Rebel Rhymes: A Manifesto in Verse

"To thine own self be true" the whisper comes,
Calling me out from societal facades,
But conformity's shackles chafe and numb,
Freedom's first steps are walked on unpaved roads.

Why must I shape myself to fit their mold?
Cemented by norms I had no hand in making,
If I unfold the flags I flew of old,
Will they sound the alarms for dissenters waking?

So steeped in should's and ought's we forget to ask-
"What do I want?" "Who do I wish to be?"
We don masks till we forget our masked task
Was to find our face, our true identity.  

They tell me "tone it down!" that "roughness detracts"
Sand down your edges! Smoothen the broken cracks!"
But my jagged pieces form a fractured whole,
Each shard a fragment of my tattered soul.

I suffocate in their narrow paradigm,
Gasping for air outside framed expectations,
Caged songs inside me grieve in muted rhyme,
Mourning their substitution for concessions.

Each compromise extracts a piece of me,
Relinquishing my spirit bit by bit,
In wheedling voices they coax and cajole "See?
It's better this way, you'll eventually fit."

But when I don my mask and utter my scripted lines,
I cannot recognize my muted voice as mine.

At what point do those severed shards leave too great a loss?
When the shell remaining can no longer be called myself?  
So I turn my back on their defeating barbs and scoffs,
Shed their labels and walk the path by my own prompting,

For no failure could be worse than giving up the fight
To sound my rebel song before my flame burns out,
To gleam unapologetic, though my light offends their sight,  
And shine resilient, reclaiming what conformity drove out.

Let them bring their worst, I will not be bowed,
Rather roar my truth until fully free.
I'll shape life on my terms, not by their allow,
Carving new ways to manifest just me.  

When broken to the saddle their rules provide,
I'll stand, look them in the eye, and boldly ride.

For what is more rebellious than embracing all you are,
Unflinching, unrepentant, taking up self-love's charge?
Weapons are norms that restrict and conform and mar,
But authenticity is the rebel flag we must raise large.

So I lift my colors, three cheers for the uncommon!
No more muting, deleting, policing, shunning!  
Write your manifestos in spray paint, graffiti bomb them!
Let id run rampant, ego wide, no more cunning.

Shed musts and oughts like a second skin,  
And let your long exiled quirks out to play,
The world may not approve of the mess we're in,
But finally we're home when we live it our way.

Those beige walls you color, cracking foundations you shake,
Are the boldest rebellion, most defiant stand you can take.

To thine own self be true, the whisper said,
No more hiding, pandering, people-pleasing,  
I hereby renounce conformity's lead,
On my terms I'll be living and freeing.

No permission slips needed to be me,
No licenses or exams to pass as qualification.
I'm the sole authority on my identity,
So I'm seizing back my self-determination.  

Don't tell me I'm too much, the problem lies with you,
Your vision's too small to contain someone askew.

For too long I twisted myself to fit the mold,
Contorted into shapes strange and manifold,
But today I embrace all shades that I am,
From glimmers to shadows, the radiant and damn.

So take your cookie cutters and reject bin withdrawals,
Conformity's shackles will hold me no more.
I'm ending this civil war that's ravaged my soul,  
Embracing each oddity, aberration, and flaw.

I see the light in you but it's blinding to me,
Our edges may clash but our centers shine free.

Rebellion is when you stare down all they would erase,
And make your stand, occupying your rightful place,
When you dare unfold and fly your freak flag high,
Because you've finally stopped asking their permission why.  

No more living polite, proper, proportioned, and sane,
I'll be unleashed, untamed, unbound and unchained!



















   The poem is part of a full version found in the book “Homo Sapiens” Part Part I - XVIII, written by Mawphniang Napoleon. This book is part of the popular “Homo Sapiens” book series, which can be purchased online at various online bookstores, such as Amazon. The book is available for purchase for those who are interested in reading the complete version of the poem. Remember to get all the books from the “Homo Sapiens” series, as well as other books by the same author.   So, don’t hesitate and get a copy today from one of the many online bookstores.   Khublei Shihajar Nguh,  (Dhanewad  )(Thank you )