Labels
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LOOK @ Me!
By Debi Lyn Sa 10/01/22 @ 11 am
LOOK @ me
And don’t just see
What the labels say
The boxes of society are suffocating
Born black and a women
Lables surround me
So many standards of beauty value and success
Suddenly Im not pretty enough
Im not feminine enough
Im not smart enough
Who is it?
Is it the mail carrier?
The bank teller?
The dentist?
The Chrisitian?
The news reporter?
The artist?
The Buddhist?
The construction worker?
The bartender?
Who is it?
Is it the mail carrier?
The bank teller?
The dentist?
The Chrisitian?
The news reporter?
The artist?
The Buddhist?
The construction worker?
The bartender?
Midas
My name
My claim to fame
See I'm Waiting on a chain from a music mogul like the melanin filled money-makers sold out on the block
Which is ironic cause now were selling on the block
Protest is a complicated word,
defined as people making their voices heard.
We are encouraged to protest for what we believe,
however no one ever seems to concede.
We are told to work together to make a change,
Let's turn the page
I have a story to tell
About being on stage
And how I fell
I'm attached to strings
Yet I want to be free
Everyone else sings
While I wish to be me
Dear Future,
My kidnapper, you sicken me!
Hiding me in a room called my conscious.
All I see is darkness.
All I’ve ever seen is darkness.
Sick of the way my mind is because society told me how to be before I could find anything out for myself.
Sick of being called names and tired of all of the labels that "don't mean shit"...
When you’re young, people always ask you,“What do you want to be when you grow up?”And now that I’m growing, my answer has changed,I don’t want to be a chef or a singer or an actor.
Labels.
They can make you feel like you’re soaring above the clouds,
Surrounded by birds of feather, whom together they flock,
The breeze whisking through your plumage,
Porcelain Doll hidden between
thorny leaves and puppet string
on forgotten dusty shelf
coerced beneath the
Looking Glass Self –
A torrent comprised
of inveigle words - acceptance.
Cold hearts can crack
warm hearts can burn
the dumb are often wisest
the outcasts are the kindest
the lonely are the most loving
the rich are the most lonely
the smart are often clueless
Label.
A small piece of paper,
Fabric,
Plastic,
Or similar material,
Attached to an object,
And giving information about it.
Why must we be identified by such names?
I feel as though in our society,
There are more names that project
A negative idea towards us then positive ones.
Beautiful
Kind
Wonderful
Thank you all for coming to Group tonight!My name is Griffin and I am……BlankNothingEmptyDevoidThese were what I thought.These were what I used to believe.These were what I was.
Afraid that there is a greater potential
a box they give us to condition in
if they do this long enough
they believe that we'll be trapped
trapped in a mindset that they control
No hope
No love
We never think twice about labels because at one point we forget that we are one.
But you know the things they call you they’re just labels they don’t define you.
When I was 11 years old I was first called ‘fat’
She has an adventurous heart,
And so does he,
Yet they both cannot see.
They both have a mask on,
And they can not see,
That what they want,
Is right infront of them
"If I was invincible
Instead of invisable
I would turn the tables
Beacuse you made the labels
That said I wasn't vision-able
Like I'm hanging from a cable
Because the world around ain't stable."
Dear best friend,
Please stop liking my Facebook posts.
We stopped being friends for a reason.
I don't want you on my news feed.
Please, don't get pissed.
You were the one who ended it.
Am I the sum of my parts?
Am I the sum of my interests?
Am I the sum of what I have created?
As time moves on
I find myself turning to this idea
I'm not the brightest or the best
I don't always pass every test
Life throws my way
But I don't let what other people say
Bring me down
I lift my head up
Tiny pieces of me are all you’ll get to see
because society claims “flawless” is what I’m supposed to be
so you’ll see my polished exterior
you can bet you’ll see my strengths
I'd rather be a free, black sheep of a soul
or stiffer than a piece of coal
than be bound at the neck, wrist, and ankles
by the chains of labels and stereotypes
When asked, "What is your name?"
My response is also a question
Why am I unsure--of the one title I've possessed since birth,
How do I claim to know myself. If I still don't know what I'm called?
Who am I?
If I say I don't see color, am I a racist?
If I forget your sex, am I an asshole?
If I tell you,
I don't know your name
but I still want to know more about you am I
Denying your identity,
This is to the camera, that sees me as nothing but
Delicate bones and pearly whites
My essence captured through awkward captions and
My worth measured by likes and heart bytes
Hi, my name is “what the hell are you doing?”
I guess it’s my birth name, but not preferred
My parents call me bastard
It’s not the best nickname I’ve heard
The cops call me a thug
I demand change.
In these twisted, damaging days.
Where women are afraid to leave for work
for fear of merciless rape
Where people of color
cannot receive a fair wage
What is “Flawless”?
Like what does it mean?
You don’t know, well here is a definition
Flawless by definition means without any blemishes or imperfections; perfect
Now tell me are you flawless?
Looking into the abyss
What do I see?
I see me
Wearing my ugg boots
And skinny jeans
“I am pretty”
I say
“I am smart”
I say
“I am me”
I say
Babe
Dear
Hun
Love
These are the names
Of the ones
That I love
Stupid
Sick
Ugly
Jerk
These are the names
I've been called
All my life
Time after time people are labeled as things
Words of hurt, words that crash dreams
Because of how we look, not for what we be
But ignoring them all makes me a happier me
Sick
of this era’s categorization,
overanalyzation,
and hasty labeling of human beings.
They label us all
smoothing stickers over our names,
I am me.
I have a passion for sports, but I am not a "jock".
I love learning, but I am not a "nerd".
I enjoy relaxing, but I am not "lazy".
I wear baggy sweats, but I am not a "bum".
I am me.
Wanting to show my kindness, intelligence, beauty
But fear that my confidence will receive the labels of pride and conceit
I'm just going to be honest
Every inch of me is flawless
Vulnerable, anxious
Camera, Camera on my phone.
Filter away all my flaws,
Surly I do lie,
but beauty is key ,
Without filters,
We shine flawless like gems,
Now we see eye to lens,
Simple beauty,no trends.
I said i'm going to rise to the top of the mountain....wait wait wait...
I said I'm going to rise to the top of the mountain.
Stand on this stage declaring my Name,say.
Because I am a king, ayee.
I'm not a bumper sticker gal. There's a little
something in me that winces at
the slogans and the white sticker cut-outs on
the rear windows of an SUV. Why anyone
would feel the need to advertise
I wear the mask that everyone wants to see,
It changes constantly with every glance,
Each one displaying different facets of who everyone sees me to be.
Everyone has these masks we wear so willingly, some unknowingly.
To those with one label
Family I never see
But close as can be
A standing title
Such as a bible
People belittle others
With hurtful words
And damaging actions
When they don’t look inwards.
Skin deep
Is how we think
Of those we see
While strolling down the street.
that girl is dressed in black
from her head down to her toe
her name lost in a stereotype
that some may call "emo"
that boy who holds his lovers hand
and smiles as he kisses his lips
does your name define you
or do you describe your name
say you were named Paula
would you not act like a Lauren
what is the meaning
of naming everything
is it to categorize
There are those that make the most asinine of assumptions
Is willful ignorance funny?
Who are those who quell their voices in the midst of rustling leaves
and perceived as either mute or dumb?
1. I am a princess.
I am a mommy's girl
Innocent and preppy and loved
by my family.
I am done with baby bottles,
But only barely.
I am still a child.
2. I am an Arizona girl.
You kill me with your labels,
Your brands, your terms, your names.
But I will rise above it,
I am finished with your games.
Don't write me down in history,
By calling me this or that.
I am not African American,
I am not Caucasian,
I am not Asian,
And I sure as hell am not other.
I’m just human.
But, where is that box I can check?
The bubble I can circle in?
all this blood swishing in my veins
keeps me awake all night.
i don't want their assumptions about
the girl with the mark by her mouth
and the blossoms in her hair
and the pollen on her lips.
What is a mistake if we along with everyone around us cannot learn and benefit from it? Too many of my family members, friends, teachers, this generation and ones before me have been effected by numerous heath issues such as:
