People Like Them: Spoken Word
Crushed. Immensely crushed.
Baggages of garbage hang on their minds,
Present. But out of reach. Out of touch.
The voices in their heads play like violins,
you hear them ring: screaming pasts so constantly,
violently. Silence deliberately refuses to speak.
Nothing stills this sound. Nothing numbs this pain.
Lost. Furious, still lost.
The traces of time seem nonexistent — a pointless space.
There’s no clear demarcation between
what was and what is
only the horrifying memories clog this space.
What now? What next?
Should they speak? Or should they connive with silence?
Will their cry for help ever be heard?
These are the days when the voices of the victims are attacked by deafening
silences or roaring insults.
The response is depressing. The weight, unlightened.
Hurt. Broken and broke.
Those who are trusted offer broken
pieces that pierce these open wounds.
They shatter them completely, ignoring
the unbearable shrills.
“Your troubled pasts and present are merely pigments of your imagination“,
that’s what they say.
Alcoholic. Drug addict. Rumour monger. Attention seeker.
These are your new labels that
stick to your personality like a leech.
It’s you against them. Just you. So you
either plant your feet into the Rock and stand
unbothered while the world targets you or
you let their words bury you into the earth.
If only you were shown the Way,
you’d still be here.
Credits:
Written and Performed: Viano Dee
Instrumental: Voices by Patrick Patrikios
About “People Like Them”
People Like Them is a spoken word poetry by Viano Dee that takes a closer look at people who have gone through abuse and have survived but struggle when it comes to dealing with those memories or even talking about such experiences.
The struggle gets worse when they eventually pick up the courage to speak out but are met hostility rather than support. It hurts more when the hate comes from loved ones.
This piece was initially inspired by Jessica Burns, a character from the 2015 movie A Girl Like Her, and later, Renua Giwa-Amu, a 26-year-old Film director who committed suicide after accusing her father of raping her multiple times when she was only 7.
The poet only came across her story a day after she committed suicide (27th December 2020). People Like Them sheds light on abuse (which could come in any form) and the effect it could have on the victim.
There are people like them that genuinely need help. Let’s not punish them with cruel words or silence. We need to reach out and show them the Way.
More on Renua: Her Netflix animation titled The Stick, Her Failed Marriage and Struggles, Renua’s Open Letter To Her Dad, Her Cry For Help (Video)
Related poems: O Vile One, Rectified
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