Eating crisp fried fish...

Students read the following excerpt from James Berry's poem about his native home.

Eating crisp fried fish with plain bread.
Eating sheared ice made into "snowballs"
with syrup in a glass.
Eating young coconut-jelly, mixed
with village-made wet sugar.

Smelling a patch of fermenting pineapple
in stillness of hot sunlight.
Smelling mixed whiffs of fish, mango, coffee, mint,
hanging in a market.
Smelling sweaty padding lifted off a donkey's back.

Hearing the laughter
of barefeet children carrying water.
Hearing a distant braying of a donkey
in a silent hot afternoon.

Seeing a village workman with bag and machete
under a tree, resting, sweat-washed.
Seeing children toy-making in a yard
while slants of evening's sunlight slowly disappears.

The following student poem was modeled on James Berry's:

Fort Greene, Brooklyn by Alikah Hodge

Eating my mother's homemade biscuits
buttery and fluffy.
Eating mushy mashed potatoes
with Momma's grits and gravy.

Smelling the sweet scent of
freshly-squeezed citrus juice.
Smelling honeyed candied yams
piping hot from the oven.

Hearing the neighbor's beagle baying
at the break of day.
Hearing the vivacious voice of Ray Charles
roaring from the radio.