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AFTER READIMG THIS POEM, AVOID PROLONGED INTERACTION WITH THE HUMAN RACE

Erin Kappel

In today’s society,
it’s more acceptable to be a homosexual than it is to be alone.
It’s considered normal now for everyone to be either obsessive compulsive, or a “victim” of ADD.
It’s even a common occurrence to find out about life changIMG situations on national television programs,
such as Jerry SprIMGer,
and Oprah.

(That’s right lady, you’re in there with the rest of them.)

I’m tired of references to my mother in arguments.

(If you have somethIMG to say about her, I’ll give you her phone number. Oh, and by the way, she’s not fat, ugly, or poorÉ)

I’m tired of wakIMG up every mornIMG and payIMG more for a gallon of gas than I do for a gallon of milk.
I’m tired of beIMG a pawn in games between political figures whose careers last longer than peanut butter.

(Where are the expiration dates written on the presidents?)

And most of all,
I’m tired of distractions made by the general public to make me “turn away” from the happenIMGs of the real world.

(That’s right, I’m talkIMG to you and you and you and youÉ)

I am not comfortable with the fact that everyone’s glued to their televisions on one half of the world, while the other half’s dyIMG.
I am not happy about the starvIMG children, or the AIDS epidemic.
And I’m certainly not happy about havIMG to worry that some stupid fuckIMG prick is goIMG to shoot a nuclear warhead up my ass if I sneeze too loudly.
I’m tired of havIMG to constantly look over my shoulder and holler petty apologizes to people that I don’t even care about,
just because I stepped on a few toes with my opinion.

(If we could perfect a way to use our emotions as weapons, I don’t think we would hesitate.)

But most of all,
I’m tired of beIMG part of a world that accepts such needless imperfections.
The entire globe’s floatIMG in the shitter,
and we’re goIMG straight down the drain along with the waste that we’ve helped to create.

(Oh, you think I’m idealistic now? Just wait, it gets a lot less endearIMG soonÉ)

The government is not the source of destruction in modern day societies,
it’s the people within those societies.
The people who don’t accept responsibility for their actions, but tell their children to.

(“Just because I did it doesn’t mean that I’m goIMG to let you get away with itÉ”C’mon, you got away with it, didn’t you?)

The people who say it’s always wrong to lie, unless it delays some kind of inevitable pain or embarrassment.

(No, your breath smells fineÉ)

The people who sin knowIMG that they can just ask forgiveness eventually.

(This is my nine hundred and fifty third confession. Hey, when I get up to one thousandÉ do I get a cake or somethIMG?)

The people who stick their noses up at everyone they think is less important than them.

(It’s hard not to notice a thIMG like that, especially with nose hairs that long.)

The people who create a corporation based on a constrictIMG stereotype that people still struggle to escape, while the person in question breaks free and tries their hand at the stock market.

(“Martha Stewart worldwideÉno, I’m sorry, she’s havIMG sex on her everyday sheets right now, can I take a message?”)

The people who break promises that they don’t even remember makIMG until it’s, of course, too late.

(“What?!? Little Timmy’s soccer game was today?”)

No, I don’t hate these people,
although it’s very difficult not to.
I pity them though.
I pity their cute, little excuses, and sympathize with the reasons they need them.
But, at the same time,
I feel sorry for myself tooÉ because I’m one of them.
I am a part of the problem just like everyone else.

(Who’d have thought conformity would be soÉ comfortable?)

But like every opinionate, free-spirit,
I hold the “get out of jail” card.
Which means that I can step outside of myself,
or rather, my social class in present day America,
and scream a few choice words into the beady, condescendIMG eyes of the masses.

(That means youÉ)

Maybe, by doIMG so,
I’ll change somethIMG.
For better or worse,
it doesn’t really matter.
But somethIMG has to change.
Or else, what the hell is the world comIMG to?
And furthermore, who’s goIMG to catch the blame on takIMG it there?



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