Spoken Word Poetry is a form of oral, word-based art where the author plays with words, voice inflection, and intonation to convey a message. Many times, spoken word performances ask their audience hard questions, make them think deeper about something, or shed light on an issue we often overlook.
This term, our Year 9s had a Spoken Word Project in their English lessons with Ms Cole. Students could pick a topic of their choice, and write a poem that tried to included figurative language, such as rhymes, metaphors, alliterations, and puns. We would love to show case some of the many talents pieces Ms Cole received this term:
Milton Wiklund, 9B
Topic: Life - watch on YouTube
Emma Svensson, 9A
Topic: Anxiety - watch here
Ellen Brus, 9B
Topic: Gender Norms & Gender Freedom - see below
Hundreds of people leave themselves behind every day, simply because society expects everyone to be the same
And when you refuse to stand in this teeny, tiny, tragic box of normal,
You get a ticket to loneliness, a tattoo in the face saying that you should be avoided
Yeah, that guy wore a skirt and rouge on his cheeks,
But it didn’t make him a girl or a fag or a freak
His style made him Unique
Until Normal came…
Normal teased him
Normal taunted him
Normal tormented him
Unique covered himself in deep, scarlet cuts to escape
When they faded, he faded too
A ghost he became to Normal and their crew
Unseen and unheard
He went to the rope, begging to be cured
The rope embraced him with a tight hug around his neck
Hanging at the end his colour was brought back!
But only as one of a million ink numbers on a statistic chart
And I’m telling you this because you have the right to not be defined by your style
You see that girl over there?
She doesn’t have the balls to be herself
But she does have balls she doesn’t want to have
Everybody calls her names day in and day out
And much, much more…
It’s always followed by threats
It’s always followed by a kick between the legs
One day the pain will become too much
And she, she will turn to drugs
The pain will disappear!
But so will every other feelin’
Soon, she will only feel the kick of heroine
And I’m telling you this because you have the right to not be defined by your sex
There’s this person
It’s not a he
It’s not a she
So what could it be?
It’s a they!
They are always looked upon as this mysterious creature
But not as the fairy or phoenix
But as the troll, as the freak
All those things are entirely wrong
They are made out of flesh and bone
But having to always be filled with heavy expectations and norms made it impossible to move, to take a single step away from them
Now they are stuck, trapped in the mindset of others
Unallowed to eat anything other than their rotten words, the names continued to rain upon:
And all those things, they aren’t entirely wrong
They are just made out of bone
And I’m telling you this because you have the right to never be defined by anybody else
One by one they all fall
Punched by your words, no one can ever stand tall
An army of lookalikes they become
Surrounding everyone different until they all are forced to be the same
But if you feel that you have the right to tell me about my identity
Then it’s not me who have a mental disorder,
It’s your brain that’s only the size of a quarter
Because we are here
Because we are queer
And no matter what you freedomphobes do,
We will always be here for eachother but never for you
Tania Gazi, 9A
Topic: Social Anxiety - see below
In The Past: I didn't speak
“What am I going to say?”
“Will they like me this way?”
I felt weak
I felt like a cracked cup
A damaged cup left in the corner of the cabinet.
Dealing with being unappreciated
Feeling very separated...
From others because
All these anxiety symptoms
I thought would never end
Every lunch break
At the bathroom I hid
I was completely divided
8 years passed
“I can't live this way”
“Every day “
My thoughts held me captivated
Is it possible to be liberated ?
By the enslavement of social anxiety
Is it possible in our society?
I believed it was a obstacle
That weren't possible
I was wrong
The journey was long
Here I am
I achieved the obstacle
How that was possible...
Was by Addressing the root cause of my social anxiety
Fear of rejection;
In the past:
When I got rejected, I felt the pain of 100 arrows through my chest.
I was terrified of that pain.
Therefore I wanted the validation and acceptance of others.
And because of my
Inability to accept me.
I sooner questioned my pain:
Was it the rejection who caused the pain?
Or was it me? It was me...
What's the point to treat myself with 100 arrows?
Because I got rejected
It doesn't make any sense.
I figured out that:
Is just the
Lack of connection
It took time for me to realize:
Rejection doesn't affect my value.
Neither does it affect yours.
You and I are valuable
Because we exist.
You and I are able to validate ourselves
Only because of
The validation of myself
Gave me the purity of a colorful rainbow.
A colorful rainbow shining over a dark landscape
I addressed the root cause
Now I'm blessed because
In the past;
I was the slave
Of the great wave
The great wave died
As I tried
To be brave
And ended being the slave
Your own validation
It's your true liberation