Having a boyfriend is a multimedia experience in a new poem titled Remote Control by Alicia Zakon. She comes to us through Youth Radio, and is a performer with Youth Speaks, a spoken-word poetry project in San Francisco.
Why you let him play you like a video?
Turn you on and off like a radio, tell you when to go fast and slow.
Change your channels because he can't stand your show, make you feel so low, and you afraid to say no.
Why you let him rewind you, criticize you, hypnotize you until the screen turns blue and your life is through?
Why'd you give him the device used to control the operation of you?
Why you let him tune you, confuse you and abuse you, reject you, select you and eject you?
Why you let him track you, slap you and map you?
Don't know why he do what he do, but you need to pause you and rewind you.
Look at your life before he met you.
Look back at that moment when you gave him the remote control and see how the story unfolds, how instead of asked you were told what to do and how to feel, and yet, you believe that his love was real and steel.
Fast forward your life.
It appears to be fine, but just like this day in time, you're hurting inside.
Don't lie.
Today don't neglect you; reset you and take back the power that was held from you.
Take hold of your life.
Have it your way.
Take hold of that remote and push "play."
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