In the Circle of Peace LitClub at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, New York, we bask in the poetry of growth and gratitude. Personally, I'm humbled by the brilliance of every single intergenerational poetry cypher that results in mixing the teenage genius of the young men from the Children's Village and the warm wisdom of the elders from the Hebrew Home. What a gift! Everyone is giving and receiving.

An emotional piece about missing a child or a parent instantly reverberates in our circle. We share love here, but in a very honest way, we also share longing. Our time together is spent sharing our experiences, reflecting on lessons learned and just being who we each are. We laugh and cry our way through composing group poems.

On the second to last day of 2012, we gathered in our circle in the quiet library. Our opening check in was full of positive words. These translated into a poem full of different things we have learned. The next session, now in 2013, gave our poets a chance to combine their powers to create a piece about the way we act on the wisdom we find. Many lines reflected the very human desire to stay patient despite the enormous yearning to see and feel what we want right now.

Somehow our group's experiences and ideas, though extremely varying, weave together into something beautiful every time. It's like magic. Our form of magic: poetry.

-- Written by Luke Nephew, LitWorld's Intergenerational LitClub Leader

Luke Nephew is a member of The Peace Poets, a group of artist educators committed to teaching with a focus on our collective liberation. Their goal is to create safe spaces that allow us to deconstruct race, class, and gender as a community. Click here to learn more about The Peace Poets.