StandUp
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You stand up for what you believe is right,
but the world looks down on you, it's alright.
You will face many struggles,
but others will look at you and chuckle,
Don’t Turn the Knob
By: Hannah Gibbons
I am a doormat.
I get walked on everyday.
When I get vacuumed,
You dont understand what you doin to me
Should I spell it out for you to see
Death means absolutely nothin to me
Imma keep doin what I do, it sets me free
From all the pain and humiliation in the past
I wish for the day when girls can be girls and boys can be boys ,
in whatever way that they enjoy.
Where the bread in his kitchen is enough for meals,
I struggle
To wake up every morning,
I find it hard
To fall asleep at night.
Getting up in front of a crowd is impossible,
Breathe, I tell myself,
BREATHE.
There are people going through worse,
The View from Below
You stand up for what you believe is right,
But the world looks down on you, it's alright
You will face many struggles,
Pool Boy,
You were just a boy, sixteen years young - (blank) neighbor.
(Blank) demons derive from our paths crossing
when (Blank) was 4.
The day was hot, wearing nothing but the trainning bra and
3 simple words
All very short
Yet compacted together
They mean the world
It may be fake
it may be real
there is no debate
there is just one meaning
Because I love you
We live in a society where defiance of authority is insubordinate.
Where the human race individualism comes correlative.
To perform an action that the people see as unethical,
Yet we struggle in a world that is identical.
She sits obediently as she feels the restriction of the world
Be what you want yet don’t dream too high
Trapped in a cage as she watches
So helpless
Our thoughts and prayers are with you say the living to the dead
But no one acts to prevent those souls from laying down their head
"I can't live without my precious gun, it brings me too much joy", they say
Be true, be real, just be you.
I mean sure there’ll be fakes who bully you,
I’m myself and next thing I know
I’m being called a freak, but I don’t care cause I'm me
Just be you
Be true to yourself
Raged
I am told to be silenced about it
i am told to nto have outburst
And to keep it all in...
So since my mouth is silenced where does my rage come from
Where is it located
They say you need a whole lot more,
To make a difference, or even be looked at.
You try so hard to do just that,
for everything that you stand for.
I refuse
I refuse to let you define me
Simply because there is no defintion
I am who I am
I refuse to let you attack me
You may not accept me but I do
I do not need your approval
In a funhouse,
I stare in awe at my reflection,
Wishing I could live in a penthouse.
My life, my perspective, my bias keep me going in the right direction.
A simple definition will not due.
What is respect?
My idea or yours?
I know where yours comes from.
It comes from a branch so sucked into the means of society, it has lost all meaning.
My fingers are faucets
Fixtures that connect my soul to the materials I use to express it
An outlet for the words that hide just under the skin,
Scared of judgment
Oddly amusing
No really, truly.
A voice akin to honey as it falls
Yet a laugh of a hyena when it calls.
Amber skin,
With hazel eyes.
One who values virtue,
He keeps his head down
as he walks down the hall.
Looking up, he spots them.
He stops.
They see him and approach him.
His brain yells at him to run,
but his legs canno move.
Are we one?
It's hopeless I know this devoid of devotion.
So tired of the maddness and sick of emotions dividing the classes and poisoning the masses.
So I'm strictly devoted.
Alone in the forest of the black gnarled trees
They beckon for me to join them in the dark.
No moon shines bright through where there should be leaves,
Just black, bare. branches and bark.
A Women of All Odds
Please pay no attention to the women behind those books
Intelligence is over-rated; twerking is all the new rage
It seemed so simple. “May I kiss you?” His eyes implored, searching mine with such intensity. I looked up, and thought of it all in its innocent simplicity...a meek peck on the cheek, maybe even a little butterfly on the lips.
It doesn't matter my height,I have to look up to you.
I was born with no choiceAs a woman.
That automatically makes meSmallerWeakerUnimportantOnly for your entertainment.
This world.
Yes. This one
The one you're a part of
Is dying
The United States falls
The Middle East quarrels
The world is gripped by panic, and fear
Pestilence
War
Poverty
If you are Caucasian, Asian, or of Middle Eastern persuasion
everyone wants to be black for the occasion
You wear saggy jeans and you come off like this
Do you really know what its like to be black and dissed
I refuse to fit into your 9x9 inch squares and your 12x12 inch cubicles
I refuse to always comb my hair and always look my best just so people could say, "yo, you look fresh ta death!"
I'm going for the top
I got it on lock
Its no crock
I'm sturdy as a rock
That will never crumble like a stock
This is why I have a flock
They would follow me around any block
So don't be in shock
Deep, deep down inside you,
you have the power.
You have the voice
you can make the choice.
It's way too late
to say you're sorry now
you knocked me to the ground
but what you say doesn't hurt me.
You beat me all the way down
ever since then I wore a frown
but I had to realize that
It's way too late
to say you're sorry now
you knocked me to the ground
but what you say doesn't hurt me.
You beat me all the way down
ever since then I wore a frown
but I had to realize that
Cut your hair boy,
Why are you bald.. you are a girl.
You do not meet expections,
but it isn't you, it is just the world...
Yes hunny it is ugly.
Quirp
Whore
Asshole
Loser
Bitch
You spit splatters of wavering whines
Your words ringing through my spine
Judgement reflects from your eyes
I am not going to explain the scars on my wrist
Or size of my waist to the ratio of my hips.
I’m not going to apologize for the way my ribs protrude
Like the clock on the wall, we all have a story. Time ticking away which tracks life's journey.
Like a scribe it records the good and the bad. It never stops to think what makes us happy or mad? Or what makes us sad ?
Why Should I be less than thou that did not create me?
Because I have honey thighs and a figure but lack certain organs "thee" are not "we"?
Nurtured like flowers in a garden we are raised to succeed, but not to over achieve.
I am tired
Tired of waking up at 6 AM to go to a white-washed prison where
I am taught
Not to learn
But to pass a test
Tired of hearing my dad loudly groan, "Oh really?!" when he sees a homosexual
When the silence builds within me,
the walls around me fall.
For when I am by myself,
I can stand among emptiness tall.
But when I'm corned in the open,
The People that Bully have problems of their own
The People that Bully laugh and tease at the features that are "imperfect"
The People that Bully have no perception of anyone's feelings except their own
oh. the Insanity
it comes and it blows
like the wind
but with minds instead of kites
shall you search for an anitdote?
no, no silly
What would their crunchy Jaws snap at then?!
Change.
To change oneself; what a contriversial issue.
"Never change yourself" they say.
"Be yourself" as if that was the only way.
But I disagree.
For we all change.
Change for the better.
To find something worth standing for,
To stand and and not give in,
Is to find something worth living for.
To find something worth living for,
To live and never from it rest,
All the time I see it happen, all around me it goes on.
What do I do? Why do I do it?
I Stand Up! I Fight Back!
I fight for the little guy.
I fight for what's right.
I do it for those who need help.
In a world of black and white,
be the shades of grey.
They bring value to each day.
In a world of broken dreams,
be the shining star.
You can reminds each boy and girl,
What if I told you, all of you are wrong
You've already judged me; probably have been all along.
Peel back the layersand look inside;
deep in the abyss
you will find.
A little spark
a lovely note;
some most have
but others hope.
When all that's left
All this violence,
has its range,
that's one thing
that I would change.
A bad night between couples,
two many drinks,
makes them rethinks
their own happy nuptuals.
I’m a mouse
Always have been
It doesn’t take much for me to hide in my little home
Where I am safe from the daggering eyes
Or judgmental looks of others
But sometimes I get fed up
If I could change anything I think it would be my eyes,
I don’t like how dark they are, I want them as blue as the sky.
Or maybe I would change my thighs,
They rub together and jiggle when I jive.
I heard a story one day,
to my surprise I had nothing to say,
It was something about this girls name,
The sound? The origin? It soon all became a game ,
Seventeen years of observing others
Seventeen years of sitting in a corner.
Just watching form a distance or nearby
To the point you start to understand.
Understand others and their action
This is not about me
This is about someone I see everyday
She’s sad, depressed
Tearing over spilt milk
She’s a coward
Doesn’t speak against anyone else
She does as she’s told and never speaks up.
Names called out in the hall,
Tears-streaming-down,
How can this be right?
Under pressure from everyone, school, parents, friends…and now this
Back-and-forth-back-and-forth;
You're terrible words pierce through my viens.
The looks I am given bring me down.
I catch myself.
I will not back down.
I live because I am given this life.
Change your evil ways.
The people squirming
Through each other
Sprinting
Pacing
Chuckling
Weeping
Briefcases in hand
Lunging
For the office
Laptops
Cellphones
Watches
Files
You?
How true
Are you?
Are you lost?
In a faraway place
Where you conceal
Your true face
Oh what color?
Do you see
Yes
When you see me
Do you see blue?
Small, shy and scared of the world
You were teased, humiliated, embarrassed
No one stood up for you, they just laughed along
With a bruised tear stained face you go home, crying yourself to sleep.
All great leaders
see something unfair
They dont just stand there
and watch
Take a step and speak
Make you think
Say the words
yours afraid to say
At the center of this universe
He’s sitting and he’s scared
But no one spoke a word,
We spend billions of dollars to protect our country, but what's the point if behind the walls is a land that's crumbling?
Busy sidewalks,
crowds of people—
rush rush rush.
No time, no time,
will not stop
hesitate—
Too busy busy busy
too much effort to see
difficulty.
Alone in white she stands,
tounge knoted whlile she clasps her shakey hands,
Lies pour out of their mouths iike rocks in a dirty waterfall,
she gets tossed around like a used up ragdoll.
Sometimes being quiet is the best way to learn.
Like its always been said open your ears close your mouth, open your eyes and see what others cant.
All he ever did was push and shove, his body boring heavily into mine.
"You're so ugly and useless," escaped his lips like venom so clear, and so fine.
I let the words drill into my mind like sharp knifes engraving my skin.
Why should I do what my peers say to fit in?If you think I would hang out with you delinquents, you are sorely mistaken.I have control over my mind, my body, my soul.You try to slow me down because I'm on a roll.
It takes 10 seconds:
4 seconds of thought,
2 seconds to breathe,
4 seconds of courage.
10 seconds is all you need
to face your biggest fear,
to stand up for yourself,
to change the world.
One, two, three, four,
She takes one step at a time,
She fakes a smile as she walks through the door,
But she knows what is deep at her core.
You say it's better not to know.
It won't get out the window.
I'll never tell,
Until you ring the bell.
The bell of permission.
About your secret mission.
I go to school to become smart and get an education,
Not to listen to your secular points of views, and condemnation.
I am the black girl sitting in the back of your classroom
The black girl that deals with racism day after day
School is
Supposed to be a sacred place,
School is
Supposed to be a safe space,
Every student requires an equal opportunity,
A choice of their own
Between success and failure.
Punches and bruises,
Laughter never seems to come my way.
Yelling, screaming,
No one seems to hear me.
Day by day,
I wish life will end.
Then somthing happens.
The clock ticked
And my desk squeaked.
Bored; Bored: Bored!
I roared. Yet I could not make a sound.
He stood at the front.
His nose to the ceiling.
Not giving a thought to
Theres a reflection,
one you cant stand,
when people see you all they can say is
ugly, fat, waste, liar,fake
but they are wrong,
put down the razor,
Can you not see your beauty?
At school the other day, I was asked not to pray.
It rocked me and shocked me. What could I say?
I am but a student that is meant to obey.
But did they have the right to ask me not to pray?
your snide commentary
about our collective thoughts
puts everyone down
you're the reason
that we dread
coming to your class
Down the halls its hard enough
“Fag” “Gay” “Queer, that’s never enough
Into the locker my face gets stuck
A teacher walks by and gives me a shrug
Finally in class
In the middle I sit
Can you see it?
The hatred, the abuse?
She doesn’t show it
But what’s the use?
People will say it’s for “attention”
Throw her against the wall
Threaten her to mention
Because they fear to fall
Prithee tell me, high school
When does it stop being cool
To kiss the Queen Bee's feet?
She may be full of honey
But she's anything but sweet.
Her eyes shine much like diamonds
They say it's a selfish act.
Trust me I realize that.
But it doesn't prevent me from thinking about it.
I know I'd be taking the easy way out.
But if that means escaping from the pain,
Then so be it.
If it was the n-word he just said,
you wouldn’t have tolerated it.
If she had put a hand on me,
We were made to be different.
We were made to stand out.
But sometimes life is hard
And we just want to shout.
Sometimes we want to scream from a rooftop.
Other times we want to lock our doors.
Ridiculous
the way you all try
to tell us that
tests will define us
align us
along your lines
which we
are not allowed to cross.
Ridiculous
the way that they tell
Every Friday night I walk myself to the circus.
A cracked glass door becomes a billowing tent flap
and the laughing faces are lit by the ends of burning cigarettes.
The sign outside proclaims it “The Pitcher’s Mound Pub”
I’m going to be a fireman when the flood waters
roll back
Trees have grown in the desert since
you left
And I don’t sleep on a bed of bones
anymore
I’ve held a handgun loaded with excuses
Underneath my tongue ever since I was young
To cover your abuses
“She didn’t mean that” I’d say
“He just upset” I’d whisper
Clicking away at my little trigger
These feelings in hiding because were I am from there's no expection,
Because people decide to believe in these divine powers,
But you can't see it not even me,
Remember the time when nothing went wrong ?
You went through the day like a endless song ?
Now you're confused and you can't find your way
Why does it always have to result in this ?
Rewind back to a time...
Back to a time when things
Were slow and serene.
Back to a time when
I had a dream
Was more than a tweet...
It meant something.
Make no mistake-
High school, a melting pot for social cliques.
The lunchroom is in a simple layout.
Jocks on the left, nerds in the middle, and everyone else dispersed in the nearest seat.
We don't get to timeour crises of faith,do we? When thebite has gone outof the bourbon itseems as thoughjokes are not funny,as they used to be.
I'm trying to be a legend to my urban youth,
Someone positive that they can look up to,
and let them know that with a dream they can make it out,
I can be the voice that they are raving about,
I see it . I see it !
I see the blackhole of hate racing to my presence , then into my veins.
I hate it , but it consumes me every minute I am around it.
These words were never meant to fall upon death ears
These words were meant for battle
These words were meant for war
NO, we will not stand by and let our voices be silenced
This is for the child, So young, Who thinks his parents don't care. Who sits up all night wondering, And hoping he'll do them well. This is for the girl, So scared, beaten and abused.
Justice for Trayvon
Their will be.
No more unfair inequality
Jury, judge all knew this was wrong.
What more evidence do you need
for the case of young Trey?
What is there to do?
When the big kids beat up the little ones.
When the little ones were afraid to speak up
to defend themselves or their peers.
No one would say a word
Turtles from Madagascar
Marmosets from South America
A Noah’s ark of endangered species
Sinking under the weight of the elephants.
Captured from traffiikers
Seized from smugglers
Transfixed by my own gaze,
I see not who I am, but what I have become.
unhappy with this site, I caring on in a daze
What I see makes me feel dumb.
I am concerned with where my mind has gone
I know where there's hate, there is love more abundant. So, even though I hear so much of this hate, I know where there's bitter, there also is sweet. It's lasting twice as long, so when there's much wrong, I'll choose the right!
I know where there's hate, there is love more abundant. So, even though I hear so much of this hate, I know where there's bitter, there also is sweet. It's lasting twice as long, so when there's much wrong, I'll choose the right!
All the days seem to blur together
For once there was a forever.
Time ago I saw a new light
But then it died one fateful night.
In hindsight we’re living the dream,
But hindsight is blind sight and in mind’s eye
In fact we’re destroying the dream.
Corrupting morality for technology,
But we’re forgetting to keep open eyes,
Don’t run from your troubles,
As life takes you by,
It will only cause pain,
As if fire creeped inside,
Burning your desire to say the truth,
Afraid of the effect it will have on you,
I have a voice;
Strong and loud.
Can make people listen,
People in the crowd.
I know right from wrong;
I'm not sitting in a cloud.
I'll scream till you hear me;
Scream really loud!
striking fear in someones eyes
does not get them to Respect you.
fear is an unpleasant emotion
which only makes someone fretful
Holding the thick black tape recorder
your life is at your hands.
With the ability to move forward but the rewind button contains broken bands.
This apparatus is yours to keep.
To stop, play and go forward
Light is like a spot in the night,
It is a tiny tiny twinkle in twilight,
How small it can be in some places,
It could be the white on my laces or hiding in some places,
Life is tough, so get a helmet,
That's what we have been hearing all our lives.
Stuck in the in between of getting spoken to like a child,
But expected to act like an adult.
I am only a man, and just barely one at that.
I have off days, not days, shot days, and days I just don’t know what to do with.
Im forced to make decisions, sometimes I don’t make the right one, or the best one.
Its time to make a decision
A decision to stand or to fall
To live life to the fullest or fall in the trash of the past
The time is now to decide to live and to love the lives we have
As life goes on, and we get older,
Our actions seem to be bolder.
I look back onto my past,
Wondering how large is the shadow I have cast.
I have moved a few people to action,
For things that they believed in.
Uncontrollably over analyzing the situation that was in front of me
Only thoughts that was in my mind was about the person that I used to be
Thee ultimate love triangle
They're three in one
We've gat the Father the Spirit and the Son
The book of Life, the crucifixion story, all written before we even begun.
I had a dream
Where a world was free
It never mattered who you are
but what you will become
I am fighting for a dream
where I can be free
It doesn't matter who I am
Just what I want to become
I've overcome…
From the whips and chains..
I've overcome…
From the bitter taste and sinking pains..
I've overcome…
From the shackles and wounds that burn all day..
I've overcome…
Falling.
The fresh taste of blood salts my lips.
Rage. How dare I dream about a future that may never come?
For dreams bring the pain, despair of hope.
Hope for the better.
Anything better.
Every once in a while we all need to stand. For those who won't speak up and are afraid to lend a hand. They will never get what it means to be loved unconditionally. So they ball out and cry while continuing to listen to all those lies.
Lord of the nations
and the power of creation.
With lifted hands we honor thou,
for you swept the sins off our brow.
Is it giving you the promotion you wanted?
Is it Him letting you see the game on Sunday?
Is it Him giving you a dollar to find?
Perhaps you eating lunch, and not having to pay?
The battle for life, is like this:
Friend against friend until all are lifeless
They never see how they hurt, or whom
Rather, they only See at their doom
Where destruction laughs
And they scream
In the dark, alone, scared.
Can't find anything, any where, no light.
"Where am I, Am I home."
As I speak the words real slow,
Frost fogs up an appearing window.
I look out it and see myself chained up.
