pop up purple paper people

Harry Baker, a 30-year old British man, is the youngest ever World Slam Poetry Champion and a maths graduate (maths because he is British). Sometimes he even performs as a battle rapper, which is funnily unsurprising because his way of reciting poetry is comparable to rapping. 

He draws from both the poetic and mathematical aspects of his life to create math-inspired poems. In middle school, I came upon his Ted talk. I was immediately drawn to his rhythmic, songlike storytelling, almost entranced. "59" was a "prime example" of this (an example of how Baker uses "prime" as in "prime numbers"). The entire poem was a play on words and mathematical concepts that took on the form of a love story. It was fascinating to see how math could be presented in an art form. 

His second poem, "Paper People", was almost entirely made up of words that start with the letter "P". Baker was able to use constant alliteration and assonance while also sending a message on the nature of humanity. Hearing it be performed, this poem was especially rap-like. At first listen, it sounded like a bunch of tongue twisters strung together. However, the underlying meaning of the poem surprisingly reveals what it means to be human. 

Paper People by Harry Baker

I like people.

I like some paper people.

They’d be purple paper people.

Maybe pop up purple paper people.

Proper pop up purple paper people. -->alliteration

‘How do you prop up pop up purple paper people?’

I hear you cry. Well I…

I’d probably prop up proper pop up purple paper people

with a proper pop up purple people paperclip,

but I’d pre-prepare appropriate adhesives as alternatives,-->consonance

a cheeky pack of blu tack just in case the paper slipped.

I could build a pop up metropolis.

but i wouldn’t wanna deal with all the paper people politics.

paper politicians with their paper-thin policies,-->continued alliteration while criticizing politics

broken promises without appropriate apologies.

there’d be a little paper me, and a little paper you,

and we’d watch paper TV and it would all be paper view.-->pun haha

we’d watch the poppy paper rappers rap about their paper package

or watch paper people carriers get stuck in paper traffic on the A4.

There’d be a paper princess Kate but we’d all stare at paper Pippa,-->alluding to Duchess and her sister

and then we’d all live in fear of killer Jack the paper ripper.-->continue to allude to real world people

cause the paper propaganda propagates the people's prejudices,

papers printing pictures of the photogenic terrorists.

There’d be a little paper me, and a little paper you,-->repetition

but in a pop up population people’s problems pop up too.

there’d be a pompous paper parliament who remained out of touch,

and who ignored the people's protests about all the paper cuts,

then the peaceful paper protests would get blown to paper pieces,

by the confetti cannons manned by pre-emptive police.

and there’s still be paper money, so there’d still be paper greed,

and the paper piggy bankers pocketing more than they need.

purchasing the potpourri to pepper their paper properties,

while others live in poverty and ain’t acknowledged properly,

a proper poor economy where so many are proper poor,

but while their needs are ignored the money goes to big wars,

funding origami armies building paper planes

while we remain imprisoned by our own paper chains,-->somber tone, focusing on dark sides of humanity

and the greater shame, is that we always seem to stay the same,

what changes is who’s in power choosing how to lay the blame,

they’re naming names, forgetting these are names of people,

cause in the end it all comes down to people.

I like people. cause even when the situation’s dire,

it is only ever people who are able to inspire,-->tone changes to more hopeful, positive

and on paper – it’s hard to see how we all cope,

but in the bottom of pandora’s box there’s still hope,

and i still hope cause i believe in people.

People like my Grandparents. who every single day since i was born have taken time out of their

morning to pray for me.

that’s 7433 days straight of someone checking i’m okay and that’s amazing.-->rhyming stops, trace-like effect ends, bringing people back to reality

people like my aunt who puts on plays for prisoners.

people who are capable of genuine forgiveness.

people who go out of their way to make your life better and expect nothing in return.

people have potential to be powerful.

and just because the people in power tend to pretend to be different, we don’t all need to

succumb to the system.

a paper population is no different.

there’s be a little paper me and a little paper you,

and we could watch paper TV and it would all be paper view,

and in a pop up population people's problems pop up too

but even if the whole world fell apart then we’d still make it through

because we’re people.-->commentary on the persistent nature of humanity

My Own Poem: Victory's Victims 

Victims of victory vanish victoriously, 

Vainly valiant through vacating values.

The poem I wrote is commentary on the self-destruction of people who constantly win.