FALL 2005

FOOTSTEPS: JOT writers on Generations.

This issue of JOT features:

-Photography by Jason Reblando
-Introduction by Luis J. Rodriquez
-Writing from over 50 JOT writers

Read work from the magazine! For more information on how to receive a copy of the magazine for $10 or to receive a year of JOT for $25, please call the NWA office at (773) 684-2742.

A DREAM
Sandra Gaspar

I dreamed that I had wrinkles and
long, gray hair, but I was full of
happiness and the satisfaction of having achieved everything.

SHADOWS
Charlie Clements

I am dreaming of life, or living a dream, unable to move...
I lay back and listen for a voice, but it has vanished.
With this voice has come a memory of my past, of my
Parents reading stories and poems to me when I was
Little, thus sparking my literary devotion.
Sometimes I awaken feeling an emptiness of having
Lost this old connection. ..
Then I feel an almost spiritual pull of my
Hand...a welcoming presence of shadows...in
Vaguely-remembered storybooks, watching
Over me...in kind milk of
Distance.

I WAS TOO LATE
Khadijah

I wrote a poem for you
to help you remember the
joy of your mother.
I told you to look into the mirror
whenever
you were missing her face.
That smile was a wonder.

My heart was broken
when she left us,
but I could never imagine your pain.
You were her baby boy
grown into a man.

I wrote a poem for you
to say how much
I love you.
To tell you that 1 share
in your grief.
But,
before I could give it to you
you died.
And no one writes poems
for me.

© 2004 Neighborhood Writing Alliance