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Ephraim Nehemiah, performing at the Stonewall International Poetry Slam in Baltimore, MD.
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Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.
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Transcript provided by YouTube (unedited)
0:06
i used to hide behind smiles like that
0:08
too
0:10
hell everyone i know got stories
0:13
every woman i know got a tale about the
0:15
first time she was taken advantage of
0:18
every man that tells me about his first
0:20
time don’t even realize
0:21
he describing the first time he was
0:23
taken advantage of
0:25
you know it starts when we just boys
0:28
grown folk be talking to us saying there
0:30
go my future husband
0:32
where my little man at
0:34
there go my baby boyfriend and once you
0:36
try to check them they be like oh you
0:37
know i ain’t being serious i can’t just
0:39
joke around
0:41
like we don’t know you can’t tell a good
0:43
joke without some truth in there
0:46
i know because
0:48
i was the punchline before
0:51
i just realized my own first time
0:53
sounded like in my over protective
0:54
mother she finds out because of a poem
0:57
she calling me trying to figure out when
0:58
it could have happened you know what she
0:59
says to me
1:00
every parent just wants to protect their
1:02
child but our fears are so large because
1:05
we know what our own parents that failed
1:07
and i
1:09
i just never want to have that
1:10
conversation with my son
1:12
but even god is everywhere at the same
1:14
time can’t stop his children from dying
1:17
can’t stop these predators from fixing
1:18
their teeth they know they can sexualize
1:20
these little boys they won’t just say
1:21
they’re a lady killer they calling all
1:23
these drownings baptisms so we say it’s
1:25
them becoming a real man they called my
1:27
toddler too cute for his own good it
1:30
don’t sound like no compliment they’re
1:31
gonna sound like a warning it sounds
1:33
like ain’t nothing new under my son he
1:36
look just like me with god there gotta
1:38
be something in these genes don’t turn
1:40
into hand-me-downs i’m not afraid no
1:42
metaphors i’m afraid of my own memories
1:44
but i told myself i told myself
1:47
i told myself
1:50
i told myself
1:52
i’m not living in fear no more
1:55
i rebuke the patriarchy that says we
1:57
have to consume everything that comes
2:00
for us
2:01
camouflage these scars into trophies nah
2:04
i will deal with the past because it
2:06
ain’t going nowhere i will release the
2:09
fear until it’s gone somewhere there is
2:11
a power in denying the things we do not
2:14
want i will teach my son how to say no
2:19
[Applause]
2:26
even if i’m still learning how to say it
2:27
myself
2:29
[Applause]
2:38
you
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
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