Let's be nice

I am going to recite to you
A choice selection of words
That we have seen written
Spoken
Heard
Absorbed into our way of thinking
And now use every day.
Ugly
Fat
Retarded
Slut
That’s the first hurtful thing someone ever called me.
I was 13, and I couldn’t have been more shocked.
I knew what the words meant
I just never felt the need to vent
Such animosity
I was taught to speak to others as I would hope that they would speak to me.
I couldn’t think what I had done to deserve such hatred
Why was she so jaded?
She didn’t need to make me feel degraded,
I didn’t even know about her until a Facebook comment
Denouncing me
How dare she.
Well of course, my defences were quickly armoured
And I did my best to out-manoeuvre
This horrible situation
I was cut to ribbons.
Unprepared for a villainous action such as this
Anyway, I’m getting distracted
I’m just passionate about it.
Too often people criticize
What’s actually a wonderful part of us as a people
The fact that none of us are the same,
Even a set of twin’s fingerprints aren’t identical
And I think
It’s a sign that we should take seriously.
I’m not trying to say we abolish all means of achieving what many call
Beauty
Let our legs grow hairy,
I’m not saying we destroy all moisturizers
Not at all
What I want is for everyone
Every one of us
To feel beautiful
No matter what your ideal is.
I can’t change an entire world’s perception of beauty
In a single poem
What I can do
Is tell you that you are
Fantastic
You are less than one in a billion
And believe me, less is so much more.
That is what makes you special.
And you are,
Don’t ever deny that you’re not
And it’s all very well and good
To say these things
But to mean them is my message
My message is to mean the thoughts
I threw into the world
Words will never fully capture it.
You see, I don’t promote arrogance,
I promote confidence
The confidence to stand up for yourself
And know that you aren’t wrong in doing so
Knowing that you are not worthless
And not letting mirthless harpies
Using sharp cuts in time with your heartbeat
Break you without ever looking into your eyes
Don’t ever believe that your life is lesser
Then somebody else’s life
As long as you never forget how wonderful you can be
Remember your kindness, your generosity
Your love and your joy, your passion and ferocity
You can’t be broken.
Share happiness, not bitterness
It tastes much better and everyone enjoys it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask only this
Next time you have the chance to pass judgement on somebody
Give it a ponder
You might start to wonder
If perhaps there’s more than meets the eye
And it feels surprisingly good to be kind
So try.
You never know
You might change a few people’s minds.