SARAH SHAPIRO
BLAH BLAH BLAH
I grew ^ n a 1st wrld cuntrE
living d dream n a midL claS famLe
bt couldn’t rED @ 8 years old,
that 496 million adult women can’t read
is a tragedy, @ fourteen I rED
lIk a 5th grader, that number
being 2/3rds of all non-reading adults
is a patriarchal system of tragedy,
i’ll spare U d hard yards bt that percentage
having stayed the same for the last twenty years,
is a true abomination; nw my Lyf, my adult Lyf,
iz 1 lng victory lap and there are still 496 mill
women who can’t read in 2017
I grew up in a first world country
in community is reading is social currency
but couldn’t read at eight years old,
that 496 million adult women can’t read
is a tragedy, at fourteen I read
like a fifth grader, that number
being 2/3rds of all non-reading adults
is a tragedy, i’ll spare you
the blah blah blah but that percentage
having stayed the same
for the last twenty years, is a tragedy;
my life now is one long victory lap
and there are still 496 mill women
who can’t read in 2017 this is my story.
01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110010
01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00111111
00001010 f U work U don’t skul o U do both o nIthR f U can’t read U can’t smartfone & evry1
wants dat 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000
01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011
00111111 00001010 evry1 talks bout how d internet connects d wrld bt letz jst tink bout d hi-
erarchy of powR hEr 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101
00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001
01110011 00111111 00001010 cn U rED this? d U fEl me?
living d dream n a midL claS famLe
bt couldn’t rED @ 8 years old,
that 496 million adult women can’t read
is a tragedy, @ fourteen I rED
lIk a 5th grader, that number
being 2/3rds of all non-reading adults
is a patriarchal system of tragedy,
i’ll spare U d hard yards bt that percentage
having stayed the same for the last twenty years,
is a true abomination; nw my Lyf, my adult Lyf,
iz 1 lng victory lap and there are still 496 mill
women who can’t read in 2017
I grew up in a first world country
in community is reading is social currency
but couldn’t read at eight years old,
that 496 million adult women can’t read
is a tragedy, at fourteen I read
like a fifth grader, that number
being 2/3rds of all non-reading adults
is a tragedy, i’ll spare you
the blah blah blah but that percentage
having stayed the same
for the last twenty years, is a tragedy;
my life now is one long victory lap
and there are still 496 mill women
who can’t read in 2017 this is my story.
01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110010
01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00111111
00001010 f U work U don’t skul o U do both o nIthR f U can’t read U can’t smartfone & evry1
wants dat 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000
01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011
00111111 00001010 evry1 talks bout how d internet connects d wrld bt letz jst tink bout d hi-
erarchy of powR hEr 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101
00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001
01110011 00111111 00001010 cn U rED this? d U fEl me?
SARAH SHAPIRO was born in Chicago and lives in Boston. Her work explores the gap between those who read with ease and those who struggle to read. She aims to bridge that gap with her poems.