Potency (An Audio Poem)
A Collaborative Effort With Alex/asha|Musical Selection — KING/The Greatest
*For Audio, click on our names*
Alex
the tour begins now. the city’s half water.
you call it Atlantis but it’s Miami,
it’s Guangzhou,
it’s Kolkata, Guayaquil, Ho Chi Minh City,
New Orleans and Newark
Jakarta and New York
all you can say is how pretty the water sparkles in the sun when you go on your cruise over land that is no longer land in the human sense
but you’re not human. are you?
water blankets half the town like gelatin and it’s fine because prevention wasn’t worth the cost
wasn’t your town, wasn’t worth it
wasn’t your land, didn’t happen
and you like gelatin, you like gummy bears and circus peanuts
sugar is the spice of life and ignorance is sweeter so you sprinkle where you go
fully in control of your imagination, you have none
you have no complaints
no regrets
you wouldn’t listen and it doesn’t matter
you’re still here
sucker’s house is under the sea but you’re still here and you don’t care
you won!
give yourself a pat on the back and take a nice long walk in the forest that used to be
remember your duty as representative is to serve the interests of the people that live in your head
go on, then.
Tre
make it happen —
got your bid in
gleanin’ in office,
shoes shined to perfection
must be nice to take from the givers
and give to the rich
how suitable is it to swim in waters hard enough to knock you senseless
yet, you’re still here
barking up the wrong trees with a voice that triggers another mixed millennium.
pardon me, your honor? your grace? your too-fit-to-be-tied up in knots
while we search for surefire ways to survive in this land of
the free and home of the… what was it now?
Brave.
come little, come much — with your sturdy hands built to strangle
every breath taken from those too afraid to breathe.
keep your word
didn’t you say it was your bond?
you pay us in nickels, keep the dimes, summon the quarters, and hoard millions of dollar bills — trinkets purchased every Thursday at 2pm
but, who’s counting?
got your fill of a nation divided and a country walking on eggshells, ready to crack any day now.
bring what you said you would —
didn’t you say you were the greatest?
remember you said you’d take home the gold?
Prove it!
Alex and I first collaborated on October 27, 2016. Alex is my deep south buddy. She is everything you want in a Writer/Visual Artist/Math & Science genius. She is excelling in her junior year of high school and will be graduating next year. Alex can write about anything — give her a subject, it’s as good as written. Ever see someone write about styrofoam and have you question why you use it? I enjoy working with her and I cannot wait to see what she does in this world of ours. Sara Weaver, *rubs hands together*, hello, dear heart… Please, get ready.
