Spoken Word Poetry?

       Spoken Word is a creative expression of thought written on a page but intended for onstage performance. At its best, spoken word is a powerful, high-energy act that attracts artists and audiences of all ages. Because it is performed, this poetry demonstrates a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, rhymes, sounds, rich poetic phrases, word play and slang. Slam poetry is more aggressive and "in your face" than traditional forms of poetry. Slam poetry is a word-based performance art.

       Lily Myers in her poem, "Shrinking Women," shares the story of watching her mother shrivel and grow smaller as life passes because women are told to keep there thoughts to themselves and watch what they eat to be skinny. Her father's belly is growing bigger and she reveals how men are taught to be bold in everything they do. She informs how her "brother never thinks before he speaks" but she was "taught to filter." This poem is describing how woman learn from a young age to be a "perfect" wife from generation to generation. Girls pick up their mother's habits whether they want to or not because "inheritance is accidental." Even in modern times, their thoughts and opinions are oppressed. Viewers learn that men and women come from difference. "[Men] have been taught to grow out," and to emit and produce confidence with every thought. While "[women] have been taught to grow in," to absorb, and create space around themselves. In this smart yet bittersweet poem, Myers is discontent and explains in an empathetic manner that her mother is shrinking in size to balance out her growing father.

       "Why I Hate School but Love Education" by Suli Breaks discusses the problems of the modern education system. Through his serious poem he is asking viewers what true education is. He explains how many people which are considered to be smart and successful, like Oprah Winfrey, "never graduated from a higher learning institution." He likes the concept of learning but doesn't believe that a true education is given by a school but instead by life experience and hard work. Suli shares his opines by disagreeing with people who let exam marks decide their fate because examiners have a checklist and if one's "answer is something outside of the box then the automatic response is a cross." He is attempting to make viewers think critically about the education system because "there is more than one way in this world to be an educated man."

       Marshall David Jones in his semi-sarcastic and satirical poem, "Touchscreen", criticizes the developing society that has come too dependant on technology. He is in a world where voices are read and "laughter is never heard." He describes how he can talk to people, can send a hug to them, and like them online and how he "can do all of these things without making eye contact." He explains that he's forgotten what it feels like to touch because "[his] world is so digital." Jones skillfully berates the digital world and wishes for viewers to understand that relying on technology isn't doing society any good because they will soon become desperate for human contact. He understands the conveniences of having an efficient digital world but is waiting for "when [the] technology will be advanced enough to make [society] human again."

       The poems "Shrinking Women" by Lily Myers, "Why I Hate School but Love Education" by Suli Breaks, and "Touchscreen" by Marshall David Jones demonstrate how entertaining and mesmerizing poetry can be. The performers captivate the audience with their opinions on these certain topics. They are truly great examples of what spoken word poetry is: enticing, inspiring, and reflective.


http://youtu.be/zQucWXWXp3k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ZmM7zPLyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAx845QaOck

Help! Legs are Suffocating!

       Would a woman be caught wearing only pantyhose as bottoms in public with no dress to cover her posterior? The answer is no, a woman would be ashamed to wear such a scandalous, semi-transparent outfit because it is disgraceful and not proper. Well the irony in this is that teenage girls at Princess Margaret Secondary wear tights or leggings on a daily basis. An article of clothing that was designed to be worn under dresses and long shirts for modesty now is worn with crop tops so the girls are able to flaunt their new bellybutton piercings and toned stomachs. Do the female students wear them to show off great legs, for attention, or just because they feel relaxed in them?

       What modest girls they must be wearing skintight pants that caress their every curve and mold to their bodies. They do everything in this one garment: come to school, go to work, go shopping, workout, hike, bike, and much more. Girls argue that it is comfortable, it is a great asset because it goes with all their blouses, and "they could never live without their new lulu's!" Funny, how they lived a perfectly normal life before buying an eighty-dollar pair of tights. The thoughts of these students are being taken over by cooperate clothing company's urging them to buy products because they are a "must have" and a new trend.

       This humble garment has abused the legs of the young women in Princess Margaret. One can hear the haggard gasping of their legs attempting to breathe. The leggings sculpt to the legs, clinging to and choking the skin. The teachers and the other students need to help these girls realize that wearing tight clothing doesn't do them any good. They are reducing the circulation of blood and decreasing movement by squeezing leg muscles. The girls at Princess Margaret should understand that going back to normal jeans−not skinny jeans−will only help them and won’t ruin their lives if the lulus were taken away.

I Have A Dream...

Running to class.
Dodging obstacles to not be late to class.
Panting, they arrive to class.
A minute too late, and the door is locked.

     Teachers think we're trying to challenge their authority. They think we are being harshly disrespectful. They think that we don't take responsibility for our actions. They think that we are purposely tardy. None of this is true. All we did was make the mistake of sleeping in.

     We are teenagers. We are physically required to get more sleep than babies and toddlers. We are the ones, like busy computers, who stay up past midnight aiming to regurgitate knowledge to complete worthless homework. And then, we are the ones who're tormented for attempting to be thorough in our school work. How is that fair?

     When instructors give tasks to do overnight, do they not realize that every other teacher is doing the same exasperating thing? We wake up late in the morning because we're exhausted from doing endless amounts of homework the night before, the bothersome assignments that they gave us.

     Homework is pointless. It is boring. It is aggravating. We should not be the ones to suffer for our teachers' choices of giving assignments. They somehow manage to forget that we have to juggle many lives: our personal lives, work lives, social lives, and school lives. They're determined to assume school will be our first priority. Why should we even try if we continue to get in trouble for doing what they assigned?

     I have a dream that, one day, high school students won't have meaningless homework. I have a dream to abolish homework forever. I have a dream to end unnecessary agony. I have a dream that one day students won't be punished for being late. I have a dream to be educated properly without having to endure worthless consequences. I have a dream for doors to be kept open.

Desperation

       I shuffled back through the sliding portal, into the remotely quiet hospital waiting room and sat down again, desperate for some good news about my bedridden mother. The distinct smell of hospital disinfectant crawled up my nose and lodged itself there, making a nest in my nostrils; It stayed there like a queen bee and she sent her many workers to pollinate the odor throughout me. The pounding of my nervous heart could be heard from miles away as I started to panic from the worst possible scenarios that were bombarding my mind over and over, again and again. Coughing and sneezing, patients sat waiting of their turns; they payed no attention to me. Haunting and constant beeps of hospital machines reached my vigilant ears and increasingly echoed in my head. My sweaty hands slipped from the cold, metal arm rests of the chair. My back and posterior were becoming stiff and sore from occupying the uncushioned, plastic, blue vinyl of the waiting room chairs for hours. From overhead the white fluorescent lights reflected off the polished white linoleum floors, shining bright, straight into my tired eyes. I closed them just for a minute.
       When I attempted to open them again, they felt so incredibly heavy as if bricks were attached to my eyelashes, weighing them down to keep my eyelids closed. I fell into a semi-conscious sleep. Murmurs from patients and nurses could still be heard. The doctor had finally come through the menacing double doors. Fully alert, I held my breath wishing and hoping for some good and bearable information. With an expressionless face and a monotone voice he said "I have bad news." A hot tear slid down my flaming cheeks. A continuous buzzing filled my ears. I could see the dreary look in his eyes and watched his lips move slowly but I couldn't comprehend the sounds coming out of his mouth. My lips were trembling now, too afraid to ask how bad. The taste of acidic bile on my dry tongue demanded the contents of my stomach to blast up my esophagus. My eyes rolled back and dizziness swept my feet from under me. I hit the cold hard floor with a loud thud and the oxygen rushed out of my lungs. A nightmare crawled its way into my imagination and the scenarios from earlier were becoming reality.

Cliches

       George looked up from shoeing the horse to see the outline of Curley's wife in the doorway of the barn. They were alone. She walked towards him swaying her hips. "What're you doin' here?" George asked rudely, wanting nothing to do with her, "You shouldn't be here. This is a place for men, a woman's place is in her home."
       "Well, my home is where my heart is," smirked Curley's wife, "and I sure as hell can tell ya it ain't with Curley. Now days good men are hard to find. When I married him I knew he wasn't no diamond in the rough but I also knew that opportunity only knocks once."
       Aggravated, George said, "Listen here girley, all's fair in love and war so it ain't worth thinkin' 'bout could haves and what ifs. It ain't worth crying over split milk. You made the choices so you gotta face the music."
        Keeping eye contact she inched towards him."Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot and all, but I'm jus' askin' for a little bit of help 'cause two heads are better than one. Please will you help me be rid of Curley?"
       "Don't you go biting the hand that feeds ya. All you gotta do is keep yer chin up and stick it through 'cause good things come to those who wait. I don't want no trouble for me and Lenny. You should get goin' 'fore someone comes in here lookin' fer ya," he advised.
       "Oh alright, I'm goin'! Don't get get your knickers in a twist." she sighed. Dejected, Curley's wife turned around and with her swaying hips left the barn as quiet as mouse. To George's relief she was gone like a whisper in the wind.

Secrets and Goals

             On, November 8, 1996, every galaxy in the whole universe and beyond was blessed by the birth of a little baby girl. Sukhvir Toor was the most beautiful thing her parents had seen since their first child. 16 years later, and Sukhvir Toor is now in her final year of high school. She will graduate in the year of 2014 with her classmates. What the other students don't know is that Sukhvir lives a double life; She's a full time student by day and a part time spy by night. She beats up evil, better, faster, and more efficiently than any agent out there. No person knows of her secret identity, not even her parents. One day, Sukhvir will own and be the founder of the best secret service institution ever created. Being the ruler of the world is just one of her many goals. Another dream of hers, is be the youngest lawyer in Canada. To accomplish these ambitions she strives to be to the best of her abilities in all her assignments. In addition to attaining her dreams, Sukhvir works hard to live up to her older sister. Sukhvir is awesome. She is creative, funny and cares immensely for the people she loves. The public needs to know that this damsel is definitely not in distress, she's a young lady ready to take on the world.