Names have been changed to protect children’s identities.
Ezekiel stood before the crowd and took a deep breath. As he closed his eyes quickly to control his nerves, the audience hushed in anticipation. Ezekiel began his spoken word piece, he heard his voice crack, but gathered confidence as he shared each line from memory, all the riches vanish, even our flesh, even our life goes, only Christ remains forever. When he finished, the crowd roared in appreciation for his talent. He gave a small smile before exiting the stage.
Ezekiel recently received an invitation to perform an original spoken word piece at a local talent show. Ezekiel performed for a large audience alongside dancers, musicians, and other artists. His interest in poetry and spoken word has slowly evolved over the last couple years thanks to the staff team at his home. Ayuba, one of the caregivers at the home, has introduced many creative outlets to the children to nourish their talents. The home has a choir, a reading club, art classes, and music classes.
Ezekiel joined the choir at the home, and he and Ayuba began writing songs together. “Writing songs is often how the poetry and spoken word pieces come together,” explained Amanda Obemeasor, Back2Back Staff. Ezekiel isn’t the only young man interested in song writing and poetry; a few of the students at Agape Hope Home write songs, so the young men see examples all around them. “I want people to realize everything is vanity, except for eternity with Christ,” explained Ezekiel, when asked what he wanted listeners to take away from his piece. “I hear of people doing crazy things for money, hurting others and themselves, and in the end, Christ is what we have and who we have. I want to use my talents to glorify Christ.”
This may have been one of Ezekiel’s first opportunities to share an original spoken word piece, but we are confident it will not be his last. Back2Back is excited for the many ways teens explore their talents and bravely push themselves to share those talents with the world, pointing people to Jesus.