This year I was delighted to teach writing workshops for young people at The Kujichagulia Lutheran Center's 8th Annual Dr. King Day Event, 2008 (http://www.lutheransonline.com/lo/Kuji). I gave the students some simple poem starters to spark their writing, and they came up with amazing poems. Here are some of the starters that students worked with: *Instead of . . .; You could . . . *This is what I need to say. . . *Peace is when . . . *The truth is . . . We also talked together about why poets write. Sometimes poets write poems for ourselves--to help us work through experiences or emotions. Sometimes poets write poetry to help change the community and the world. To this end, I offered to mail any or all of the poems to the Mayor or the President. I also promised to publish poems on this blog. The following poems come from students who asked that their poems by published here. Others are on their way to President Bush and Milwaukee's Mayor. Read them and then write your own poem