Spoken word is a form of poetry that is focused on the aesthetics of word play and story telling. Spoken word is based upon personal experiences and viewpoints. Your task: Write a spoken word piece that is AT LEAST two pages long. This is due at the end of the class on Tuesday.
Here is an example of a performed spoken word poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQgz2AhHaQg
Spoken Word Poem
ReplyDeleteA boy met a girl
They fall in love
They get married and live a happy life
All the “once upon a time” stories end like this
why can’t her life be like this?
Life isn’t a “once upon a time” story...or is it?
Life is like an apple, it’s good all the way around, until you get to that certain point
Apples have cores right?
Well, this girl has that core in her life
She’s searching for that person that can make her smile and laugh
That can make her feel loved and wanted
In all those stories you hear, the guy always gets the girl
always, whether they’re a princess
or he has to defy his parents to be with a poor girl
He always gets the girl
This boy hasn’t found that girl yet
he searches, and even found someone he really likes
but is this the one? He doesn’t know
The girl has a few guy friends
lets be real, I think its like five
These guys are awesome
She totally enjoys their company
But, as you can suspect, it’s not the same
The boy, he’s the popular guy,
really, everyone loves him
He does everything, and is good at everything
He gets along with everyone, and has many friends who happen to be girls
But, as you can suspect, it’s not the same
She has everything figured out
College,
Military,
The future,
and yet, she has nothing figured out
He has everything figured out
College
Youth leader
The future
yet, has nothing figured out
She is a helper
She looooves helping people
I’m being serious
It’s like an addiction
But she doesn’t get to do it as often as she’d like
Him, he loves helping too
In a different way
He loves making people smile and boosting their confidence
Or he loves doing labor to help them out
Either way he is a helper
What she’s looking for is something she can’t find
She’s searched her whole life
Regarding she IS almost a college student
But just almost, what’s her hurry to find that person
He can wait
He’s patient
He can wait forever if that’s what it takes
But he just wants to make sure that she’s the right one
One thing I haven’t said
These two are best friends
They laugh at each other's jokes or just in general
They smile when they get a text from the other one
But they ARE four hours away
it seems like long, but its not too bad, what with technology and all
They can talk to each other so easily
They like each other, but they don’t think they are right
So they stay good friends
People outside this friendship are like, why don’t they just get together
She’s even been asked this
Every time, though, she says “We’re just friends, and that’s how we’re gonna stay”
In fact she’s glad, though she doesn’t feel it
He’s great but far away and she doesn’t think that it would work, or he would want it to work
What both don’t realize is God has a plan
They were put in each other’s lives for a reason
What that reason is, they don’t know
So as for the “once upon a time” story that each want
They know they are going to wait (whether they want to or not)
They know that their life is like an apple
They know that they are there for each other and that when one finds that person
The other will have a smile that reaches both poles
That the joy will reach to the heavens
Best friends are always there
This girl and this boy may not be a match
They may not have found that perfect person yet
But they ARE best of friends, and will be there when the other needs them
Whether or not they like it
Whether or not they agree
Whether or not they’re into it
They are there for each other
And have a bond that no one can break
Never back away from who you are
ReplyDeleteWhen all the people of the world tell you to
Never back away from what’s inside
No matter what it is that makes you different
You are unique...show it.
Sense and sensitivity
Sex and sexuality
Gender and identity
Everyone like you and me
All human beings longing to be free
So many people are forgotten everyday
Don’t add to the erasure
Notice these people and give them representation
So that erasure gets erased
Freddie Mercury, Anne Frank, Lady Gaga, and Nero
A gay man, a young hero, a modern musician, and an emperor
What do all these people have in common?
Bisexuality.
We live in a world where what you say doesn’t matter
Freddie was bi
The media decided to cover half of that story
He goes down in history as one of the most famous gay men
Anne was bi
She wrote about it in her diary
Schools deemed this too inappropriate, while she talked of genocide
Gaga is bi
Poker face describes her struggles with this
None of this ever sees the light of day
And tell me
Did we ever hear that fact about Emperor Nero in school?
When things like this are erased
Identities get erased
People’s feelings get erased
Awareness is erased
How can anyone care if they never knew in the first place?
How can anyone learn what is not taught?
They can’t
Awareness is never raised from above a whisper
Mockery, however, is raised to a roar
Homophobes across the country riot
Not even knowing that their phobia doesn’t exist
They fight against people living normal lives
And attempt to take away their constitutional rights
All the while clinging to their traditional values and gun laws
If you want the constitution to ring true
You wouldn’t be doing this
Above the roar of mockery and hate
Freedom would truly ring.
On a smaller scale
small prejudices exist in everyday life
Bisexuals are confused and greedy
Gay people are overly flamboyant
Lesbians were hurt by some man somewhere
All of them crave attention
What I propose is this:
Maybe the people who crave attention
are the ones who hold unnecessary protests.
Maybe the ones who were hurt by some man
were just trying to live their lives.
Maybe the one who is overly flamboyant
is the one who thinks their opinion dictates others
because they were loud about it.
And maybe, the people who are confused and greedy
are the ones who refuse to understand
and want their country to be run the way they like it.
If you truly believe in American Values
Then you must believe in
Equality
Justice
Freedom
But then, why would you take away from someone
The rights that you have?
But then, why would you unjustly accuse them
of “ruining” your day by being themselves.
But then, why would you take away the rights and freedoms
Of your fellow American Citizen
Of whom you claim to have so much respect?
Erase the Erasure!
Balance the Scales of Justice!
Give to all what they already should have,
and apologize for not granting it sooner.
Often, our oppressions are caused by ourselves.
ReplyDeleteSitting in solitude, simply alone
Is how humans hibernate even if they’re not.
We watch Willy Wonka and live in the moment,
But how is it possible to live when
We wish for what we don’t have instead of working for it.
The bees are busy buzz-ing outside while we listen to the buzz of our TVs.
We bang on the cells of our self-made prisons,
Shouting for more soup instead of a way out.
The riiiiing of your alarm goes off, but you refuse to leave,
Taking the key and locking yourself in your cell.
Spending all day sleeping in and catching those Zzzzz’s
But still you claim, “I could sleep for a year”
So you try to hibernate like a bear
But bears go and explore the wide, open world.
You’re too scared, you’re a timid Chihuahua,
Not a big, tough grizzly bear that runs the woods.
You wish you had the courage to act on
The tough words you say to your friends, but you don’t.
If you do, take that key and unlock your cell.
And if you threw that key away, devoid of determination to leave,
You built that cell with shows and games and silly pictures,
So you have the power to knock it down.
Toss one game to the side and then another
And now you have a door, a way into the world.
I know it can be frightening
But don’t be afraid to be the lightning
During a dark storm
You deserve to shine like a star
No, you can be the moon
Shining in the darkest of times
No one is capable of containing you
You can do anything…
Any one thing
Or more if that’s what your heart desires
Never forget what you are capable of
You can live those games you played or take
Part in those shows you envied, wishing you could be that hero.
Take pictures of something meaningful or
Use the world as your personal canvas.
Paint the world with your love
Entertain a room with your laugh
Help those who need it
But never save those who can save themselves
Let them believe in themselves
Help others learn that they also deserve to be a moon
Let others break free on their own
Help them see that
Often, our oppressions are caused by ourselves and only we can let ourselves free.
Life. Its goes by many names, many analogies
ReplyDeleteA bowl of cherries, a box of chocolates.
You’ll never know what you’ll get, you never know what will happen.
But, like a bowl of cherries, like a box of chocolates, you will get a cherry with a pit, you will get that chocolate you dont like.
And you wont notice until its too late. You wont know your cherry has a pit until you’ve already eaten it, you wont know the chocolate is the one you hate until you taste it.
Life has a tendency to make us feel horrible, knock us down, beat us up, kick us while were down, and even help us up, just to give us a sucker punch in the gut.
You could get mugged, get a ticket, get in a fender-bender, get in a fight with a coworker, all in one day. Hey, its a possibility.
And you’re going to carry that weight, carry that stress, that sadness, that anger, that guilt, all day.
That doesnt mean you let it win.
That doesnt mean you allow those negative emotions to build up on your shoulders, to fester and spread.
You carry those emotions, those bad feelings, knowing that the only way to lift the weight off your shoulders, the only way to feel better...
Is for something good to happen to you.
Sure, you got a ticket, but, you just so happen to get a bonus in work.
Sure, you get your car damaged, but it was the other guys fault, not yours, and hes taking responsibilty.
Sure, you got in a fight with your co-worker, but you talk it out the next day, or maybe at the bar after work and become good friends.
There are many people in the world whom face nothing but hardships, who have nothing but bad days.
The homeless, who struggle just to find scraps of food and a shelter.
The people who have to resort to crime or degrading acts just to keep their home and support their family.
The oppressed, living under the tyranny of a radical, cruel dictator or government.
The war-ravaged, who attempt to rebuild their warped lives as rockets and drones fly above them.
Yet they go and continue to live, despite the heavy burden on their shoulders.
They carry their sadness, their guilt, their suppressed emotions on their backs, and still they continue to live.
Because of one thing: The idea that the next day will be better for them. That despite this days sadness, the next day will bring joy.
For the homeless, the next day could bring them an offering of food, or perhaps even shelter from someone with a kind heart.
For the criminals, the next day could bring them the smile and joy of their child or significant other.
For the oppressed, the next day could bring the chance of being free from oppression.
For the war-ravaged, the next day could bring the help they so direly deserve to restart their lives.
After every storm is the calm.
After every war, there is peace.
You need to take the bad with the good, and smile.
A bad day is merely a beautiful sadness.
Splash
ReplyDeleteI could hear in the background
Laugher and excitement was all around me
It was my first time to the pool
I remember it all so well
It was unfamiliar, but I liked it
My grandma told me to try the big slide
I was only 5
I was of course nervous
But I was ready and eager to try
I walked up the narrow stairs
It seemed endless
Thinking I was going to have to walk back down if i didn’t go
made me stay
I had to go
I knew that
As I reached the top the fear paralyzed me
I couldn’t move
But I had to move
A little boy behind me said,”go already!”
So I just closed my eyes
I felt a sharp push and that was it
I was gliding faster than wind
the boy had pushed me if not i would have never gone
it was a rush
i hit the water at full force but i didn’t care
it was a feeling I had never felt before
I had let go and I was free
I thought that the slide was the tallest thing I had ever seen
Compared to my five year old self it was
Looking back I know that it was only about 12 feet tall
I miss being that small
Thinking how big the world was
And how safe I was in the world
Now my world is so much smaller
So much more to fear
I would love to only have to worry about a slide
My life was so simple and so safe
So innocent I was
Jonathan Meyer
ReplyDeleteSlam Poem
A boy walks I to a new land, unexplored yet by him.
All around are strange faces, strange pictures, strange everything.
The boy walks, followed by his mother, into school.
It’s a new place, school.
It was the boys first time.
It was as if he was Columbus discovering America.
And he had brought his supplies aboard his ship
And he had a treasure map to show him where to go.
His treasure map followed him telling him where to go and who to meet,
Yet the boy was still unsure.
School.
A mystical realm the boy had only heard of.
School.
With many unknown beasts and creatures, some helping some hurting.
School.
The boy was ignorant.
Ignorance that was not bliss.
Bliss was achieved by the boy when he fantasized.
DeleteFantasies of aliens, and robots and toys.
The only toys here were pencils and paper.
And the boy was the robot doing as and what his masters said.
And the aliens were all around, other children of another planet, so different from himself, yet so similar.
School.
What a wonderful place full of learning and knowledge.
School what a horrible place where all had thought about themselves and tried to please others.
The boy did not know this then.
The boy just went on and on and on, for years.
Now the boy still goes, and he knows.
School.
For this young naive boy it was quite a challenge.
He was scared and unsure and you know, he didn’t like it.
Does it get better?
Well, that boy may never know.
School.