In Life, Like A Teleprompter, I Mouth The Words That Aren't Mine Poem by Raj Dronamraju

I'm content to be the vessel
Speaking the words of others dispassionately
Not like an actor pretending to be something
I'm not the thought that ventures out much
I'll stay close with a memorized script

Reading the words on the screen
To friends and family and others who have gathered
Singing in the bathtub later a jingle I've been forced to memorize
I've been forced to talk a lot; to ask for the toothpaste I saw on television
Aisle four is a letter filled jumble, I soon lose my way

I'm no longer content to be the vessel
To just repeat whatever gibberish I've been given to say
To acquire new words and the ability to deal in black market definitions
I'll grind your face into the dust
I'll beat words of enslavement into ploughshares