Da Bronx
By Emmanuella Agyemang
Da Bronx is a piece that depicts where I am from. A place near and dear to my heart.
I call it home
My lungs inhaled their first breath here
My first friendships were formed here
I am from
A place surrounded with tremendous talent
Unseen talent
I am from
Blasting Spanish music at 2 a.m.
And having the smell of pastelitos tickle my nose
I am from
A borough of hustlers
Day in, day out
Sleep and slumber does not exist here
Process
I remember being at the Girls Write Now workshop when they asked us to write a poem about where we were from. I have done plenty of these pieces in my classes so I thought this would be a breeze. I stared at my blank screen, expecting for my words to flow right from my mind onto the paper, but they didn’t. I sat there for a good five minutes before I could truly start writing. Then, I realized this was not any old poem for any old assignment. This poem meant a lot to me, and I wanted to choose my words precisely.
Emmanuella Agyemang
Emmanuella Agyemang is a high school junior and a Girls Write Now mentee. She is most passionate about writing and journalism. Agyemang has been featured in a few news articles and is currently on the Scholastic Magazine Teen Advisory Board. She hopes that by pursuing a career in journalism, she paves a way for other minorities to pursue journalism as well.
