Atlanta Teen Voices / all

Slam Poem: ‘What do you need?’

by share

There’s much to say but I’d rather sit in silence with myself

Because even if I was talking, you wouldn’t hear

But this silence screams your name

We’ve been through the hard times, and after all the hard rhymes, I found someone who makes the words Rhyme.

But well, let’s go back in circles with my emotions and yours, and I’ll tell you we didn’t leave a cloud of dust Behind, but if you look back, you can see it

You can’t see anything left in it though

Where’s all the stuff we had and everything we shared?

We talk about living together so much now but we can’t even live together

Or apart. oh, well

There’s that but back to the facts, how you spit on my name and tell those I broke you when all I wanted was To improve your perfections

Yes, they are perfect for the way that they shine, deception.

Oh the first impression, you were shy but you got comfortable

I put on my gloves because the last person turned me cold but you thought that was your cue to grab some and Fight.

I would say fight back but what were you fighting — who were you fighting when I just wanted a piece of your heart

The blows, the slaps in the face — who taught you to be so cruel? you cruela devile.

But guess what? I have no spots on me

According to you, I have no faults, and when the faults are my fault, you claim I don’t listen or I don’t see Your point

But it’s so skinny so how could I see it among thousand pieces of thick metal that I’ve built up

New view, yes. New perspective, yes.

But I still continue to see the same thing.

You can’t stop yourself, you feed off hearing me suffer and checking if the blade went all the way through

Not immediately did I see you but once I got under and inside, I would see what you hid–What they hate that You hide

Oh you dirty masterpiece, I have a wrench, that’s all

Hoping to fix this but how many wrenches will I have to buy before I’m bankrupt

Please stop, stop looking at me and loving me and thinking about me

It is true that’s it easier to be together but what if I want the hard part of being apart

What if walking through these rocks and gravel turn the material under our feet into sand?

A BEACH in disguise.

We didn’t plan this but it happened so we continue to walk, not questioning it, a gift from God–

So I’ve been racing in my mind but this turn is coming up and I don’t know what to do next

They didn’t give me instructions on how to keep up nor did they tell me the car they’d put me in

Beautiful on the outside but so bruised on the inside, that’s you

That’s it. Start to think you’re special to me but apparently I manage to both break your snowglobes and raise hell & everything I say is a lie

The history repeats itself but I don’t.

Truths.

But mentally, oh my gosh, I’m yelling and throwing things and saying words I told myself should not be said

But physically, look at me, nothing.

Try to read me if you can, well nothing is there to read.

I’m the pages out of a book,

I’m the ripped and lost and thrown into the trash pages

So now the story is lost

Tell me what you’ll do.

Christian, 19, attends Georgia State University as a sophomore and participated in the most recent Atlanta Word Works open mic.

aww-workshops-flyerThe next free Atlanta Word Works workshops are:

Sat. Nov. 19, 2-4 p.m., and Thursday, Dec. 8, 5-7 p.m. Both are at VOX, and Atlanta-area teens are invited. Click here to register.

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