PASS THE MIC

Samarah Bentley

Could you please pass the mic?
I think this thing's broken
Is this thing on?
Some words are left unspoken

I like to draw comparisons, to make sure I'm clear enough
Speak up a bit in case y’all didn't hear me none
Sometimes the young really got to raise their voice
To feel as if they mattered, had opinions, or a choice

There's no cause without effect, no change without action
If New Orleans were Insta, we wouldn't make it to the caption

Maybe we’d get tagged, likely shoved out the spotlight
Don't know about y'all, but for me, that don't sit right
Think of art, field of depth, or even consider background
Imagine being there, screaming out, mute, without a sound

Prevention’s better than a cure, but without us, no revolution
We aren't part of the problem; we're part of the solution

We've got ideas, and drive, and numbers, and creativity
So please don't judge, or doubt, or discount our abilities
'Cause in the end, there's no New Orleans without youth
Don't look at me like that–it's just the plain truth

Let's make a promise to ourselves–make a plan, goals, and a vow
Let's flip the script and rewrite the whole narrative right now
I know that was pretty vague–short–and I didn't really say a lot
'Cause this is a call to action–and I actually saved y'all a spot

LIVING WAGE

Samarah Bentley

Let's now read a story, let's call it, “Living Wage”
Experiences as chapters, stories etched to a page
In a place called New Orleans, a land far, far away
Full of working youth, with some great things to say

Who worry over housing, and food, and water
A brother, a friend, a cousin, a daughter
There's a gap between wages, the minimum and the living
A long seam that stretches and pulls and is thinning

What ensues is this: high levels of stress and anxiety
A rampant, burrowing feeling that touches our society
This story need not be a sad fairytale, for we can forge a much brighter chapter
One where the story ends as, “And they lived happily ever after.”

TRANSIT

Samarah Bentley

Sometimes there are bus malfunctions, and sometimes the bus comes late
Sometimes people can’t alter their schedules, sometimes they just sit there and wait

Some feel that Nola public transit is good, but have some things they wish to discuss
Some don't always feel secure and safe, that's once they enter the bus

What can we learn? And what will we do?
Who forges this solution? Me, them, and you.

MENTAL HEALTH

Samarah Bentley

Students these days got a million and one obligations
At times that turns into a million and one limitations
We don't seek our counselors, there’s no time, just a workload
There are even a couple of us that are programmed for survival mode

It's hard to express complex experiences, even with something to say
So our nights fill with anxiety, that then bleeds into day

Dozens of kids live an unseen battle
Inside a storm, a quake, a rattle
We seek an increase in comfort–in dialogue, between students and administration
We seek a two-way road, paved with hope, founded on communication