Melbourne’s OutLoud Poetry Slam Comp

On the 19th of August, three UHS teams entered Melbourne’s OutLoud Poetry Slam competition held at the Wheeler Centre. It was a terrific day that celebrated poetry, language, creativity and courage. We were so proud to see all of our students perform with confidence and perspective. Congratulations to Raihan Ameur and Nikita Pokharel, for their participation in the competition, and to Monica and Tania for winning the Senior Slam category!

Please enjoy their winning poem:

A labour shortage.

Poverty.

Starvation.

Pollution.

Climate change.

Gender inequality.

Violence.

Corruption.

War.

The list goes on….but don’t worry,

Psychology Today, Forbes and MIT all say that the younger generations are the answer to all of our problems.

What in the haunted halls is happening to our world? It seems to be on the brink of collapse, with politicians masking the hollow core, torn, and trying to warn us of the imminent danger that dooms us all.

Like ghosts, the past is ever so haunting, tormenting us with their desperate cries to clean up the mess the past generations have made.

The mess that we’ve barely had a hand in making.

But don’t fret, Gen Z will solve all of your problems.

Grotesque goblins trying to ruin the future generations' chances at survival, the world leaders are in denial, leading our people into an endless spiral of the earth’s latest suicidal attempt, filled to the brim with death and destruction.

The arrival of unwanted yet essential disasters are a wake up call for us all, vital, needed to act as a turning table towards this massive problem that we face.

But hey, Gen Z will solve all of your problems. We’ll turn the world into a utopia, just like how we always imagined Barbie’s Dreamhouse would be like at age 5.

We’ll patch the ozone layer and stitch the world back together with our dreams and TikTok trends acting as the thread and the glue.

We’ll turn our carbon filled footprints into eco-friendly shoes.

Poverty. While the bourgeoisie are dining in luxury, millions of people are oppressed by the unforgiving rich who crush them like objects under a hydraulic press.

Like Atlas, these problems are the heaven’s weight that’s been bore, threatening to tip over the edge and crush all of us with the ever so constant pressure and impending doom.

These problems have been placed on our shoulders yet we are the ones who just can’t seem to get it right. It’s “Gen Z is so lazy, none of them want to work anymore” when we don’t try and its “Here’s why I would never hire Gen Z” when we do.

But don’t worry, Gen Z will be the solution to all of your problems. If not, we’ll pass down the responsibility, after all there’s always Gen Alpha after us, and Gen Beta after them.

They say Gen Alpha is building a new future. “But they’re trying too hard to be seen, they’re addicted to their screens and have you seen their skincare routines? I can’t believe that this is what society has come to. I wish we could just hit undo!”

Unbeknownst to us, we have fallen into a cycle of bitter banter, shifting the blame to slander others, turning a blind eye to the problems around us.