Mixed Media Poems

By Cheyenne Cuthbertson

How often do you get to read poetry from the brain of a real teen? Everyone reads young adult books, but they’re written by adults, so here’s your chance to read poetry from a teen, expressing themself. My work is inspired by prompts given to me by mentors or random thoughts and questions I have about life.

Cheyenne’s Attempt at Erasure Poetry

Black National Anthem

Every voice singing,
harmonies
to the skies,
the rolling seas
the dark past.

The hope that brought us
the rising sun
our new day.

Us.

A Writer’s Eye

A writer's eye is something you've
 neverseen before and
 will never see again

A Cat’s Love

I saw a cat
A misunderstood cat
with a rough tongues
thought to be mean
 
Everyone loves dogs
they love unconditionally
and are just perfect
when you train them
to be

But Cats
They are unapologetically
themselves, personality
and all, wild if
they were born that
way

If a cat loves you
then it's meant to be
but
 
Is it better to be
loved unconditionally
cause you feed, care
AND
you trained them to be
or because they
just love you.

Process

When I go to weekly pair sessions with my mentor Kaye, or when I follow Mary to hers with Arriel, we always have a prompt. My genre is poetry, so naturally, I make my work into poetry most of the time. The great feedback I received made me decide to put my work together into a mixed media presentation. I was very happy when completing my work because it shows my creativity and hard work.

Meet the Pair

Mentee Cheyenne Cuthbertson & Mentor Kaye Weinstein

Cheyenne’s Anecdote: All the memories you have are historical! Having a mentor and meeting weekly is historical because of the impact they have on your life. Girls Write Now has reached out to girls and women to connect the generations. The program and the people in it help us, teenagers, develop a deeper understanding and experience with writing and what it can do in your life. One of my favorite memories with my mentor is meeting up on a Saturday and getting bagels; on that Saturday we caught up and wrote.

Kaye’s Anecdote: From the moment we first met at the New-York Historical Society, Cheyenne has lifted me up with her enthusiasm, joy, and curiosity toward everything and everyone around her. Since then, we’ve visited what might be every café in the Financial District, exchanged countless cute animal photos, and shared many laughs over swapped writing prompts. I’ve watched Cheyenne develop into a wonderful poet, mentee, and soon-to-be college student and am so proud of all her accomplishments!