How To Become The Sun
with thanks to Jason Reynolds for Ain’t Burned All the Bright and Kwame Alexander for modeling the poetic possibilities of a community poem written by the 2022 members of Ubuntu Academy, a summer program for immigrant and refugee youth.(video coming soon)
(Will)
And I’ve been sitting here
wondering about words,
the ways they’re just like birds
flying high above us at times…
soaring,
swaying,
floating
and diving…
with each one we learn we are arriving
to shine as stars in the sky…
one word at a time,
we are in our prime
growing together as if we are one…
This…our light…this … the sun.
(Gabrielly) - Brazil
And we dance to our music,
along forests and rivers,
while listening to Brazilian beats,
the simplicity of people
hand in hand with God
and the friendship of family,
our family with this friendship.
O Bambu va gemer.
The bamboo will moan,
and we will ask ourselves,
“Are we doing our best?”
(Leondro) - Brazil
And we’ll laugh with the culture of Cape Verdi,
the mixture of European & African elements,
our folk tales & festivals of language,
our carnivals of traditions -
Saco vazio ñao fica de pé
The empty bag never stands alone
And we’ll find ourselves breathing, too,
changing channels for something new,
discovering language with Ubuntu,
where we open the book of how we grew,
Reynolds burned bright, and we will,
….We will, too.
(Camilly) (Brazil)
And we are from welcoming people,
our fruits, our vegetables, our beaches and our rivers.
Brazileiro não desiste
I stand as a Brazilian
and I won’t resist
any part of this journey
(Gabriel) Brazil
And we are on the road of finding out,
If I never leave my place or home,
I’ll never see the things the world
hides from me,
Se vocé naô sair do lugar aonde vocé nasceu
nunca vai descobrir coisas que o mundo esconde
This is why we want to breathe.
(Helen) Congo
Why we want to be happy.
Our lives are short,
Hiwet hxar eya,
and that is why some of us choose
to watch videos of Eritrean sunsets
and sunrises.
(Axli) Dominican Republic
And some of us choose to do the merengue -
It is a dance for the humanity of people
and, yes, we’ll learn the power of words at school.
We’ll celebrate Díade la mujer,
and watch anime,
fuimos a donde el diablo deja la chanceleta.
Not all of us who have left the Dominican Republic,
are lost.
Some of us grow stronger every day…
stronger together
(Angelica) Colombia
La cumbia, currulao, pasillo, mápale, abozao, salsa
Some of us move with the accents of our people,
the history of Colombia,
the prayers to God,
the music para aplanchar, volerus,
cumbia y música de toto la mompposina.
We know how to breathe and we dance.
(Jose) Haiti
Because it is by this chance
that we’re playing this game together
as if we are our own YouTube video…
The who, the what, the when, the where, the how.
Kòman, and the way I’m able to be another WOW from Haiti.
Yes, I’m the youngest in my family,
but I have so much to prove.
(Brenda) Mexico
And I’m been sitting here
wondering about their words,
and how like birds
they fly high above us at times…
soaring,
swaying,
floating
and diving…
here we are arriving
as if all of us are stars in the sky…
one word at a time.
Here we are, with effort, we try…
to grow together as if we are one…
This is our light…this is our sun.
(Sydney) Haiti
It is up to us to leap ahead
L’union fait la farce
to get ahead.
We must learn all day long,
and help one another
to become part of this song.
(Daniella) Haite
I am summer sun dances and I the music,
I am the clear oceans
where we hear drum beats hitting
every part of the body,
Bon bagay,
the good stuff
living life to the fullest,
until we’ve had enough.
(Marcelina) Zambia
We are gifts. We bloom with hope,
We offer Mujezo, this compliment,
and me, I am a Zambian flower,
a Congolese bloom,
who offers light to the darkness
in every room
I enter.
(Gabriella) Brazil
We are the garden that reaching towards the sun,
building our community as we all have fun,
rooted in history and culture, we love to talk,
Lá em casa a gente conversa,
together, arm in arm, we are ready to walk.
(Byron) Ecuador
Está chevere esta fiesta
We are the music
We are the lyrics,
Que día tan vacano,
Oh, what a wonderful day…
Ecuadorian and American
We are having our say.
(Pedro) Brazil
And if you open the door for me,
I will open the door for you…
with a photograph. A memory.
even a drawing, too.
This is my culture
& my happiness.
We give our all.
We give our best.
(Andres) El Salvador
And I have memories of the landscapes in Colombia
Este habla hasta por los codos
and I can’t stop talking about
the importance of my independence,
but I also am also a part of a team…
to play soccer is every boy’s dream.
(Jalen) U.S.
And I’m sitting here, too
wondering about the words,
the ones that are like birds
that flying high above us at times…
soaring,
swaying,
floating
and diving…
extended metaphor,, here we are arriving
as if we’re only stars in the sky…
one word at a time.
this effort, we try…
and we grow together as if we are one…
We are the light…We are a sun.
(Ana) Brazil
And in my veins
flows the search for new knowledge,
this is the waterway of being human,
the possibilities for creation and connection.
Nâo ponha a carona na frente cos bois
We are the possibilities.
From many backgrounds we become one,
With energy from all our hearts,
we’re made into the sun.
(Giovanna) Brazil
We persist, resist, and insist
on never giving up,
We sing with culture,
and we dance with love.
(Ana Julia) (Brazil)
Pois estou certoque nem a morte,
nem a vida…
nem alguma outra crintua nos poderó separar do acorde de deus
que esta em Cristo Jesus nosso sennec.
My grandmother’s time lives within me,
like your ancestors live within you.
The pride with our culture sets us free
Inhaling. Exhaling
We’re taking in life
We’re letting go of bruises,
and allowing letters fall to page,
I now see how every word cruises
with new possibility and hope…
Failure is not our option.
Giving up? No, Never! Nope.
(Rhaiza) Spain
Our only limits, come from our soul,
our only traditions, our customs
they help us to grow…
they help us to glow.
(Junlin) China
And we wish everyone firecrackers
and mooncakes festivals.
你好
hello
I am Chinese
(Martha) Congo
And some of us were born to a family
that believes in God,
with respect for others,
and the importance of
bringing with me, with us,
a smile,
(Cheikh) Mauritania
We were born to national anthems,
to lyrics, and to dreams,
taught to sing forth our humanity as children,
or so it seems.
تعال الى هنا
taeal alaa huna
We breathe together.
We Inhale. We Exhale.
Sister. Brother.
(Michael) U.S.
And I’ve been sitting here
wondering about the power of words,
and how, like birds,
they flying high at times…
soaring,
swaying,
floating
and diving…
with every new one, we’ve been arriving
as stars in the sky…
one at a time.
with effort, we try…
we grow together as if we are one…
This the light…this the sun.
(Euniceca) Haiti
Lavi pa espire ann auanse timoun
We must keep going, we must not expire
We must uplift ourselves further, go higher and higher
even in the darkest times.
(Jennifer) Brazil
O coraçao dos outros é terra onde ninguém pisa
Our hearts must walk similar lands:
to parties, with stories, under weather, and with music.
Alone we might break.
Together we are thick and difficult to cut in half.
(Livia) Brazil
And that is why we are walking forward,
one foot in front of the other,
focusing on one step at a time….
for our little sisters and our little brother.
One step, then two,
then three, then four,
Who wants to be an outcast?
Another step…
and more and more and more.
(Kevellyn) Brazil
Soft water beats a hard stone…
that is, until it sticks
.We find light in darkness
because we are
candles and lit wicks
with smiles, celebrations, food and gifts…
soft water beats the hard stone
until it sticks.
(Valery) Ecuador
Arrecho nunca muere y si muere, muere arrecho
Learning is listening, and listening is learning,
each of us together keep this flame burning,
our points of view, our ideas, our language and our story…
We burn best together, offer more light with our glory.
(Yagmur) Turkey
kafanı ısırırım, I’ll bite your head,
no Turkey for you, and it’s time for bed,
kafani isirim, your head will be bitten,
this word play, translation, and we read what is written.
It always feels great to be understood,
Learning language together, it just feels good.
(Tania)
Faze aque lio tem que faze
We’re going to do what we’re going to do,
burning our bright, and lighting the way,
finding these words to have our say
We’ll inhale and exhale,
we’ll keep breathing, too,
channeling our minds
in search of something new,
In finding English this summer together with Ubuntu,
We opened a book and, wow, look how we grew,
(Miguel) Brazil
A divided nation will never move forward,
we must be the light, walking toward and toward
the better day for us all, always standing hand in hand,
opening doors for others, the possibility of this land
Da qui pra frente e so pro trais
There’s no going back,
for all of us here,
There’s just staying on track.
(Geovanna) Brazil
a pressa e inimiga da perfelcao
it’s okay for us to slow down,
to listen to music, to dance, and to smile
but for our friendship to grow
it always takes a while.
(Yasmin) Brazil
a vida não é mamão com açúcar
learning is easier when voices come together…
good humans offer shelter to others
even in bad weather
(Krislley) Brazil
Tente tirar o bem de uma situação ruim
Situations change. The good brings us better.
The appiness arrives
when learning together.
Inhale. Exhale.
Choosing what’s right.
Nope, Not yet. We Ain’t burned all the bright.
(Yaritza) Dominican Republic
Siempea te va a compañar dios en las buenas y en las malas.
We’re burning light and guiding the way.
Buying new pairs of shoes? Ha, I deserve a good day!
(Gustavo) Brazil
A crianca que você era, teria orgouho da pessoa que você e noje?
We are children and adults all at the same time,
investing in ourselves before we reach our prime,
finding words to our stories and language for our dreams,
one summer at a time, at least this is how it seems.
(Jessica) U.S.
Here we are sitting
still working with words,
we’ve taken them high,
and we’ve flown with the birds
soaring,
swaying,
floating
and diving…
This is Ubuntu. We’ve always been arriving
to sparkle our bright like stars,
to light up the sky…
We are one word at a time…together we fly
this is what it looks like to grow together as a community of one…
It’s finding one another…
That’s how to become the sun.
Late Additions
(Giussep Banga Banga)
Je n’ aime pas les criminal,
And we do not like to be criminals,
but represent Burundi Democratiqu du Cong,
We go to parties, play soccer,
keep learning all day long,
We do what we can to become part of this song
(Daysi)
And I sing of saints of Ecuador,
with a peace of mind as I explore
November 10th and the miracles
for solving my family’s problems.
Dios manda problemas a sus soldadas mas fuertes
y los mantiene siempre de pie.
With God, I stand strong. We are soldiers.
New words each day, We grow bolder.