WORDS
I wrote the poem below when I was frustrated with writing paragraphs and emails during the dozens of conversations questioning how we as the Braodway community treats their black performers and other artists of color...
Who am I?
Who am I
Whatever you want
I’m here to serve you
I’m here to please
Yes, feel that ease?
Who am I?
Today a clown
Whose laughter disarms and charms
Full skits are quick to stick
Do you hear me now?
Do you see?
Who am I?
An invisible number on spike
Dancing in tandem
Flawless so not to draw attention
To draw rage
Perfectionism becomes a carefully crafted
Raft to safety
Who am I?
Here to shake things up
Make my presence known
Make my voice heard
Ring power to words on pages
Tell stories that scream my dna
Not to be handled or controlled
Uh oh. missed. Step
Who am I?
A problem
My questions
Questioned you
My stone face
An uneasy thought
Why?
Who am I?
Tired of Barnum
Bailey called out
Stripped bare and standing
Both scripts blend
Dizzy confused
Smiling
Who am I
Overworked
Smiling
Cradling your prejudice
Smiling
Welcoming your verbal missteps
Smiling
feeding your ego
Smiling
Entertaining while entertaining is exhausting
Who am I?
No clue
You, tell me.
I’m an actor.
My sense memory
Is how I make my magic
On platforms for spectators.
Who've come for occasion
I can create anything
With....
My sense memory
I feel see hear taste
What has been
There has been
you
My Sense memory
Fills me and
Is filled you see
With memories of you
Touching me
I use my sense memory
To sense you on top of me
Your weight weighs into me
Feels like power held/not abused
a blanket to me
Senses are awake and restless now
Waiting
And I begin my work...
I close my eyes and feel you run me
I tell my brain to make my skin tingle with the thought of your hands on my neck shoulders thighs
Giving me rise
to my hips
My head rears back and I can tell my sense to place your lips on my neck
breath shortens
Heat rises
When I really get going your hands grasp mine
Rough and desperately
I can't see now
Only smell and feel and taste
My senses sense you
Sensing your need from miles away
My senses can even get my center to pulse
Sending bursts of sense through my body
You're fully here now
And I am full
All senses sensing together to sense your pleasure erected!
from thin air.
I saw you today
Sitting across from me
With that unassuming simple spirit
That I remember well
I do see you once and again
Knowing well your body is no where near my neighborhood
But I find your essence often
In the supermarket
The Starbucks on 8th
Coming out of the HS across the street...
Today: the train
I'm caught taking you in,
for every time it's only for an instant
You catch me and smile
Now it's even worse
With that thoughtless gesture my core has warmed and tingled with bright ease
Like the sun when it has finally out run the clouds on a cool day
Then you pull out your favorite pastime and I laugh
for I know I wasn't mistaken
It was you
I Steal
a moment
Desperately Stocking up for the winter of your absence which is sure to come
Time nudging me on
the freedom your presence gives
fills me up
soul dancing to it's favorite tune
And Now Energized
I leave
Cuz after all I have to go on with my day And can only hope
I can meet you again
on the way home
