"teargas" poems
I will stand in the shadow of the sun which burns a scar
on the back of people who like
to shift in the shadows of the night
and blame everybody for giving them a homeland
for their excuses.
I will stand where the teargas
melts my eyes and the batons write their scars
on my coloured skin
because I asked for bread.
I will stand in the light and hum
my soulful music that echoes off
the walls of pop charts and make
everybody dance because they do not
understand my words.
I will stand in the pools of streetlights
and sell my body, my baby, my beauty-
because nobody cared
to ask me a human question on want.
I will stand before God
and question why he taught me
the language of worship
amd wisdom to know the difference
between skin and colour and asking
and read the book he has to offer
that says the truth in so many pages.
I will stand alone.
I will stand alone.
Author Notes
?
© Marshall Gass. All rights reserved.
Apr 1, 2014
Apr 1, 2014 at 1:39 AM UTC
For far too long we have been victims of police brutality.
We came in peace but got treated like criminals on the 21st of October.
These are the very same men and women who we trust to protect us.
But they failed us dismally, barricaded us from expressing our concerns.
You could see the visuals all on TV, it was all too hard to believe.
The revolution will not be fully televised, it will be tweeted.
For far too long we’ve accepted the government’s mediocrity.
For far too long we’ve been victims of police brutality.
Your teargas, rubber bullets and stun grenades will never stop us.
Our parents were sold dreams in 1994, we’re just here for the refund.
Now it’s time to finally bump the cheese up, so what’s the hold-up for?
History is repeating itself in South Africa, what a time to be alive.
They’ve become worse than their oppressors but they won’t oppress us.
Sorry for the inconvenience, we are just trying to change the world.
We will keep protesting in Jo’burg, Pretoria and Cape Town until we’re heard.
There’s no amount of police brutality that can dampen our spirits and no gun you make can **** our souls.
Our parents were sold dreams in 1994, we’re just here for the refund.
Now it’s time to finally bump the cheese up, so why is there a hold-up?
Hold up, we’re tired of being victims of hate, fate and police brutality.
We came in peace but got treated like criminals on the 23rd of October.
For far too long we’ve accepted the government’s mediocrity.
Your riot police, rubber bullets and stun grenades will never stop us.
Sorry for the inconvenience, we are just trying to change the world.
When burning buildings come down, I just hope you’ll be ready for us all.
When burning buildings come down, we will effortlessly heed the call.
Oct 31, 2015
Oct 31, 2015 at 6:21 AM UTC
we may be the generation
of the next
shakespeares,
curies,
vernes,
einsteins,
akeleys,
sagans.
how can we be boiled down
to a 'standard'?
and when we refuse to stomach
this diluted broth you have served us,
it is force-fed:
teargas for forks,
riot shields for spoons,
tasers for knives;
until our tongues are so awfully burnt
that all we may say is this:
'we are the standard generation.
we are the future for the past.
we have standard answers to extraordinary problems.'
leaders say change will come in
2014,
2015,
2020,
2030,
2050,
please ensure that the numbers on your booklets
match those on your answer sheets.
we will bubble 'a' for global warming,
'b' for the debt crisis,
'c' for war and famine,
but this is a test we didn't study for.
May 14, 2013
May 14, 2013 at 5:55 PM UTC
~
*This isn't happening
all of the sudden
we need to close the beaches
and call in sick
Don't cry again teargas
it's not your fault
don't get hot there gun
you gave it your best shot
Song and dance, weekend warrior
soothe your soul
with a little radio friendly fire
The forest can be petrified
the sea wild
working without a mask
is both, you know
It's quite out of this world
but you haven't
really seen outerspace
until you've had DayQuil
with dissociatives
Then you take hot trips
to odd places
like an international
convenient store
where they're always
out of Africa and milk
I wish Monday mourning
would go jump off a bridge
I wish taco Tuesday
would become a festive holiday
nevertheless, our girl Friday
is always good for the job
The weight has lifted
the wait has (week)ended
the search for
my socks and sanity
can now kick off*
~
May 13, 2021
May 13, 2021 at 9:21 AM UTC
You won't ever say an apology,
for I believe you are just too cocky.
You walk as if you have class
and you act as if you are made of teargas.
Why do you do what you do
when you know I have high virtue.
I wanna scream and tell you all that I think
that you always make me **** with your zelda and link.
That you have indescribable foot stink,
and is horrible at tiddlywink.
Jan 26, 2015
Jan 26, 2015 at 9:49 PM UTC
ALRIGHT
I am
so
****** off
about ferguson and all of that
the protesting
i fully support the protesting
the teargas
i don't
**** the teargas
the protesting
is being done
because an unarmed black teenager
was murdered
by a cop
and a 12 year old black boy
was playing with a TOY GUN
and he was shot to death
I AM SO ****** OFF
LET'S START ANOTHER CIVIL WAR
FOR PRETTY MUCH THE SAME REASON AS THE FIRST CIVIL WAR
THE COPS STILL WALK FREE
AFTER KILLING
UNARMED BLACK CHILDREN
TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T BE ****** OFF
Nov 25, 2014
Nov 25, 2014 at 8:35 AM UTC
Disconnected
Not belonging in any world
Alienated from what once was my life
A scam of who I used to be
Nothing lasts forever, right?
What if I will stay a ghost
An undiscovered kind of poisonous flower
With leaves made of brick
Touching me will make you sick
My words a cloud of teargas
My voice a stinging bee
My thoughts a sword to the heart
Venomous from the start
Jun 5, 2018
Jun 5, 2018 at 9:09 AM UTC
.
you are a student of law
your family's well off
.
.
you've read some books
and maybe saw a few docs
you follow Paul Mason on twitter
young and anxious so
.
.
they caught you one time
a cop did a cavity search
illegally, while his friends watched
you've inhaled your share of their teargas
and saw your friends' limbs get smashed
.
.
your voice is most loud
in an aggrieved crowd
.
.
when the rage explodes
will you be there, next time?
you still believe, but for how long?
i think i was never a believer...
.
.
no, i don't doubt you
not a bit. well...
but you can always go back
to the career you came from
some of us cannot
.
.
"la beauté est dans la rue"
not always. but yeah, i know.
here's another one, from me:
"la vie est ailleurs"
.
.
this fervor will end, i know it
then, i will still walk here
then, you will walk elsewhere
this evening, though
we 'll march with you
.
Jun 17, 2015
Jun 17, 2015 at 12:09 PM UTC
Oh Canada
You are one hundred and fifty years young
And across this great nation our many
Cultures are proclaimed as asset
Rather than liability
Or so the Head mouths
Until the Head attempts to ban its own niqab
How can We truly be free
When the Head proclaims:
“Smile, you’re on camera, oh patriot
You have nothing to fear if you but OBEY
If you allow our shears to slice
Your liberties free from you
A twisted plot device
To put in motion
Taxes, taxes,
Bombings, bombings,
So We don’t fall down!”
The Mouth tells us:
“Your safety comes at a price,
Oh Canada
Safety is not a cheap commodity
Oh nation
We owe it to our southern Big Brother
To help enforce peace
It is time for us to pay the bank
What we are owed
Oh country
Like unto what Ginsberg once said;
‘It’s them Russians, them Russians,
And them Chinamen.
And the terrorist Boogeyman.’”
Head smiles approvingly at Mouth
As the Hands share Their gospel:
“Children, do not fret,
All is well so
Keep calm and carry on
we act to protect your safety
Feel the comfort of the
Flak jackets of the Watchmen
Strong and secure among us
Patrolling with tanks, guns, and teargas
All is well, little ones,
Let us tuck you in with a sweet THC sleep
we act as we do in your best interests.
The match which lit the state-approved ****
Snuffed out by the wind of the vox populi:
“We cry
Oh nation
Over the spilled blood
Of the unarmed soldier who died
Protecting the epitaph of the nameless
We mourn for the nation’s first
Whose land was unjustly taken
Their wealth pillaged
Distributed amongst ********
We weep for the babies
Who cannot get into hospitals
Whose waiting rooms filled for hours
Because the doctors are too overworked
To deliver the children
Who will grow up to find
They have none of the skills
For any of the jobs
We cannot keep calm and carry on
Freedom is in peril
We must defend it with all our might
Protect what’s ours by right
The right to grow love
Not nuclear third arms
The right to be known as a people
Of bravery and longevity
Not platitudes and brevity
We have the duty to remember that we
Are the True North Strong AND FREE
Oh Canada
Your People Stand on Guard For THEE
~
NM
07/01/17
Dec 28, 2018
Dec 28, 2018 at 3:24 PM UTC
What happens when the teargas takes
to the sky and finally disappear.
The fact remains that nothing has changed,
you still have chaos and the taste of fear.
Riots unfold and the looting begins and
the turmoil seem to have no ending.
A mother is somewhere in a closet crying
and her heart has no way of mending.
Everything about life has now been changed
and a total package of disarray.
People shouting from the rooftops and saying
nothing, because they have nothing to say.
Fingers are pointed in all directions without
trying to figure the problems out.
Words are spoken emotionally as the tears fall
down leaving a trail of nothing but doubt.
Aug 18, 2014
Aug 18, 2014 at 12:09 AM UTC
When in the struggles of life,
She denied me access
Real access to her juice account,
Chest thumbing of her boundaries,
My boyish was burning eminently,
It was in need of the juice,
I pitied myself in disgrace,
But have become better with time,
Jemosi is no longer the one you know.
You hold no more water,
In my breath you are part of my past,
You killed my love fibres, when a teargas canister landed on my ****** expressions...
Nov 3, 2017
Nov 3, 2017 at 1:54 AM UTC