Author Amelia Klem Osterud

Review by Janice Formichella

Prior to contemporary notions of feminism and economic independence countless brave women paved the way for our generation by taking risks, challenging the status quo, and daring to be nontraditional. Among the more fascinating are the “Tattooed Ladies” that travelled the globe with circuses and performed as exotic “oddities” in dime museums in the early 20th Century.

The Tattooed Lady, written by librarian Amelia Osterud provides a first-time look into the history of the many tattooed lady performers. The book includes a comprehensive look at the history of the tattooed lady as an act itself, background into the history of tattooing, and individual histories of many successful tattooed ladies.

One fascinating thing I learned is that several tattooed ladies worked side by side male partners. Two of the earliest and most well-known tattooed ladies actually married men who took their last names. Remarkably enough, the earliest tattooed lady on record, Irene Woodward, who arrived on the scene in 1882, was one of these women. Each woman had achieved more fame than her husband the couple saw it as more beneficial to use the name of the wife. This shows a lot of willingness to be unconventional, both for the tattooed ladies themselves and their husbands.

While it would be unfair to judge the tattooed ladies according to a contemporary feminist lens, Osterud believes that tattooed ladies were definitely early feminists: “That tattooed ladies found a way to chose a better paying, more rewarding career makes them feminists, even if they would not have considered themselves such.” Without a doubt these women were exercising a level of control over their own bodies that few women in the early 1900s were willing to exercise, and they used the dynamic to financially support themselves and their families.

While the tattooed ladies had the self-determination to seek lucrative employment, the decision to tattoo had little to do with self-expression. It was truly a means of making a good living, and all tattooed ladies featured in the book were tattooed to be able to cover all tattoos while not performing.

The first tattooed ladies appeared in the later part of the 19th Century. The act’s popularity reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, however the last tattooed lady, Lorett Fulkerson, actually worked until 1995.

The decline in popularity of the tattooed lady coincided directly with the growing popularity of tattoos as a form of self-expression. This trend resulted in a loss of mystique for the tattooed lady performers and the act became less and less profitable.

While tattoos themselves are no longer seen as a marketable act, many female performers still favor tattoos. Osterud highlights several such women at the end of her book. One performer is Peekaboo Pointe, a burlesque dancer here in New York City. I have never been to a burlesque show or understood their popularity among my feminist friends, but after reading The Tattooed Lady and learning more about its culture I think I may just attend one of Peekaboo Pointe’s shows!

The Tattooed Lady provides a thorough history of both tattooed ladies and tattoos in general, yet is so full of fabulous photographs that it can be used as a coffee table book. The selection of photographs in the book is so phenomenal that I had to look through the entire book before starting to read it.

The Tattooed Lady makes an excellent gift for anyone with tattoos, anyone interested in American history, and any women’s history enthusiast. It is a fun and unique book and will keep anyone who picks it up turning pages.

Amelia Osterud currently lectures about tattooing and may come to NYC next year for an event. Heres to hoping!

NOW NYS mobilized local activists on Dec 4th in NYC to stop Stupak/Pitts-like Amendments, banning abortion coverage, that may be included in the Senate Health Care Reform package.  Before the rally, I spoke with Bill Baird, founder of the Pro-Choice League who established the nation’s first abortion referral center in 1964, and was jailed for defending choice.  Hearing about a women dying in his arms as a result of a coat-hanger abortion was chilling.  Never Again.  Video coverage, provided by Peoples’ Movement.

Huge thanks to NOW-NYS for inviting me to speak and for organizing

VIEW VIDEO HERE- Select speeches marked below

* Erin Matson, Action Vice President, National NOW
* Marcia Pappas, President, NOW-New York State
* Sonia Ossorio, President, NOW-New York City (13:02)
* Julie Kirschner, Co-President, Brooklyn/Queens NOW (15:46)
* Rachelle Suissa , Co-President, Brooklyn/Queens NOW
* Marilyn Fitterman, Former NOW NYS President (15:15)
* Mary Richmond, President, Albany Area NOW (17:40)
* Zenaida Mendez, President, National Dominican Women’s Caucus (16:50)
* Jerin Alam, Chair of Young Feminist Task Force for NOW-NYS (18:13)
* Debra Sweet, Director of The World Can’t Wait (23:47)
* Maretta Short, President, New Jersey NOW (20:03)
* Sandy Rapp, Feminist Performer (2:20)
* Author Bill Baird, Abortion Rights Pioneer (9:31)
* Gaby Moreno, Secretary of NOW-NYS (22:59)
* Trudy Mason, NYS Committee Woman
* Betty Maloney, Radical Women (27:00)
* Meredith Villano, Co-Founder & Director, Paradigm Shift: NYC’s Feminist Community (29:10)
* Michelle Burns, Clinic Escort (32:23)
* Woman who had TTTS, and had to abort twins (34:22)
* Deputy Press Sec, Sen Schumer’s office (35:09)
more….

Bill Baird, abortion rights pioneer & Meredith Villano, PShift Co-Founder/ Director. photo courtesy of J. Alam

By Nancy Schwartzman, “The Line” Filmmaker

posted originally http://whereisyourline.org

Last week, over 100 New Yorkers (and a few strays from New Jersey) crowded into Gallery Bar to watch THE LINE and hear from a kick-ass group of panelists, including: Erin Burrows of SAFER, Joe Samalin of Men Can Stop Rape, and Ignacio Rivera, trans artist, poet and educator. Thanks to everyone that came out and gave their voice and support!

Folks crowded up to the bar and sat along the wall for cushy seats. We give extra love to those who sat on the concrete barroom floor. Julia Weis and Meredith Villano, of Paradigm Shift hosted the event and got us the Time Out critic’s pick for the night. I was extra nervous to present the film to the home-town crowd, but was rewarded by watching the story work as a catalyst to bring folks together to talk about consent, accountability, and creating a real change in our communities and bedrooms.

After the film, I answered questions – and to my delight – fielded one from the bartender, proving that everyone has a stake in the conversation. He wanted to discuss the socialization of men, and how we applaud male promiscuity, and judge the same behavior in females. I bounced his question to Joe, who could address the work being done by men to challenge male assumptions and socialization.

Joe mentioned that even doing this work personally and professionally, his gut when watching the film, still ran to victim blaming and doubting it ‘was rape’ first.

Even as I KNEW that wasn’t the case, and knew it was socialization, I couldn’t help but go to that place of questioning (you) and getting defensive.

I asked him later about using the film in his work as an educator:

The film helps us frame sexual violence not ONLY as a women’s issue but men’s issue, and it helps us address the nuances of mens responsibility as a whole/group for the violence committed by a not so small small minority of men. My dad (bless him) actually pointed out that I should have also mentioned that we don’t want to ‘other’ violent men, that we are ALL educated/socialized to be violent, and all have that potential.

Erin Burrows explained her work as an activist with SAFER and their unique campus-based perspective:

We can prevent sexual assault through a strong communally shared and agreed upon definition of consent that accounts for a wide range of sexualities, and that a definition of consent must put the onus of obtaining consent on the initiator, and insist that silence, a previous or current relationship or consent to a previous sexual act is NOT consent.

She emphasized that a strong sexual assault policy for a contained community, such as a college campus, must hold people who violate consent accountable through a fair disciplinary process.

Ignacio Rivera really called out the idea of privilege and reminded me that the personalis political. They discussed the importance of harm-reduction, non biased and non judgmental approaches to assessing risk, communication and best practice for sexual health. The concept and practice of Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) and Safe, Sane & Consensual (SSC) were cited as examples, and were new terms for a lot of folks in the room, myself included. Ignacio made clear that we can all learn from the queer, kink and BDSM communities when we talk about consent and sexual behavior.

Melissa Gira Grant asked the question about how we could respond to the topics raised in the film and during the panel that address the needs of the queer community. Erin responded that a movement for sexual assault policy reform must come from a broad coalition of students that is sex-positive, trans and genderqueer inclusive, and accounts for the intersectionality of multiple identities and how that impacts a person’s experience as a survivor of sexual assault. Ignacio underscored their point about taking cues and lessons from the complexities of consent from within the kink and BDSM communities. I chimed in that we’re planning on shooting some short videos to accompany the educational package of THE LINE that will include these discussions and perspectives.

Audience member Kalimah Priforce spoke up:

I am a victim of rape. When I was two years old, my mother was giving me a bath. I slipped and fell, and was bleeding. My father punished her, and raped her. My brother was born of this rape, and I buried him 18 years later. Men need to stop this violence, because we are all effected by it.

After a bleak political week, including an escelation of the war in Afghanistan and the voting down of marraige equality in New York State, hosting and provoking dialogue about creating more sex-positive education, conversations and communities, was a big, bright spot. What are some other ways you’d like tocontinue this dialogue?

View “The Line” trailer

Paradigm Shift: NYC’s Feminist Community & SAFER Proudly Present

THE LINE, documentary screening
&
Panel discussion featuring:

NANCY SCHWARTZMAN, Filmmaker

ERIN BURROWS, Students Active For Ending Rape

JOSEPH SAMALIN, Men Can Stop Rape, Campus Strength Coordinator

IGNACIO RIVERA, Sex educator, Organizer & Performance Artist

TIMEOUT NY RATED CRITICS’ PICK!  PARADIGM SHIFT HONORED FOR 4TH TIME!

http://newyork.timeout.com/events/city-picks/314715/sex-consent-power-pleasure

Endorsed by WBAI-FM 99.5

Join our special honored guests including former Paradigm Shift event
speakers, feminist authors, activists, and thought leaders

Support by Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, Feministing.com, Hunter Women’s Rights Coalition, Identity House, NOW NYS YFTF, Amy Mitten Photography, TimeOut NY, WBAI-FM 99.5

Attendees are welcome to discuss & document their thoughts on consent
for the “Where is Your Line?” campaign

When: TUES, DEC. 1st
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
Gallery Bar
120 Orchard Street, between Delancey St. and Rivington St.
Subway: Delancey-Essex Sts (F, J, M, Z), Grand St (B, D), 2nd
Ave-Houston St (F, V)

Cost: $7 if you RSVP before Dec. 1st, 12:00 noon / Students FREE / $10
at door
RSVP (include full name and guests): rsvp@paradigmshiftnyc.com

PARTICIPATE:

Calling all progressives! Promote this event and we’ll help
promote your organization!
Email: JWeis@paradigmshiftnyc.com

THE LINE Synopsis:

http://thelinemovie.org
A one night stand far from home goes terribly wrong. As the filmmaker
unravels her experience, she decides to confront her attacker. Told
through a “sex-positive” lens, THE LINE is a 24 minute
documentary about a young woman – the filmmaker- who is raped,
but her story isn’t cut and dry. Not a “perfect
victim,” the filmmaker confronts her attacker, recording the
conversation with a hidden camera. Sex workers, survivors and
activists discuss justice, accountability and today’s
“rape culture.” The film asks the question: where is the
line defining consent? THE LINE was completed in July 2009.

ABOUT NANCY SCHWARTZMAN:

Nancy Schwartzman is a filmmaker, writer and activist working for over
thirteen years to create community solutions to combat sexual violence
and promote public debate. THE LINE is a personal documentary that
explores consent from a sex-positive point of view. With an emphasis
on interactivity and dialogue, she launched the accompanying
“where is your line?” campaign. Prior to THE LINE, she
produced the award-winning short film OCEAN AVENUE.

Nancy is the founder of NYC-Safestreets.org an online initiative noted
by The New York Times, Gawker, The Village Voice and The Daily News to
engage community organizations and businesses to create safer routes
for pedestrians, especially women. From 2002- 2005 she was a founding
editor and Creative Director of HEEB Magazine. For six years Nancy was
the Program Officer at the Fund for Jewish Documentary Film. She has
curated short film festivals at the Pioneer Theater, Berlin, London
and Tel Aviv. Her essays have been featured in The Independent, HEEB,
Sh’ma and Plenty Magazine.

Nancy lectures extensively on college campuses on the topic of consent
and healthy sexual boundaries. She is a graduate of Columbia
University with a degree in Art History and Film. She has lived in
Paris and Jerusalem, and currently resides in Brooklyn. She recently
married Isaac Mathes, her cameraman.

ABOUT ERIN BURROWS:

Erin Burrows, M.A., completed her Fifth Year MA in Women’s
History at Sarah Lawrence in 2009. She was a leader in the successful
campaign at Sarah Lawrence College to rewrite the Sexual Harassment
and Sexual Assault Policy and improve sexual assault services on
campus. Erin was heavily involved with feminist and queer organizing
on campus, leading to numerous changes in programming and policy
including mandatory anti-oppression training for student senators.
Erin was awarded the Senior Appreciation Award for recognition of her
undergraduate leadership in 2008. She has been working for SAFER since
August, 2008 and joined the board in May, 2009. She currently works as
a Community Educator in the Domestic Violence Education and Prevention
Program at My Sisters’ Place, based in Yonkers, NY.

ABOUT JOSEPH SAMALIN:

http://www.mencanstoprape.org
Prior to joining Men Can Stop Rape as Campus Strength Coordinator,
Joseph was co-president of Columbia University’s men’s group, Columbia
Men Against Violence. He has been working on rape prevention and
anti-violence work with young men in New York and other areas for 15
years.

ABOUT IGNACIO RIVERA:

http://www.ignaciorivera.com
Ignacio Rivera is a Queer, gender fluid, Trans- Entity, Black Boricua
performance artist, currently performing skits, spoken word,
one-person shows and story-telling internationally. Ignacio is a
lecturer/trainer, activist, new filmmaker and self-proclaimed sex
educator. As a lecturer/ trainer, Ignacio has spoken at home and
abroad on such topics of racism, sexism, homo/transphobia, transgender
issues, sexual liberation, anti-oppression, anti-violence, multi-issue
organizing and more. Ignacio currently consultants with various
organizations in New York City conducting professional development
trainings for NYC high school staff.

ABOUT SAFER:

http://www.safercampus.org
Started by Columbia University students in 2000, Students Active for
Ending Rape (SAFER) is the only organization that fights sexual
violence and rape culture by empowering student-led campaigns to
reform college sexual assault policies. An all-volunteer collective,
SAFER facilitates student organizing through a comprehensive training
manual; in-person workshops and trainings; free follow-up mentoring;
our Campus Sexual Assault Policies Database; and a growing online
resource library and network for student organizers. SAFER firmly
believes that sexual violence is both influenced by and contributes to
multiple forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, and
homo/transphobia, and view our anti-sexual violence work through a
broader anti-oppression lens.

PARTNERS:

Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership

http://www.woodhull.org/

Feministing.com

http://www.feministing.com/

Identity House
http://www.identityhouse.org

Hunter Women’s Rights Coalition

http://hunterequality.blogspot.com/

NOW NYS Young Feminist Task Force

http://youngfeministtaskforce.blogspot.com/

Amy Mitten Photography

amittensphoto@aol.com

Publisher: New York : Little, Brown, 2009.
Pub. Date: September 2009
ISBN-13: 9780316040099
Age Range: Young Adult
264pp

Ash was my absolutely favorite read of 2009.

A Cinderella with a twist of darkness and lore, the characterization of a young girl, family, love, and disappointment, left me inside of this world and I think I still haven’t found my way out.  Since reading Ash, I am desperately seeking that language, that energy, those woods, the doublespeak that Lo so artfully rendered.

As I type this, I am flipping through the pages, and stopping when my fingers have reached their random destination.

Here, a sample:

“Impulsively, she went to the horse and held her hand out; the mare sniffed at her empty palm and then looked at her with gleaming brown eyes that seemed to reproach her for not having an apple to share.”

This 2nd sentence of Chapter XIII summarizes for me the entirety of the novel as well as the complexity of Malinda Lo’s lyrical craft.  Ash, driven by impulse, and communicating with beings not like herself, she still reaches, still forges forward, and insists on movement.  “she went to the horse” because the horse would not come to her.  The richness in action is one that every young girl ought to internalize.  In this stage in the novel, there was no need for the reader to doubt that this was Ash’s impulse because we have seen her grow.

“the mare sniffed at her empty palm”

This is actually a poem, is it not?

I visualize this instance, the sniff, or rather, the presence of a large black wet nose pointing towards a small emptiness like an arrow.  What could Ash offer, it seems is the question of the novel, of Ash’s interaction with her family, her village, her step family, her new love interest, her obsession in the woods.

I bite into my honey crisp apple, and nod at the reproach (or Ash’s assumption of reproach) for not having an apple.  And what is Ash’s response to this mare’s stare?  Does she cry, does she run away, does she pluck the horse at the tip of its nose and growl back?

Please read the book to find out, because it matters.  And Lo is expert in telling the story of death and life and loss and new beginnings in each small description.  Each slice of bread, every dance and feast, every walk in the woods is a retelling of something magical.

And, does it seem as if something about Ash is concealing a secret.  Well, there are many secrets in this novel.  I’m not one to stand behind closed doors, but, the beauty is lost if any spoilers are included.  So, instead I’ll end by asking, don’t you miss having a “can’t put it down” fantasy that makes you swoon at your pillow before you pass out and indulge in hot electric dreams?

Ash is the answer.  You’re welcome.

Oh, and as a shameless plug, I will be introducing the author of Ash, Malinda Lo at the Brooklyn Public Library during a reading for young adults on Monday, November 16^th at 10:30am.

So excited!

Contact me for details.

Paradigm Shift:  NYC’s Feminist Community Proudly Presents:

PROGRESSIVE SINGLE MINGLE:

A cocktail party for the left-leaning

Supported by the Planned Parenthood of New York City Activist Council, NARAL Pro-Choice NY, NOW NYS Young Feminist Task Force, The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership

Find a lover, mate, date, partner, soul mate, friend, fling….or all of the above!

Singles of all orientations and committed friends welcome!
Hang with special honored guests and past event speakers!

Color coded name tags can identify your orientation & relationship status

Win a Free Paradigm Shift event admission for a year & Raffle prizes from:

Rubin Museum: http://www.rmanyc.org
Jivamukti yoga school: http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com
Brooklyn Museum: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org
Bluestockings: http://bluestockings.com
Tastee Vegan: http://www.tasteevegan.com

Music provided by Katie Camosy of TRASHBAT

When: Thursday, NOV. 19th
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
People Lounge, 163 Allen Street, NYC
(Between Stanton and Rivington, F or V Train to 2nd Ave)
HopStop.com Directions
http://www.hopstop.com/route?zip2=10002&address2=163+ALLEN+ST&mode=s

Cost: $7 if you RSVP before 12:00 pm 11/19, $10 at door

Buy DISCOUNT Tickets:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=s-xclick&hosted_buttonid=9144587

Email: RSVP@ParadigmShiftNYC.com with full name & guests

Participate:
Promote this event and we’ll promote your organization!
Email: JWeis@paradigmshiftnyc.com

PARTNERS:
Planned Parenthood of New York City Activist Council

NARAL Pro-Choice NY

National Equality March- the entire Rally!
October 11, 2009
Select speeches:
01:22:45 — Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii State Board of Education Member
01:42:05 — Lady Gaga
01:54:15 — Derek Washington NEM Diversity Outreach Coordinator
02:10:30 — Staceyann Chin, Poet & Performance Artist (and Paradigm
Shift event performer)
02:17:10 — Maxim Thorn and Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman
02:43:40 — Cleve Jones, National Equality March Co-Chair
03:09:05 — Sherry Wolf, International Socialist Organization
03:35:10 — Alana Smith, International Socialist Organization (and
Paradigm Shift friend)
03:42:00 — Keeanga-Yahmatta Taylor, International Socialist Organization

This is the first installment of  Paradigm Shift’s Feminist Art Series, which will showcase up-and-coming visual designers whose work creates innovative ways to speak to the everyday feminist.

Please welcome Rebecca Goldings, our premiere Artist Profile!

Rebecca is an artist and mediamaker from Dallas whom I met a few summers back when the two of us were interning at a nonprofit arts organization. Being a fellow Texan and NYU attendee, we soon hit it off — and I knew once the PShift blog was up and running that we had to feature some of her amazing work.

Though Rebecca’s focus is multimedia art production, her portfolio also features several drawings that capture her vibrant, honest and unsettling perception of gender norms. Below are two examples of her work: “Barbie on a Leash” and “Sweetheart” (series) – both of which might be best described as resembling pop art with a twist.

Barbie On A Leash

Sweethearts (series)

Rebecca’s photography is also incredibly provocative, but you’ll have to check that out on her web site at www.rebeccagoldings.com, since we haven’t gotten clearance to post her photographs on our blog yet (C’mon, R!).  *** Staff Pick: “Another Hairy Thing With Lips”.

Of her many accolades, Rebecca was recently  selected as a 2009-10 Artist Fellow at The Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. In her spare time, she freelances web and graphic design, which you can also check out online (link above).

For price requests or questions about Rebecca’s work, please contact her by email at rgoldings@gmail.com.

A VOICE

-By Shetal Shah
April 2004

I don’t want the war anymore.
The uphill climb…
The battle’s done,
Only half won
But
One more breath, one step…
I can’t continue the trek.

I crave silence.
To be unmoving, soundless, still.
My pipe dream for next year
Right now Herstory tells me to persevere.
I’ve got to march forward and contest.
For to be still is not to progress.
To be silent is not to express

The heaving weaving burden
First placed upon my chest
By the distress
Of less.
By the truths powerful men
Dare not confess
Not even to their mothers.

Sisters, Aunts, Daughters
Tallying beneath the 51% status quo we know to be accurate – the census said so.
This power in numbers should have been ours to devour.
(After all) Isn’t democracy’s choice determined by the majority voice?
Yet, the stench of strength from mere muscle power bullied Alice Paul
In an attempt to make her cower.
Instead, she found Inez and gave her wings to fly – zigzags and loopholes
That threw mute girls back at the 49% few.
Mute girls with pin curls
On gallant white horses come to preserve their 2% spread.

2% skimmed milk
White women’s’ skimped silk spun by the black worm that toiled all day
Exhausted.
All shades in fabrics made every which way
Passed out on the couch
Or cot or settee
Ready in spite of race, caste or creed
For tomorrow.

They were quiet.
This quieted riot.
Non-violent and spun twice around for Wilson to pin the tail yea or nay.
Their civil disobedience
Turned more intense
By threatened egos
whose N-O’s surmised their cries as pointless.

Prison guards
In charge of bars
Irreverent to the weight stigmatic stripes
Tacked on their backs…
Hee hee said She –
For with cheek, jaw and soul breaking came revelation of being, irreversible seeing,
Each blow only more so the needing to give purpose to unbearable lightness, the conclusion an end to naive delusion.

Windowless and inside cold steel lines
Unified women took only one side
Drew new lives reinvented
spread through horizontal vents’ drifting sniffed scents
to outside park bench’s newfound wenches wrenching with twisted ills,
their noses posing as hallways and corridors for freedom fought odors to travel through
to spike the spirit inside their minds and grow IDEAS – oh my – seeds that could look to the heavens and seek the sun.
These lasses the locked up masses linked and fed
Through subliminal instincts they led.

Fertilizing more,
These Iron-Jawed Angels, all
Took their place at Wilson’s door
Picketed and paraded in Bonnets and Banners.
Banners with words that slapped the President’s cheeks with his own tongue.

A tongue that flung far-reaching saliva trails
to prevent Our Nation’s asphyxiation.
How could he?
What hypocrisy.
Dares he to dictate democracy overseas
When 50 states sired 51% shes
That can’t speak?

Finally, on account of one iron-clamped jaw, force-fed eggs raw
through plastic tubes that rudely bruised,
Newspapers adjusted their alien ears to twist human into woman.
Exposés bashed bad prison decorum and smeared the good President’s fame.

The star in his own puppet show,
On stage feigning interest in female lives
He turned his face to its good side for the camera eyes admiring
his newborn need to satisfy women’s rights to breathe.
Mere public cries that served to satisfy classified survival desires
While in private attire his unseen cheek refused to heal.

If I believe that angels don’t lie, then where are the versions revised for future minds?
Who will fix history’s story line?
My cry? Stop young feet from passing past the past’s crickety creak,
Scrape blind haste from its underbelly and unclog soggy leaks drenched in blind faith.

Yet, even as I deny untruths made by one side
I grudgingly avow each version valid through its own eyes,
and discover that My faith is blind.
Why?
Back to present day,
When the delusional man on the train points me to his carefully created statement
Plastic cup taped empty off to the side
At a time when one more push thrusted into my pregnant mind -
Actively contracting over the happiness of this lonely society -
Will birth agitated and rolling eyed,
My pleading outcry
For one long sigh
For one long silent ride
Away from this one and that one and this bum and that bum’s decree
To denounce the mayor’s power after he
Caused the father to deflower –
The mother? (What??)

Even in my most impatient state,
I must not erase, must, in blind faith, celebrate,
His rightful perpetuation of our salvation to
Speak
Freely.

Poem originally commissioned by Poetic People Power.

You think of me and decide
Directly you decipher me…
Different
I’m different cause I’m distant
Detached where you distinctly dismissed me
Different
I’m different because I’m damaged so you neglect me
Disappointingly dissect me
Only to reject me
You ignore my dimensions…
Different
I’m different so you detain me
Disempower me and blame me
Disapprove of me and shame me
Because I challenge all you know
I’m different

I’m different so you had no choice to dismantle me
And now I’m on that mantle you see
A haunting memory of a life so distinguished
A life you had to extinguish
But a life you could never diminish
Because I’m different

And now this voice soars higher
Dominating the evil that tried to
Eliminate
Rising embers from ashes
Left behind of a life
Destructively disassembled
But never successfully destroyed
A life that dared to love…

To love the different
To stop lying and denying
To be the different
To dig deep and discover
That different
Is more dissimilar to foreign
And that we are looking
Too far in
To the development
Of a definition
That has no recognition
For the discrimination
In our nation
That drowns any dream of emancipation
And devours people like me
The different

But don’t hesitate
To contemplate that we
The different
Don’t pay haste to the distaste
That does not embrace
We are not disheveled on any level
By those discomforted
Those deaf to the sound
Of our disruptive drumming hearts
That dance to the beat of revolution
And demand evolution

Don’t guard our disregard
Deconstruct this constricting construction
Open the floodgates and wait
Let the love pour over you
Ending the hate that reigned over me

In your own way, on this day…
Stop divorcing yourself from me…
From the different
Stop demeaning our meaning
Be different