The poem I am going to share surfaced for me as I moved through these past weeks of farewells and reflection. I started to formulate this piece shortly after the Twin Cities Dyke March. In addition to being moved by the collective action of marching and demanding justice, I was also disturbed by my internal dissonance of desiring to shout in solidarity, and my actual silence during the chants.
You can see me walking along around 2:30. Though looking fabulous, I am not making any noise.
I wrote this piece to push my voice out. This piece is written as a letter to a runaway named Jenny. I love letter writing and feel most able to express myself through this medium. As I push myself to be louder, I write this letter as a bridge to spoken word. As a note, I intentionally use the violent language in this piece as part of my healing process.
I am eager to develop this piece, in addition to others that have been bubbling up. I'll be attending the 2011 APIA Spoken Word and Poetry Summit, "Moving it Forward, Bringing it Back", as a learner and aspiring writer. Please share any additional resources and learning opportunities you may have.
Wow! I'll be the first to admit most poetry doesn't interest or entice me, which some would consider me shallow or lacking substance. But that was crazy intense! I don't know much if anything about spoken art/poetry apart from what's relayed via TV or Movies, but your use of incredible metaphors hit my senses on all levels and helped me to understand you more.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow peer and not just a friend, one word: Amazing.
Thanks for sharing!