow our true self away before it’s broken.

Being genuine is to respect and care about each other. To be someone who are themselves around anyone, doesn’t matter who that person is.

Being genuine is being original and not pretending to be who you are, just be yourself. You wont have low self-esteem because you would be trusting, believing and be confident.

Comparing yourself to others is not good. Just be yourself. BE what you were made to be and be proud of who you are. Don’t be afraid.

In this world we get some genuine plastic people. It’s all one big masquerade. Rather, choose not to wear masks, be real. Why be anyone else when you can be you?

After five warm embraces, I know it is real. Real smiles, honest emotions and true thoughts. Walls of insecurity and doubt are humbled by the love you have given me.”

-Julia Stone

Two girls are sitting

Down below on a short stone wall.

Their voices faint.

Inaudible foreign words

Escape softly from their mouths.

Except for the percussive

Clicks, smacks, and explosive pops

That pierce through the quiet night air.

Another girl joins.

As does another soon.

Now there are four.

The crickets chirp in the background

As the sounds of ocean waves

Crashing in the distance

Mix with the soft whooshing of

Cars speeding by on the road ahead.

Below me, a small bug,

Hidden by the sharp plant blades,

Emits a high pitch pulsing noise.

Irritating. That needs to

Stop.

Beside me,

A grasshopper scurries

Across the cement and falls

Off the ten foot tall wall I am sitting on.

Above me, I see stars.

They are the same ones

That I see at home.

But different.

After starting for what

Seems like ages,

I realize that

The stars are upside-down.

As I am right now,

If Seattle and the Northern Hemisphere

Are considered right-side-up.

I hear talking and laughing

Coming from behind me.

How can you laugh

If you are by yourself,

Without looking like

A total crazy person.

Someone is not following directions.

Teachers talk loudly

During quiet time.

Setting a good example?

The girls are now

Three in number.

The wind blows,

A warm gust tickles

The back of my neck.

A harmonica calls this

To an end.

More time to think please?

- Brian Tarcea