Beyond the Berry Fields
by Emily Sanchez, ninth grade Pajaro Valley High School, after “Ode to Small Towns” by Tyree Daye
This where the sun comes around
then hides behind the dark clouds.
This where we produce almost all strawberries in are many many fields
countless workers who are underpaid and overworked.
This is where you hear the countless sounds of that bell banging and banging
St. Patrick’s church can be seen as families come out
All well dressed, most Hispanic families of color.
This where there are rivers all across us,
We walk over or beside every day.
Some we explore as a class and see.
This where you stand out in some schools if you’re not of color.
This where we see dreams flow across.
This where everyone hopes and prays to make it out in success.
This where kids grow up dreaming of a better future from their hard-working parents
Who spends every morning from sunrise till down in the fields.
This where no matter how hard people scream for help WE dismiss them.
This where they kill us with pesticides.
This where some boys act tuff or “wannabe” to cover up the hurt in them.
This where we are so proud of are Mexican culture and flags,
until it comes to the real hard history of Mexico.
This where we are silent shhhhh,
or are we silenced from speaking the truth?
This where you are begging for a change that won’t make a difference but hurt you,Hurt your soul that we still have to fight for some rights or justice that seems like common sense.
This where money matters more than the people who scream for our help.
This where there is blood on all of our hands.
This where we praise the words of god but shhhh they don’t know,
they don’t know all the suffering people whom WE choose to ignore every day.
This is Watsonville California.
Reasons to Persevere
after a poem by Nikita Gill, “Reasons to Survive the Apocalypse”
All lines by March 2, 2024 Our Places workshop participants
1.
Smooth rock
Experiencing true and fulfilling friendship
The fresh smell of plant life
Sinking into the couch with a book
Making beauty
Walking in the rain
Watching the sunrise while I surf in the morning
The friend who waits for you
Because there will be future generations that will want to experience nature
The cycle of life
2.
Because the ocean never stops singing
People around us
Physical connections and the feeling of dried tears
The one who completes me
Pretty flowers
Summer days when the fog lifts early
Sunsets and sunrises
Niche discourse
Not feeling alone
3.
Like giant waves crashing over the beach, dragging destruction and construction back into the sea, somehow nature rises over what seem like impossible odds!
I want to live–
to explore the world by traveling and learn new things
to grow a pollinator garden
to write
to kiss women
to meet my future grandchildren
to read about and experience each other’s world
4.
The bacteria in your gut are trying their best
Beach days!
Stories to write and learn
The way the light hits through the trees and leaves on a rain-soaked day
Rolling over damp logs
The warmth of the sun when you step out of the shade
Earth is a healer.
Letter to Watsonville
by the members of the Climate Corps Leadership Institute, March 2024
Praise this land that has raised my family.
Praise this land for allowing its gravel to endure the steps of thousands
of heavy feet every single day.
Praise this land which houses nature’s beauties.
Praise this land which boasts the berries of the people’s labor.
Praise the land that give me a home.
Praise the land that allows me to explore.
Praise this land in which people created memories
Praise this land millions call the land of opportunity
Bendice la tierra que me alimenta, la tierra que me protégé, la tierra que me permite respirar dia a dia. La tierra que nos cura pero muchos nos olvidamos de agradecerle y de curarla a ella.
Praise this land where animals live and plants thrive, where creatures are protected and nature is most beautiful.
Praise this land that creates all the trees which we breathe from.
Praise this land, so full of adventure for folks to explore.
Praise this land that houses my family.
Praise this land that has give me a place to call home.
Reasons to Survive an Apocalypse
after Nikita Gill
Cats. Plunging my hands into soil. To experience joy with your friends and family. My next room makeover. Pizza. That great feeling of coming home from long vacation. A hot bath, after working outside in the rain. To experience the feeling of playing with your cousins. Sleep. That good fry sauce that’s lightish orange. Playing nerf wars with friends. The excitement on the night before your birthday. Seeing Spiderman. Shopping with my mom. Cutting the cake with happiness. Friends and family. Laughter and smiles. Playing music on a rainy day.
by the Bonny Doon Elementary sixth grade class: Aylana, Benji, Elias, Enzo, Holiday, Isaac, Jane, Landan, Miles, Omar, Sage
Haiku Sonnet for San Francisco Climate
by Amanda Moore
All we talk about
is weather, how the fog horn
signifies summer,
And was there enough
rain or snow last winter to
plump the lakes and creeks?
And isn’t it hot
inland, a heat wave across
the nation’s middle.
Now we have a new
season: fire with ashfall
and dark yellow skies.
What terrible blossoms will
we harvest come spring?
Add Your Voice
You are invited to add your voice to a space dedicated to writing about Santa Cruz County, from Davenport to Pajaro Dunes, from Watsonville to Boulder Creek. What matters to you most about SCC, what worries you about our future, what images are indelible when you look inside your memories here? How can we transform the world by writing (about) it? Share your voice by clicking the button below.
