Poetry Connection | Connecting with Students at Laguna Blanca Elementary

Two months ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by a fourth-grade student, Mirabel S., from Laguna Blanca Elementary. Through email, her mother explained that her daughter’s class held a citizenship breakfast to honor community leaders and role models. The program is in its 15^th year, Of course, I agreed. I was honored that Mirabel had chosen a Poet Laureate. In addition to being poised and eloquent, Mirabel is an impressive 9-year old. She is also a poet. The Independent featured her poetry in this column last month. Here it is in case you missed it.

Program leader and fourth grade instructor Susanne Richter explained that the fourth graders are the oldest students in Laguna Blanca’s lower campus in Montecito. As older students on campus, they are leaders to the younger students and they look to the community for role models and good citizens. “You have elevated the lives of these children,” she said to the 18 community models of good citizenship.

The array of good citizens included police officers, firefighters, doctors, veterinarians, Environmental Defense Center Chief Counsel Linda Krop, Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse, Executive Director of Therapy Dogs Carey Bradshaw, Dojo Master Alex Rodriguez, and Godmothers Bookstore co-founder Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, to name a few. Students either had a personal connection to their chosen citizen and/ or an admiration for the work they do. Each student gave a speech about their chosen role model.

Of me, Mirabel said that I had an amazing quality of citizenship. “She has good citizenship because she helps other people express their feelings in their poetry,” Mirabel said. “She also inspires young poets.” Mirabel did not share her speech with me or her parents ahead of time. It was a lovely surprise to hear all her kind praises. When a child understands what you’re passionate about, it’s extremely gratifying. I am touched and honored. All of the speeches were thoughtful and well delivered, thanks to associate teacher Ademola Oyewole-Davis who worked with each student and was on hand to make sure their mic was at the right height and to offer some encouragement.

I was somewhat surprised that there were no parents at this event, but it was during school hours when most parents are at work. The citizenship breakfast offered an impressive spread, including quiches and pastries, coffee, juices, and fruit. Students also displayed what they’ve learned about citizenship through their art. Their posters provided a perfect backdrop for their thoughtful speeches.

This week’s poems come from novelist Mona Alvarado Frazier who is shining a light on Oxnard with her award-winning young adult novels, set in her hometown: The Garden of Second Chances and A Bridge Home.

Sunrise 

By Mona Alvarado Frazier

Beneath wet lashes
the moon, round with longing,
floated towards heaven
a luminous orb

An arc against an indigo sky,
embroidered with crystals,
radiance ascended, a soft glow 
caressing a night of sighs

Ardent light beckoned
to the miracles of hope
until the tears dried 
and the sun rose again

 Good Girls Don’t Wear Red Panties

 By Mona Alvarado Frazier

Voices ebb and flow
Hello? Mom?
Nurse?

Sweat puddles
into a damp swamp
of twisted sheets

Harnessed by machines
Fluids drip, drop, 
bloody crook of arm

Free me 
from this web
Please

My armpits stink of panic
A twist and a yank
The gown gapes

Mom appears,
frowns
“Good girls don’t wear red panties.”

Mona Alvarado Frazier is the award-winning author of The Garden of Second Chances and A Bridge Home, winner of the 2025 Southwest Book Award in YA and the Paterson Prize for Young Readers. A proud Californian born and raised in Oxnard, she writes with heart and humor, seeking to amplify the voices of young Latinas while celebrating their resilience and stories. Frazier came to writing later in life but brings all the richness of lived experience to the page — proof that it’s never too late to follow the story that’s been waiting inside you.

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Upcoming Events:

May 14, Blue Whale Reading, Mary Kay Rummel and Mary Ann McFadden, Unity of Santa Barbara Chapel, 227 E. Arrellaga Street, 5:30 p.m.

May 21, AWC-SB Women of Achievement Awards, Wednesday 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m., Cabrillo Pavilion, 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara