A permutation of possibilities,
Possibilities to discriminate.
Because no matter how much it hurts, the world around us is full of hate.
There are so many noises, overlapping noises. I try and listen.
“You’re not the right size”
They say and laugh- open and free,
A head full of ideas but her size is all they see.
“Like I care” she says but it does matter to “me”.
Hot, sexy or ugly.
Thin or fat?
This is the only thing people look at.
Her face is full of acne, her arms unwaxed,
Cellulite and stretch marks appear too.
When did looking like a fragile hourglass become the truth?
Small, medium, large, big,
There are labels around us all.
She desperately tries to fit in,
No comfort, how does she stand tall?
They always warned her about broken mirrors,
The way it’s pieces could pierce the skin,
Blood trickling towards her finger tips.
But they never warned her about the smooth mirrors,
Whose reflection was full of tags,
Disgust staring back at her,
Scanning her body,
Imperfections screaming for attention.
They never warned her about the smooth mirrors.
The ones that hide nothing and reveal everything,
It doesn’t leave the outer scars,
Never fully reveals the battle within,
The desire to be happy,
The recognition of the need to nurture.
They continue, “Your skin is not the right color, Isn’t it a little bit duller, compared to her?”
This spectrum between black and white is fueled by the duel between being amused and being right,
What people don’t understand is that there is no winner in this fight.
Black blood is not cheap,
If only you could take a look at the sorrowful mothers who weep,
Because all she wanted was to hold her child in her arms,
Not bury them in an old family farm,
Have you been waiting for it? Because this is the alarm.
Her child, while strolling down the street,
Or envisioning the future in their sleep,
While playing with their toys,
Bullets in casings of alloy,
They hear the sirens, when all goes quiet.
Finding their mother and hiding in her hair, they whisper, “Another riot?”.
Black blood is excessively shed,
While the innocent fill prison beds,
This spectrum between black and white hangs by a thread,
How is that 1 gets luxuries and the other struggles for bread,
I ask you- When will it end?
Before I can figure out what to say, I’m told- “You’re not meant to fall in love with the that person, It’s not
normal”
I ask you- what is normal?
Is normal, what’s written in the bible, the bible that states that what you do is a sin?
Is normal, Eve and Adam? Because I think we could do with either.
Is normal, X chromosome meets Y chromosome = a family? Is that the only definition of family?
I ask you- Is it wrong to love the same gender?
I assure you these are all rhetorical because if I took answers, they would be pretty diabolical.
I once heard a man saying- “You’re not the right gender”
Race, religion, and nationality
Age, ability, and sexuality
There is no one size fits all strategy,
Language, mannerisms, accents, style
Why do we make women go the extra mile?
Why are women associated with tranquillity?
These limitations are no less than a tragedy,
We should not have to empower a woman’s speaking ability,
Because expression and speech are everyone’s rights.
Apparently, it’s ‘do as we say’ and not ‘as we do’,
And, it seems as though we don’t bother to take this route.
Most of us are forced to keep silent.
Unable to feel, unable to speak
Because we’ve been taught what to think
Beaten down by the rod of self-righteousness
Never ceasing, always suppressing.
So let me tell you, when you ignore consent,
For your own content,
Disregarding the lament,
Only to torment, you are a fool.
I urge you, speak up.
Speak up, scream, shout, cause chaos, say “NO”.
“No”- 2 letters, 1 syllable, a complete answer needless of an explanation.
It’s a full statement, despite the resentment.
It’s a sentiment you must confess, even if it causes a mess.
It’s an emotion we are told to suppress,
A thought from which we should digress.
Because we are taught to say “yes”,
Yes I will do it,
Yes you can,
Yes I don’t mind,
Yet sometimes people have not any clue when they cross the line.
Saying yes, agreeing to every command,
Have we forgotten that we’re not here to fulfill society’s endless demands?
Let’s understand that when someone says “no”, we step back.
When someone says “no”, we stop.
When someone says “no”, they will not follow it up with an IB 10 marker explanation to “justify” their damn
answer.
And when someone says “no”, we hear it as they mean to say it,
Don’t think that everytime someone says “no”,
It’s while twisting their hair in their hands,
With a tan from the sun and the sand,
And with a playful girl laugh that no one can stand.
Because let me tell you,“I thought they didn’t mean it” is an imcomptent excuse,
The power you hold you must misuse,
But the truth is that not everyone you meet is trying to get wooed.
So let’s understand that “no” is a whole word,
Stop making it sound so absurd,
Every single human has the right to be heard.
Ask yourself, being quiet, how long does it last?
It’s a disease that’s catching up fast.
It won’t be long before everybody gets it,
But as long as I live to fight for my voice,
And fight for my respect towards yours,
Perhaps we can delay the inevitable a little while longer?
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