Poetry slam 'speech'

The speech below may be a little offensive for some people, so I'm just going to put a line break for those people who are too sensitive to things. Thanks.

You have been warned.





They call me ungrateful

I would like to thank society,
for so many things.

I would like to thank society
because it taught me that right and wrong
are merely stringed puppets,
manipulated to suit the rich and powerful.
And that we are all criminals of
our own humanity and freedom--
in full quotation marks.

I would like to thank society
because it taught me that
a few stacks of paper with numbers
and words printed on it
coupled with a few graphical images
and messy curves, dots and lines
made all the difference between
who were the ones who were more
equal than others.

I would like to thank society
because it taught me that
being slim and skinny and having
high cheekbones and porcelain, flawless
complexion made one pretty, beautiful even.
That stick-thin legs and long, glossy-silky hair
could determine whether you were good or bad.
All the while mixing a jar of hypocrisy in it, dotting
their words with blots of fakery and
lacing prejudice into them, loudly claiming
"You are beautiful because you're yourself."
and
"beauty is determined by your inner side, your soul!"
just as they show lovely advertisements of
pretty, correction, beautiful people
(all with slim bodies, flawlessly pale complexions and silky hair framing their
heart-shaped face, rosy cheeks and long stuttering eyelashes)
who were once 'ugly' like ugly little you
but then they went for lovely surgeries,
taking pills and medication
when there was
nothing
wrong
with
them
the
whole
time.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that we're all stupid
and that can only be overwritten by a few papers
with letters and words on them
that those white, unsightly-evil papers
that can immediately classify you as
proper and civilized and talented
even as you stutter your answers through their questions
and ill-treat your own kins
for those little currencies that are nothing more than
green papers that have been printed on.


I would like to thank society
for conforming itself into two words--right and wrong,
barring themselves and
sneering at people who are labelled to have done
'wrong' things
and going by the 'book' as they claim to be fair
when it has been written by society themselves.
That we're condemning ourselves and our fellow
neighbours to the single rule
made out of words that were
supposed to liberate us, to free us
and help us shout out our burdens and worries and
the unfair discrimination against us.


I would like to thank society
for telling me to stop swearing every single damned time.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that I do not exist unless I am beautiful or rich,
while also saying that everyone has a place on this world.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that prejudice is alright.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that we are all unique and different
and also classifying those out of the norms
as weirdos--
though on another note, we really do like that nickname
but you make it sound like it's bad.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that LGBT is wrong and against morals
when it's just love.

I would like to thank society
for teaching me that I do not deserve to be scolding it
when I've been blessed with such privilege.

I would like to thank society
for being so screwed up.

But in the end, we're nothing but sock puppets,
dancing along the lines that other sock puppets have set for us.

[we're all going to die anyway]