Write a Performance Poem on a Topic You Feel Strongly About

Performance poetry has different requirements from page poetry: it needs an opening image that grabs, a structure that builds, and an ending that lands in a room. This writes a draft for a specific topic and voice, with deliberate repetition, a central turn, and a finish that does not over-explain. The instruction about not using the word 'journey' is there because good performance poems do not.

Help me write a performance poem on {TOPIC}.

I want to perform this at [open mic / spoken word event] and the target length is [two to three minutes] when read aloud (approximately [250 to 350] words).

Structure the poem to:
1. Open with a concrete image or moment, not an abstract statement
2. Build to a central turn where the perspective shifts or complicates
3. Use repetition deliberately: one phrase or line structure that recurs and means something different each time it appears
4. End on something that lands and does not over-explain

My voice is {VOICE_DESCRIPTION}. Do not make it sound like every other performance poem. Do not use the word 'journey'.