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Young Writers Society


Event 7: Spoken Word Poetry



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Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:15 am
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Hijinks says...



SPOKEN WORD POETRY



Summary: Write and record a spoken word poem about any topic of your choosing! Your spoken word poem will be judged on both the poetry itself and your delivery of it.

How to enter: Submit your spoken word poem as a reply to this thread, and please give your team name if you have one. Include a recording of you delivering your poem along with a spoilered transcript. To put your transcript inside a spoiler, use this code:
Code: Select all
[spoiler]transcript text[/spoiler]

If you're not sure how to share your recording, Vocaroo is a great website to use for anonymous recordings.

Description: A spoken word poem is a poem meant to be performed in front of an audience instead of read on a page. That means that stuff you might consider "typical" poetic elements, such as formatting, capitalization, and punctuation, don't really play a role. Instead, things like rhythm, sound devices, volume, and pacing are important to consider! In a live setting you would also want to pay attention to physical gestures, props, and body language - however, since we're just sticking to audio recordings, these aren't super relevant.

For a more in-depth look at the techniques used in spoken word poetry, you can check out the wonderful alliyah's article Slam Poetry: Writing and Performing. And if you'd like an example of a spoken word poem, one of my favourites is Maia Mayor's "I Want to Be" . You can find lots of other examples as well by searching "spoken word poetry" or "slam poetry" on YouTube!

Requirements: You should aim for your poem to be 1 or 2 minutes long when read aloud, but if it's a bit shorter or longer don't sweat it! Swearing and mature themes are allowed, as long as you rate your poem appropriately (rating guidelines can be found here).

Ends: <- automatically adjusts to your timezone

If you have any questions, ask them in the discussion topic!
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.

-- Hank Green

they/them
(previously whatchamacallit and Seirre)





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Sun Aug 08, 2021 3:05 am
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Riverlight says...



The 20 Immortals that Still Live On

I live with the Team of Chickens uwu

Spoiler! :
Many lay dead at the hands of the gods,
but there are those that live against all odds.
Listed here are souls that remain on earth,
the twenty students of great worth.

Sinestra the Old is greatest of these;
Atticus the Sage, wisest was he.
Christine the Seer was most learnéd by far;
Dionysus was born on a shining star.

Regina Warbeck was frugal of means;
Apollo knew a great many queens.
Merlin served Sinestra for many years;
Morgana was a woman to always fear.

Morgan le Fay longed for eternal rest;
Sir Galahad was one of the best.
GIlgamesh of yore was a soldier true;
Abraham was known for fighting, too.

Miss Marie Leveau was the Voodoo Queen;
John Dee was known for what he had Seen.
Da Vinci the Mad, an inventor was he!
Shakespeare adored the magnificent sea.

Adam Smith an economist became;
inspired by Locke, Thomas (Jefferson) was the same.
Joan d'Arc oft escaped death's flames;
King Richard led the Court of St. James.

These are the few that still live in the realms,
that keep armor clean, that shine their helms.
Twenty makes their number, a score all told,
the best, the brightest, boldest of the bold.
The politics of the world may be corrupt, but that does not mean that we must be corrupted ourselves.





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Sun Aug 08, 2021 6:09 pm
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DreamyAlice says...



uhhh yeah... I am not that great in poetry but.. just wanted to try so here it is
https://voca.ro/1b121wwg1BX3

Spoiler! :

Let your sorrow hide
In the lake of depths
Bury it deep
In the hearts of the ocean

Allow your emotions to flow
Side by side with
the pebbles of trouble
In your river called life

Don’t let the grief
Poison the creatures
of your still beautiful world
In your river called life

Be ready to open your heart
To new beginnings
To new courses
To the new ocean of your life.
Imagination is a superpower. Use it well!





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Sun Aug 08, 2021 6:30 pm
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LizzyTyler says...



Team Chickens!

Recording:

Transcript:
Spoiler! :

Once I could run,
I could run far and wide,
And yet,
And yet,
I yearned for the sky.

Then I could fly,
But never be free,
And then,
And then,
I yearned for the sea.

Then I could swim,
And swimming was grand,
And yet,
And yet,
I yearned for the land.

Then I could run,
I could run far and wide,
And for once,
And for once,
I had no yearn to try-

To try for the sky,
To try for the sea,
And for once,
And for once,
I was content to be me.
“your highness” is gender neutral


so if you are ever confused about my pronouns


that’l work


alternatively “your majesty”, “my liege”, and “supreme overlord”


*please note “your grace” is also acceptable





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Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:13 pm
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SpiritedWolfe says...



our dialogue is just a monologue with footnotes

Transcription:
Spoiler! :
you ask me how i am today
and i pause

i listen to my breath,
counting the heartbeats between the inhale
and the exhale.
i hope that my ribcage doesn't rattle so loud outside my ears
and that maybe the air in my lungs could smother the sound if it does.
i don't want you to worry more than you already do.

so a minute and a hundred beats later
my answer to you is "good'.

it's not a complete lie, just one of those half-truths
you slip into conversations to ease whatever blow you're about to deal,
because it's easier to hold up the premise that
"everything is fine"
"i'm doing okay"
"you don't need to worry so much"
than it is to explain that it's not.

and it's not that i don't have anything to say.
trust me, my mind is racing,
it's sprinting, spinning,
whirring, wandering, wondering
if anything in here is even worth putting into words at all
or if just feels overwhelming because i'm so
out of
breath.

but that's not important.
what's important is ensuring you're not worrying so much about me.
what's important is acting convincing enough
for you to smile back and say "good!"
so you can breathe easier
as you launch into how you are today.

because that's all that matters to me.

Representing Team Dragon :3
[insert really cool and fun quote here]
Check out my novel shenanigans.
Or request a review from me.

[she/her]





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Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:46 pm
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momonster says...



Team Chickens!!

orange

Text:
Spoiler! :
i am orange
nothing rhymes with me
everyone tries
they lie and pretend
but i will always be alone
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:14 NIV

never apologize for standing up for what you believe in.

previously MomoandAppa, LordMomo, MomoMajesty, and dancingontheclouds





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Mon Aug 09, 2021 12:18 am
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alliyah says...



Team Chickens


"I like to see the flowers"

Recording:
here~

Text:
Spoiler! :

you can learn a lot about a person
from what they do with their potted plants
whether you water them,
how you care for them, display them,
i like to see the flowers
i like to turn the plant so the best side faces our home’s window
i like the warm days when you can look outside and know
and see that the world is beautiful,
or maybe just not as cracked and dingy as it looked the day before
i like to see the flowers reaching for the new sunrise,
morning-stretch and see the leaves growing,
see the world glowing, and hope that it registers something in me.
that maybe on a good day,
i can look outside and see it’s not all that bad,
i mean at least this edge of the world i live in has something living,
has something still trying to grow, something that still needs me to grow,
you know, i like to see the flowers
to remind me something i’m doing is worth it,
worth getting up and getting out, and moving on, and maybe it’s not all about
flowers, but doesn’t it make sense to give ourselves the best
of what we put into the world?

you can tell a lot about a person
from what they do with their potted plants,
the days they watered them with the sweat of their brow,
shaded, then weeded, then pruned them,
the days they made tally marks of floral blooms,
the way they display them,
my mom prefers to let the better side of the plant
face the street, give something nice for the neighbors to see,
she says to me casually, like we don’t need to see something pretty,
she’d rather a stranger passing by think everything’s fine,
and let the wilted edge rest against our window –
oh isn’t it nice to know that someone thinks we’re doing well,
that maybe a passerby would pause to note the petunias
are almost twice as large as last year,
what a thought to make her beam, while I’m wondering
why bother growing flowers if the person who grows them
can’t even see.

we argue about this as you can tell.
but i’m just tired of worrying more about what the neighbors think,
than how i feel about myself, and i think if you always put yourself last,
eventually there won’t be enough of you to go around at all,
and it helps to let those growing edges face the sun
at least every once in while, it doesn’t hurt
to sometimes take the first slice of pie while it’s still warm,
to take every minute of your coffee break,
or give yourself time, or energy, or priority,
or let the best side of the flowers
face your window, you know
you can tell a lot about a person from
what they do with their potted plants.
you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now
but i have promised to return





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Mon Aug 09, 2021 1:09 am
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ForeverYoung299 says...



Team Chickens. If the recording doesn't sound smooth, that is for my stammering problem. I just can't find a solution to it. :( I am without a language

Spoiler! :
My brain has a language
My heart has a language
But I am without one.
The linguistic seed that was sown
A long ago has not yet grown.

I watch the sun's Rays
Falling over the shining bays
I can feel but no I can't describe
I am without a language.

People say I am a stone
– I don't have feelings, they say
I have them but well as you know
I am without a language.

I have pondered
I squandered my thoughts
But believe, I didn't understand them.
I don't understand their languages for
I am without a language.

My heart cries, I can hear it
The sound increasing witj every beat
But oh! I am still lonely
I am without a language.

How do you describe things?
You definitely have a language
What is it? Can you tell me?
Then maybe I will borrow it for
I am without a language








You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace.
— Rod Serling