Stereotypes..!

Hello everybody..!

Recently, for the first time ever, I participated in a slam poetry competition in an inter-collegiate fest. To be honest, this is the first time ever I attempted to write poetry in the slam form. The topic was ‘Stereotype’.

I fear 

I fear the looks when I say I don’t want to be a doctor or an engineer

But if Society had the patience to hear

That even off the trodden path, you can have a successful career, then…

Then I wouldn’t be here, making things clear.

They ask me why I have short hair

A complexion that is not so fair

Compare my body to an hourglass, apple or pear,

Judge me on how much I weigh,

Force feed me cosmetics so that I can sashay

Like the pretty, unrealistic girl on the fairness cream sachet,

Or the anorexic model, if you may

Living up to every cliché

Silent, docile, knitting crochet

Ashamed to stay out after eight

But all I want is for someone to say,

It’s ok.

It’s ok if I have arms and legs I shaved,

Lips of natural shade,

It’s ok if I escape unscathed from every stereotype,

Break free from the mediocre life,

Not fall prey to the hackneyed hype 

Not snigger when a man cries but offer a tissue to wipe

The tears of drudgery

After being spit out the other side of societal machinery

Trained to be unique, in the same way

To open Facebook to help you friends “celebrate their birthday”

With a mere post that says “Happy Birthday”,

To open Whatsapp, steal a quote and  say “Good morning”

But I spend all my time mourning 

The death of originality, the loss of identity,

The rise of human stupidity and the wrath of orthodox mentality

Which thinks the only people with depression 

Are the ones with slit wrists and a grim expression

But only if they had the power of comprehension

To understand that it is emotional suppression

And not being in a position to explain your apprehension to your own brethren,

Depression is like mist that never disappears.

But if they understood that,

I wouldn’t be here, making things clear,

Facing all the jeers,

Judged for being queer.

I want to be the cool bookworm

The fun nerd, the brilliant kind, even if I fail a term

A confident girl with short hair, impressive flair,

Wear what I want to wear with no time to spare 

For society’s blare

Or the stare of that man in the city square.

The world is round, but it has enough corners for us to hide in.

But you, 

You must always keep fighting.

Fighting to win

Because every donkey can be a unicorn

And darling, that’s when legends are born..!

Maybe the world we live in is unfair

But I swear, I will always dare to be rare.

Hope you liked it..!
Cheers,

Deek 🙂 😀