It is a class poem – each student in Upper I contributed one line. We based it on an abridged version of the poem, ‘I Rise’ by Maya Angelou. The poem demonstrates how a person rises above adversity and has a strong anti bullying message.

Still I Rise
By Upper I 

You can tease and insult, provoke me,
With your whispers, gossiping and lies.
You may shove me down in the very dirt,
But, like corals growing in the sea, I rise.

Just like twilight owns the night,
With the spirit of stars twinkling at twilight.
Just like memories stretching high,
Still, I rise.

Did you want to see me plummet?
Vanish beneath my sorrowful cries?
Hiding my eyes like a dark cloud, 
Engulf my soulful sighs.

Out of the darkness, emerging, still hovering, 
I rise
Swimming up – looming, splashing, crashing like waves, 
I rise
I am an electric eel, swimming urgently through the ocean. 
I am a wolf, fighting for existence.

Leaving behind the terror and pain, pushing away the sorrow and shame, 
I rise
Embracing a prosperous world full of flourishing flowers,
I rise
I am the dream, the light, the truth of my youth.
I rise

I rise

I rise.

(Tara, Lauren, Anessa, Huihui, Amy, Avika, Zara, Hiba, Isabelle, Rehat, Pia, Abby, Lottie, Mina, Kiara and Threna)