In this essay, the author argues for a democratized way of developing a consciousness of differences by describing two abbreviated creative writing classroom experiences with urban sixth grade middle school students during the 2002-2003 academic year. She draws on Tony Medina's (2001) claim that poetry and writing weave people and worlds together as she highlights how students' interaction with one another and with her, based on reciprocal and mutual exchanges, heightens their speaking, writing, and literacy skills. The goals of this essay are: (1) to highlight democratic prospects of literacy for sixth grade middle school poet-learners in an alternative, 28-week creative writing program; (2) to illustrate how creative strategies can "promote writing as act of change" (Kinloch, 2002, p.10); and (3) to offer implications of creativity on student authorization to use original ideas, "word habits" (Jordan, 1985, p.123), and multiple perspectives to enhance academic and personal identities. The author begins with a brief description of the creative writing program, and then discusses how specific creative strategies, exchanges, and student writings contribute to a call for consciousness of differences of urban sixth grade middle school students who represent diverse heritages (e.g., Mexican, Bosnian, African, and African American). (Contains 5 notes.)