Friday, May 23, 2014

Society

This poem was performed in March at Arundel’s first Spoken Word evening. I wish it were possible for you to hear and see it performed, because it gave me chills. One of the most honest students I have had the privilege of knowing, this poet speaks some powerful, brutally honest truth. Sit up and listen, society.

She was thirteen going on fourteen,
When it seemed that everything that had ever been in her life up until this point
Was nothing but a fading dream.

What used to matter was now just a matter of a blissful set of memories.
The kind of scenes you see when you reminisce back-to-who-you-used to be.
It was no longer about fun, friends and cartoons
Gone were the junior days, I mean, this was high school.

Suddenly it mattered what you looked like, it mattered who your friends were
It mattered what your size was, it mattered what you wore.
She became withdrawn.
The world didn’t make sense to her anymore.

Then there was this thing called a “chope”;
A simple slip of the tongue but she watched her pronunciation every time she spoke,
Because she didn’t want to be labelled as “gwash” or get laughed at
But the sad thing is…that wouldn’t be considered as bullying
I mean, it’s a society thing.

She was fourteen going on fifteen
When people were really mean.
They accused her of being gay and that too was okay because everyone had a nickname at the end of the day.
So she was Miss Homo because she was not one for dresses, heels and pleated skirts.
She liked sneakers and baggy t-shirts.
So she was confused about who she was and who she was meant to be…well
According to society.

She was fifteen going on sixteen,
When insecurities trickled up her spleen.
She felt that she needed a boyfriend
but not because she wanted the homo rumours to end
but because being in love meant that you were lovable
Having a significant other meant that you were beautiful.
She never saw him but just that click from single to in a relationship on Facebook, made her feel special.
I mean, hey, it was cool to not be a single lady…
Said who?.. well, based on society.

She was sixteen going on seventeen,
When she stepped onto the social scene.
She got her ID and society said she was an adult, right?
Done with exams so she could party, go crazy and go out at night.
It was okay to jail break, I mean- it was o break!
She would make decisions without takin a second to ingest, process and digest what they meant.
Obviously, it led to a lot of mistakes and regrets.
The truth is she wasn’t ready yet but she…
She listened to what society said.

She was seventeen going on eighteen,
When it wasn’t cool to be “clean”
She started sipping on alcohol, underage drinking and her parents didn’t know
Then again it was socially acceptable because everyone was doing it
It wasn’t right but it felt alright
Because there is safety in numbers and security with friends
It was the start of something new and in the beginning no-one thinks about the end.
I mean, forget about liver cirrhosis and cancer.
Society said, “You’re young, you only have to think about health in your future.”

She was eighteen going on nineteen,
When she realised something about society
People made it seem like it was some abstract inanimate being
That eventually, indirectly and unfortunately controlled your destiny.
Because we base our every decision on other people’s opinions
It’s like you don’t have an option…
She felt like she was part of a lost generation.
It seems like every generation blames the one before but we can’t keep playing this blame game anymore.
It’s so easy to pin it on the celebrities,
“Everyone’s twerking cause of Miley.”
For one second, forget about the illuminati
Rihanna, Weezy, Jay-Z
They only have as much power as you give em’
So take the initiative and just don’t listen to them.
It’s not about what Miley does; she’s lost, just like us
We’re all just trying to grow up
“Children are going wild because rappers sing and endorse songs on parties and weed.”
But are they the problem? Or is it us for buying their CD’s.

Real eyes recognise real lies, and it took her 6 years to see it;
In a way, everyone’s a hypocrite
We’re all so quick to say, “I want my man to be a Christian.”
But we don’t want ‘church boys’ so you go look for him, at a rugby game.
And I’m not saying rugby players don’t pray
But you want him to be a Christian based on the condition that he’s- on the team.
But love is unconditional, that’s not looking for love
So, what are you looking for?

Cyber bullying? Don’t blame the media, Facebook, Twitter
Behind that mean comment on your screen is just another human being.
She was tired of people sticking their noses into her business when it wasn’t their business to begin with.
No one had the right to judge her, except God who created her and well…
Maybe her parents for producing her.

And if it hasn’t occurred to you…
That girl in the baggy jeans at the peak of her teens is me
And I realised that we are society
Not Facebook, Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey
And there are 3 kinds of people in this world;
Those that watch things happen those that make things happen and those that wonder what happened.
So can we be the generation to accept the blame, make the change and make something happen.

At the end of the day, it boils down to you and me
Because we are society.


Paida Pooty-G Gambe
(Upper 6, 2014)


No comments:

Post a Comment