Here is a link to the poem I transcribed on my Tribe.net Blog in honor of Mardi Gras today. Cheers!
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Well now. This was THE last poem that I wrote before beginning production on my book, Taking Tea in the Black Rose. Because it was the day before Independence Day 2011 that I finished it, I felt it was quite appropriate to read this one in honor of President’s Day today.
One should perhaps bear in mind that the man currently holding this High Office in this country was born under the zodiac sign of Leo, so its meaning may perhaps take on an added layer of intrigue for those who care to wander through these halls of poetic license and double entendre.
“Scarlet Sacrifice” was the first of a couple poems I had intended to read at the monthly Skazat! Poetry Open Mic Night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the theme of “Overcoming Adversity”. However, because my “housekeeping items” and announcements about my upcoming readings, as well as other personal efforts towards establishing newer and greater venues for All Call Open Mikers to take part in, took more time than I anticipated, I was cut short in that intention and asked abruptly to limit my reading to only a single piece. I chose this one, as we are rapidly approaching the Primary Election in Michigan and felt it would have the greatest impact of them all. I hope I succeeded in that goal.
Against all odds, sometimes. Against all odds. I did manage to share a few thoughts on my theme before my time was cut short, and I will transcribe them in brief here for your consideration. Thanks to all of you who came out to be a part of Skazat! Poetry at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea House, and to Francine, Scott, and Karrie, our hosts, for keeping poetry and indie writing alive and thriving in Ann Arbor. Soon we will all have additional venues from which to share our voices, so keep in touch with me here for details on the Good Things To Come!!
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The common theme in my readings tonight is “Overcoming Adversity”, and so before I begin, I’d like to ask you a couple of rhetorical questions—meaning, you don’t have to answer out loud. 😉 Just think about it. I recently saw two shows that carried this common thread throughout their respective works, from the perspective of the “wounded hero”, if you will, who was of a different color than the “majority” or more “privileged” in society at the time, but who ultimately persevered and overcame all that life tried to throw at them, simply because it was the right thing to do.
So I ask you…Have you seen the play “Wicked”? And did you find yourself able to easily relate with Glinda, the golden child, throughout the play? And who was able to relate to Elphaba, the Green Girl who talked too much?
Next…Have you seen the film “The Help”? And were you able to personally relate with the character of Skeeter, the promising yet controversial writer? And what about Abelline, the emerging voice of realism and triumph?
Now simply keep your answers to these questions in your mind as I share with you my own experiences through the magical art of poetry, and then ask yourself…Was it the color of Elphaba’s or Abelline’s skin that frightened the others and caused them to lash out with such vehemence and bigotry, or some other hidden fear altogether?
You see, I too came from very humble beginnings, as my dad was a factory worker at the Chevy V-8 Engine Plant in Flint for over 30 years. And although I did attend Kalamazoo College for two years—the Gay College, as many of us jokingly called it—I did not graduate. It was by choice, yes, but also because of many circumstances outside my own control.
You see, the truth is that there are some people in society who arrive at where they are today owing much (if not mostly) to privilege and genealogy, and many many others who have had to struggle–oftentimes AGAINST ALL ODDS–to achieve what little we have. There is no right or wrong in this; just to know the truth behind the fiction we are brainwashed to believe it is, and to be consciously aware of it, is enough for most of us.
And since there seems to be so much intolerance, hatred, denial, and blatant deception in the world presently, it can be perhaps as simple as coming clean with the desires that we all harbor within us–the good, bad, and the ugly–which most defines who we are to the world at large. After all is said and done, all we ever really have is our reputation in the end. And how easily that can all be taken away from us, at times when we least expect it, or through circumstances completely outside our control, leaving our spirit broken and our lives a futile pile of ash.
Let’s be honest; some of us are just BORN different than others, and as an openly gay man for the past 20 years, I can honestly say I know firsthand how cruel others can be when you just don’t fit in. Friedrich Nietzsche, however, puts it all back into perspective in his own way: “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will often be lonely, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”
I hope this single piece, albeit as poignant and perhaps mysterious as it may seem on the surface, will help to magnify–for those who still do exercise their right to vote–the vital importance of voting FOR something this election season, and NOT against the worse of two evils. We are always at choice. Destiny and fate themselves are illusions not even fit for our outdated history books, let alone the “kings” and “chosen ones” who proclaim themselves to be the equivalent of gods on Earth, and above the laws of nature and cosmic justice. ALL choices come with their own set of consequences. May it be so this election day as well!
Video Credit: Linda Combs, my mom (Thanks, Mom! 😉
Written: July 3, 2011 – Chapter 2: Desert, page 32
Run time: 1:25 (approx.)
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