Poetry Slam Poem 1 (group)

"Dear Cliche High School Bully"

Dear cliche high school bully,
You, the one who redefined the term,
You, who doesn't steal lunch money, but hopes and dreams,
You, who uses logic and cunning instead of fists and wedgies,
You, the painting of innocence, a face without a heart--
You're boring me.
This game you play isn't one I asked to be in,
Much less when it involves trying to make me cry,
Especially when the objective is to break me.
You can't stand that I can stand and smile,
You can't stand how I won't stoop as low as you.
I'm the perfect target, we both know that:
Awkward speech impediments, lack of conventional hobbies,
My childish interests aren't as womanly as your Cosmo and Vogue
And maybe my vocabulary consists of more 'likes' than actual words,
And maybe my Facebook wall isn't cluttered with people I don't know,
And maybe I have no idea what in the world a Twitter is.

But I do know who I am, and I ain't trying to please you.
I'm not sorry your friends abandoned you
When you used and abused them, believing you could subdue them,
Believing you had some kind of power over their will.
Who do you think you are, pulling the trigger of the gun of judgment
When you've got it pointing the wrong way?
I don't know if you've heard, but there's a difference between dignity and pride.
Swallow the latter and up the former, because you can't seem to get over
The delusional idea that you deserve better,
That you deserve more,
That maybe manipulation and backstabbing will make you happier.
I mean, you got what you wanted, right?
All the fame without the glory,
All the praise without the sincerity.
Rid the cloud of denial from your bleary eyes
Because you sure ain't fooling anyone/
I mean Shakespeare summed it up pretty well--
Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.

And I just wanted to say "thank you."
Thank you for staring,
For shifting your gaze up and down, side to side,
Silently judging and ridiculing,
Taking the time to spot my flaws and give them value.
Thank you--for wasting the effort.
Behind the curl in your lips and the cold in your eyes
I see your criticisms,
Circling around your head and propelling my way,
Armed with weapons of malicious intent--
I smile.
Your grin fades and your eyebrows raise
As your insults scurry and dance hectically,
Falling to the ground,
One by one,
Shattering soundlessly.

You're the reason my defenses are so strong.

Sincerely,

No longer inferior