dorwayin

So. I have this thing
About poetry
Someone shows me
A poem
I read it
Then I habitually analyze it
As I go through it
Seeking out the real message
Sometimes poems are straight up
Sometimes they are hiding
A blanket of words
Frequently I am impressed
By the selections of words
This vision constructing
But something is missing
Read and see
Only
What the poet is trying to tell you
What the poet is trying to say
Did you hear what the poet said?
Not when poems are just read
The message instead
Is left half dead
By emotionless words on a page


I am a much bigger fan of hearing a poem being read than reading it to myself. Language is a powerful tool. When someone has something to say, they usually attach their emotional sounds and pantomimes to it. To hear the "word" being said. That is where the true power of poetry resides. Straight out of the poet's mouth.
When I go to a poetry reading, I often catch myself feeling elevated to the delivery of the words. I feel like scooby and shaggy floating along the scent of scooby snacks. I am then fully engaged and enticed. My mind is a playground for this bouncing ballet of words, and I am completely open and helpless.
This is not to say that I don't enjoy reading poetry. I enjoy reading poems. I would just prefer to here the poet say it. Then I can then hear it again in my memories. Like songs. Like the Genius/GZA did you hear what he said. That guy has a way with words.
I was thinking of this subject on my way home tonight. I was listening to Otep. What she says is honest and powerful. I feel the need to agree. I feel like saying aloud "fuck yeah" Then I wondered if I would feel the same way if I had only read the poem. If I did not hear her say it. The answer is no.
I will leave you with her poem.

Shattered Pieces
by Otep Shamaya

And this is how the world died
And this is how the world died
I can hear you judging me
I'll hear your confession
I found the best piece of me
Kneel down
Alone
Shivering in the dark
Three centimeters tall
And talk to god
Eating it's heart
But you will not feast on me today
This is how the world died
Who will slay this thing
I forgive you
Who will play the butcher and
End my suffering
I forgive you
I fucked the minds of the masses with the fingers of liberty
This is not a threat
This is not
A threat
I'm not perfect
I'm not a beauty queen I'm just me
I'm just me
We are all
Prisoners here
All shapes and sizes
I've screamed for all the women I've never been but hoped I would be
I'm proud of who I am
Forever
Chasing the sun
I'm proud of me
She bites her trembling mind
It began as all tragedies do
Forgive me
Forgive me
With pain and deception
If you'll be the paper I'll be the pen
This is it
I've tasted hell
And it tastes just like you

My final plea
No one is coming to save me
No one is going to change things
The answers will not drop from the sky
I will not one day wake with a different disguise
No
The only solution
Is revolution
Art is war
Fight
Fight
The odds were always against me
Lose weight
Clearly think
I exist I am broken
I exist I am broken
If god is my father
Then I am an orphan
I am broken
I am not a mistake
I am not a mistake
My ancestry is a ghost story
I'm a prophecy
My love life is a crime scene
I'm an omen
My self-esteem is a string of unsolved murders
The radio is brainwashing me filling my head with these
Self conspiracies
I am an emotional nightmare
I can't hide the pain inside
Builder of my own mythology
Just tell me
You're listening
............................

Now if you had heard her say it, You too may have nodded your head and said aloud "fuck yeah"
I encourage all of you poets to say your poems aloud. Listen to yourself. Let others listen to you. If you truly have something to say, BE HEARD. One voice is stronger than one million pages.
Much love all