Almost every year since 2014, dozens of teens who have been affected by the incarceration, detention or deportation of a parent, relative or loved one have shared their experiences in an annual publication.
This year’s anthology – titled “A Secret Chord” – is scheduled for release on May 20 and features poems, short essays, artwork and photographs created by students who participate in POPS (Pain of the Prison System) and PATHfinder (Paving A Trail of Hope) clubs.
Students are increasingly expressing their fears about deportations – some worry about their own families and others are concerned about their friends or the greater community, said POPS co-founder, editor and criminal justice advocate Amy Friedman.
One of those students is high school senior Shay Freeman, who was personally impacted by a parent’s former incarceration. Freeman wrote “We Have the Same Blood,” which reads, in part:
“We have the same blood, but I feel like I know nothing about you. …
We have the same blood, but we didn’t have the same vote.
You voted for a man who wants to deport my friends, who doesn’t
share my blood, but I consider them my brothers. We have the
same blood, but our opinions shed more than we do. You voted
for a man who sees no use for me, or for what I like. You voted
for a man who wants me to hide my truth and put down women
who look like me, who think more like me, who are fighting for
what I want. … We have the same blood, but you feel like a stranger.”
In “Where Were You?” Tasha Edwards, currently a young adult employee with the program, also participated and shared the anguish that accompanies parental absence:
“Where were you when I was heading to church wearing my first Sunday dress?
Where were you when it was time to attend your child’s school events?
Where were you when you told me you were going to pick me up from school?
Where were you when I dropped out of high school and was on my own? …
Where were YOU?
I’ve been waiting to find you but realize you are nowhere to be found
I ask myself every day: Where were you?”
HardOcean, one of several club members who used a nickname or pseudonym in the anthology, explored the pain of parental incarceration in “Behind Bars.” The following is a partial excerpt:
“Too young to understand why Daddy’s not around …
Too young to understand the consequences of Mommy’s actions
and why it happened.
Too young to understand redemption is for all,
and forgiveness comes from acknowledgment,
acknowledging all involved,
that we’re all doing time
that we all sit behind bars praying for a sign …
To understand with knowledge comes wisdom,
to understand with forgiveness, you can live again,
takes a maturity God can give,
to help sift through the pain of youth
while providing love and truth,
to all involved, redemption healing the scars.
Deeply needed,
because we all do the time when our loved ones go Behind Bars.”
In “Freedom Looks Like,” 17-year-old Alyssa focused on her vision for a brighter future:
“Waking up each day confident with my life, confident with the
structure I made for myself, without help. I need to know that
someday I can provide for my little ones. I will never leave them
guessing, and I will flood their lives with endless opportunities.
The time in my life when everybody I love is happy and taken
care of, is when I will truly be free.”
Friedman and her husband, Dennis Danziger, started POPS in 2013 at Venice High School, where he taught English. Since then, the program has expanded to include the San Fernando Valley – at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills – and beyond, and partnered with the nonprofit PATHfinder.
They believe young people find their voices and can experience healing through art and storytelling.
Published by Out of the Woods Press, “A Secret Chord” will be available in print and e-book on May 20. It can be pre-ordered in both formats via Barnes & Noble or as an e-book on Amazon.