The revolution will be…
I was commissioned to write and perform a poem at Poetic People Power’s 9th annual show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe last night. The following is the piece I created; will post video when it’s available.
I was asked to relate some of my feelings about the intersection of technology and activism, so of course, my mind wandered over to storytelling and social change, and how social media tools give us the unprecedented ability to share our stories with one another. I wanted to share what social media feels like to me, and write sort of a love poem to it. Enjoy.
UPDATE! (9/26) Video for the poem is now available — thanks, Inspired Word NYC. I start at 3:00 minutes in. Text follows below.
—
Untitled
Take me with you.
Tell me what you had for breakfast, show me I’m
human with your urgent optimism, with your links and your lolcats
and your monstrous balloon sculpture art,
take me and listen.
Post that quote I like, the one about the foolish mistaken
notion that we are all
separate from
one another. Take me.
Done with isolation prescribed to me, ether
penetrates these crafted culture walls.
You find me
and say: you are not alone anymore.
Out there, not long ago, I was screaming into
nothing, broadcasting, waiting for my pheromone signal
to come back, tell me I’m not crazy
after all.
Now, maybe I’m addicted to this stupid blinking light but it means I’m holding
you with me.
We dig Pavlov here.
I want you to blaze info flow into the grooves
of my fingertips. Make me feel revolution in my bones, stop
jacking me off with silly antics,
blind me with delight instead.
Make me hurt with overload.
I was alone before.
Take us with you.
Rig this game, let your crafted walls fall, make
the conversation
yours, at long last.
I see what you did there.
Hear me. You have no choice, not
anymore. We’ll whisper into cultures’
new ears, we will tell them what we had for breakfast
how it is here in
these shoes,
and what we will do about it.
