Young Voices of Heartbreak and Hope

In a week of pageantry and somber processions through Washington, the small parade of teenagers from Sasha Bruce Youthwork in Northeast D.C. to The Post's editorial board conference room was among the most memorable. Sasha Bruce Youthwork, originally funded by Evangeline Bruce and named after her daughter Sasha following her tragic death in 1975, is a private, nonprofit agency in Washington that tackles the needs of at-risk youth and their families. The four girls and two boys from Sasha Bruce had come to The Post to interview this journalist as part of a writing project. The session, however, turned into something else.

For a good chunk of the afternoon, the six youths occupied chairs frequently filled by prime ministers, Cabinet officials and headline makers, and exchanged views with me about life in Washington far away from the pomp and rituals of the federal enclave. We talked about family, the meaning of community, personal goals and dreams. And when they left, a part of them stayed behind.

You can catch a glimpse of my visitors, Alexus Jackson, 14; MarcQuinn Davis, 15; DaSean Littles, 16; Stefhanie Ratiff, 15; LaShawn Price, 15; and Genieva Semple 14; and other young writers such as Lakia Williams, 18; Caredio Jackson, 17; and Shantel Lewis, 15, through their poems and essays, which appear in the Oracle, Sasha Bruce's new literary magazine.

Allow me to share some of their voices:

WHERE I COME FROM

I come from a place that once brought pain . . . where self destruction is part of everyday lives.

I come from a place where laughter is overcome by the never ending cries of a loved one.

I come from a place where heartache is my mother, sorrow is my father, unhappiness is my sister and eventually death is my brother.

I come from a place where poverty is overflowing but luckily where I come from has nothing to do with where I'm going.

-- Lakia Williams

FREAKS

Walk down the street, I hear gunshots

Crack head in the alley

Two guys jump him and take his money