What’s a friend?

As part of YAthenaeum’s commitment to the teens of the world, a few members of our team are involved with an arts and culture program at the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center. The program is called UP: Unlocked Potential, and has been bringing workshops, discussions and lectures to the boys in Juvie, ages 13-18, for the past 9 months.

Many of the kids we have met are aspiring poets, artists, chefs, botanists and musicians. One of the boys we’ve come to know, Jonathan, shared one of his poems with us, and we thought it was so good we wanted you to read it.

So here it is:
(P.S.... it’s best if you read it out loud)

What’s a friend?

What’s a friend?
To this day I don’t understand.
Act one way, but change in sight of another man?
Yo trick I may fall, but I’ll rise again.
So what’s a friend?
Someone who’ll ride to the end?
Someone who understands?
Someone who you can tell ya plans?
So what’s a friend?
A backbone? Yo spleen?
Who straight you when you lean?
Who’s a plant from yo seed?
Who provide when you in need?
So what’s a friend?
Who puts up a front then talk behind yo back?
When police threat he don’t know how to act?
Who’s like “g’wan ‘head” instead of “don’t do that”?
So what’s a friend?
To this day I don’t understand
So keeping to myself seems like a good plan.

-The YAthenaeum Team