The Super Powers of NYC Youth

“When I grow up, I will make a dream, too”

Taiyou
Age 6, Brooklyn, NYC

We worked with Taiyou on his poem at his house, with his dad who also writes poetry joining us. At first Taiyou wrote the expected things for a child of his age—that his super power included doing flips and parkour. But then out of nowhere he started talking about Dr. Martin Luther King. Our jaws dropped. Taiyou linked himself to the great civil rights leader through their shared math skills. Brilliant! He then went on to discuss why MLK was important and that just like MLK he will have a dream, too. For his portrait we had a lot of great shots to choose from. While he has a huge joyful spirit, Taiyou selected the portrait that showed a more thoughtful side to him, beautifully aligned with the thinking in his poem.

“Love is my super power”

Obi
Age 6, Brooklyn, NYC

Obi’s super powers include being friendly, honest and magnificent. In his poem, we included bits of conversation, which is a poetic device, but also reflected Obi’s spirit of openness, friendliness, and his seeking of knowledge and clarity. After his list of super powers, he added emphatically that love was also his super power. When we asked him that mighty question: “What is love?” Without hesitation he replied that “Love is the super power to make friends. That is love.” And that has to be one of the most amazing super powers of all time. Thank you, Obi, for reminding us!

And to show us an example of his being a “champion friend-maker,” he and his best friend, Taiyou, asked if they could write a poem together. They did by taking turns writing a line and then passing it to the other. Not surprisingly, their joint poem is all about the power of friendship.

“My super power is reading, and a little bit of math”

Yamiah
Age 7, Brooklyn, NYC

Yamiah wrote her first poem at our workshop shortly after her portrait was taken and her poem reflected what she was doing in her image. Then we did a 2nd poem on Zoom. Here she surprised me and her mom when she said she wanted to be like Mae Jemison. We didn’t know who that was. She taught us that Ms Jemison was “the first black girl to go to space.” And just like Mae Jemison, Yamiah wrote in her poem that she will be “the first black girl to do something great.”