ScholarshipSlam no filter poetry
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I used to be shy
Scared and alone
Surrounded by darkness that was my own
I never talked much
Afraid of others
What would they say?
I was never popular, teased yes
A rose shielded by thorns
the description that perfectly describes me
you see
another magnificent piece
of God's artwork on display
that's never to be touched
for I fear…
There is not one word
That could describe who I am.
I will just list them.
Funny and goofy.
If it's true,
What they say
About a picture
Being worth a thousand words,
Why do we hide?
Behind all these filters?
These lies?
I hate my smile.
So, you want to know who I am?Are you sure you can handle the answer?So many answer this question with the usual:I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a student, a worker.
Posted 12 weeks ago:
Angled to make my face look slimmer
Posted 9 weeks ago:
Edited to make my skin look lighter
Posted 7 weeks ago:
Blurred to erase my imperfections
Posted 4 weeks ago:
No filter is needed to see who this is
A girl with such a bliss
Someone who they miss
But in history, they've shown of me what should be
As now I uncover my destiny
Now the filters may disappear
“Oh thank god for the Lo-fi filter, I haven’t been tanning in weeks!”
“Well at least you’re skinny! What am I like, supposed to do?”
…So we hide behind a filter to mask the blemishes and imperfections.
Hearts and thumbs up seem to feed our souls
We feel the need to recieve validation by the touch of others through a screen
A mountain only falters in the moment before it collapses
Just as I do.
We stand tall and proud and firm
As the world carves us hollow.
Hashtag "no filter"
What does it mean?
No changes, no edits
All just as it seems
A picture is posted
No filter ignored
We idealize beauty
from a news feeds board
Mono, Tonal, Noir, Fade
Why must I use one of these to receive no shade?
No shade for the way my skin has small blotches,
But I notice the way he or she watches
My face.
Cut offs instead of skirts,
t-shirt instead of sweaters,
earbuds instead of earrings,
is what makes my life a lot better.
Didn't fake a smile as a kid,
A small circle lens knows the real me,
two brown oval eyes, a small round nose,
a smile that glows and hair that flows.
A girl that hides behind,
heartbreak and tears.
You will never see it in her pictures,
Gritty, grimey, beautiful, different
Weird, outspoken, random, structured
Victim, survivor, helper, advocate
Determined, resiliant, hard-worker, teammate
Granddaughter, daughter, neice, sister
Some people contest with me about my own identity,
As if I were a defined word they knew, that I was not keen on understanding.
My filter protects my sight,
It covers the world for me.
I use it to show what I wish to be;
A more perfect, flawless version of me.
I strip away the smile:
That straight-toothed, polite smile
There are those same brown eyes that stare back at me in the mirror every day
Happy? I don’t know, but I could fool anyone
I sometimes stand emotionless and empty inside, but appear complete on the outside
Pretending is more challenging
Then accepting reality.
So why pretend?
Why keep up the act?
I don’t.
Simplicity is a desire
Rebecca Harris
No Filter Scholarship Slam
13 February 2015
Buried Treasure
If the world chose who I would be
Under these heavily shadowed eyelids are green eyes that cry a lot
Under her curled hair is a mind that overthinks things, with constant anxious thoughts
Under this lipstick is a smile that is curved to hide the pain
I am myself
With no filter.
Playing music as loud as it can go,
Dancing in my room,
Signing at the top of my lungs,
With no filter.
Glasses on,
Sweatpants keepng me warm,
I am a series of syllables,
Thrown together with whimsy and chance.
I am a sea of endless thoughts with waves so large they threaten to pull me under and drown me.
These filters
This lighting
"No no no, wait that one wasn't good
Let's take another"
We're all so worried about looking good all the time
Who is this guy?
I have a vague recollection of his existence,
Seems like he came back with a vengeance,
This guy just told me he took more than a small step forward, but he got his legs shot off,
Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat.Your connection to the rest of the worldYou take a photoYou want to share itBut first you have to “fix” it
If I feel like you don't love me
You should know that is a problem
Understand what I'm saying
The path I’ve taken is much less traveled,
I didn’t choose the path I took,
For my journey was far from easy.
But the more I think and the harder I look,
The better I see how my life was unraveled.
I am beautiful
See the pools of dark brown soil
with hints of gold that reach for the light
those are my eyes
I am beautiful
See the skin that glows
when I smile so vibrantly
Humanity leads to failure
I lead to humanity
Am I a failure?
Do I prove myself a white picket fence future?
Am I entitled to eveyone elses opinions?
Can you see right through me?
Some say truth lies within a reflection of ourselves
behind the mirror
beyond the filters of filters we know
and all we try to fight against
my mirror stands before me
My heart feels heavy, not heavy enough for me not to be able to carry, just heavy enough for me to feel weary, it’s so scary, I’m near January.
Words come easy, but people are the problem.
Typing for hours without a single sound.
Looking for an escape.
A new world.
Looking to tell a story no one has heard before.
Listen close because you my find
I’m no Cinderella
Never lost a glass slipper
Never got prince charming
I’m no Cinderella
Always felt strange
Faraway
Slipping away
Always felt strange
Make-up. Make-up.
Make up. Make. up.
You are making yourself up.
What is that?
Expression?
Self awareness?
Beauty?
Faking someone out?
Nobody needs that.
The tears burn as they run down my cheeks,
And slide down to my shirt.
Sleep has hidden itself for weeks
While I ask, "when will He end this hurt?"
I try so hard to smile
With no filter, I am bland.
I am ordinary.
I am, nude.
With no filter, I am like you.
With no filter, I am feriocious.
I am true.
I am, revealed.
Who could be me?
No one but me
Take a Picture what do I see?
A reality of my beauty within thee
No filter needed at all
I love myself just as I am
no one could make me fall
i was the guy sell you anything under the sky
i was that guy that if i didn't have it, id take it
i was that guy to fight cause you looked at me wrong
Who am I today?
Thoughtful, Smart, Unstopable
Bubbly, Happy, Kind
Irritated, Angry, Rude
Who am I today?
Am I a force of nature?
Am I quiet?
Am I talkative?
Who am I today?
Being a student can be fun, but also crazy
I can see the lifestyle creeping on students when they start to get lazy
For me high school is a roller coaster
It has its ups and downs but I make sure I never frown
1) My makeup is never perfect but I post pictures when it looks good that day.2) My pictures are never straight because I have a crooked smile and tilting the angle a little makes the bad angle of my front teeth go away.
Without the filter, the make up
Without the lights and the masks?
Nothing?
Who am I?
What am I?
Really.
Broken.
Without the makeup, the filter, the lights and the masks,
I am the real me.
