Poem: BURDEN OF PROOF

BURDEN OF PROOF

Prove to me

you can actually believe

Can you cite evidence

that my efforts

have any chance to actually

change your mind

For a chance of change
I have to have faith

in your good faith

though it seldom

proves to be so

I have every reason to doubt

you actually want to know

and want to try

rather than to simply

bog me down

or shut me up

If you actually did

I have to believe
you'd look for yourself

There is more than enough proof

You would choke on citations

cough up study

after study
be sick to death
of mounting evidence

you would drown in proof

while I have no proof

you would actually believe

this time

Poem: I OFFER MIXED BLESSINGS

I OFFER MIXED BLESSINGS

I do not wish you ill

I wish you awareness

I wish you realization

I wish you an open mind

open ears

and an open heart

When those truly come

the weight of your ignorance

will cause confusion

turmoil

sorrow

pain

May you lament your past perceptions

and may the ignorance of others

drive you mad
drive you to speech
drive you to action

You might understand
our rage

our resilience

our restraint

the depth of our faith

and our dismissed strength

You may even grow

to resent their resistance,

remember it was yours,

and know at times

it could too easily be
again

I do not wish you ill —

only the experience

of awareness
as catalyst

and also
as curse

Poem: BLACK ENOUGH ACTOR

BLACK ENOUGH ACTOR

I see others sweat,

see them wait and prepare

almost all of them looking like

a Black Actor

I hear them sing, one by one

voices sounding like Motown

or church —

knowing that's not me

my voice is not like that

I hear them perform, speak,

and recite

each one dramatic,

whether soft or raised voice

each one sounding like

a real, Black Actor

Is that what they want?

Is it better to choose

my favorite Angry Aaron

or stick with the coin flips

and be the only one like me

they'll likely see?

Should I use my time clowning,

geeking up hallowed space

before local theater

decision-making power?

Fear makes safer seem sounder,

stops me spreading my self

and my soul

Sinister, stifling whispers of fear

make safer seem smarter,

sensible,

sounder

stopped me from spreading

my self

and my soul

Almost.

I can't stand up to be counted

if I count myself out,

a different design of triple threat

but am I Black Enough,

or will they be won

by the One And Only Me?

Poem: THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Kids,

you are all right

you are fine

yes, you're doing fine

do not allow yourselves

to be crushed

there are those of us

who will stand for you

who will stand with you

some who want you

to stand up for yourselves

to stand with each other

to get more involved

to get off the couch

are now standing against you

shouting you down 

all from their couch 

in so many ways

they have been crushed

and let things happen

again

and again

they have been crushed

ground down from the grind

and convinced

that there's nothing you can do

but give thoughts and prayers

say thoughts and prayers

and thank American God

it wasn't you

you stand up

and march

and make sure you're heard

because if things never change

it could have been you

who could have

changed them

thoughts and prayers

and thank American God

that right here, right now

yes, it is You

Poem: I BELIEVE IN MAGIC

I BELIEVE IN MAGIC

There is magic, child,

in how people rush

to justify the unjust

how protectors

can kill with impunity

and almost 

every

time

be found guiltless

and go free

There is magic

in how speaking out

is a bigger problem

than injustice itself

There is magic

in how the right act

is an affront to liberty

in how doing better

is slavery

and the expectation to do better

is oppression

There is magic in how

somehow

there is not Enough to go around

but there is always Enough

for more of the same

There is magic

in how racism thrives

but no one is racist

in how sexism lives

as excuses die

and in how They demand

you always say "Please"

to get Them to give you

what you should already have

There is magic around you, child.

Just open your eyes.

Poem: COME TO THE TABLE

COME TO THE TABLE

This work has needed doing

There have already been others doing it

You may be joining just now

but you are welcome here

Come to the table

and see how old it is

See the nicks and scratches,

gouges and splinters,

knots and holes

and chipped off edges

Acknowledge these and remember

that you are welcome here

Look at the smooth places,

the polish, the varnish,

the grain, the stain

the way parts are patched

and joined

and mended

The care with which it was made and maintained

Come here and know:

We will laugh and cry

fuss and fight

teach and learn

speak and listen

struggle and strive 

Come here and know

it will not be easy

people always leave

and some come back

Look, now

See all this

Know all this

Think

Reflect

Make your choice

With all this, know

you are welcome here 

My Kind of Portfolio

Fellow humans, I have been charged with the task of creating a portfolio.

I love doing things. I love writing, improvising, clowning, taking pictures. I am self-critical, but I enjoy sharing as well as being shared with. That usually wins out.

Patches in the road thus far:


WRITING

• a piece for Wanderlust online journal about diversity in yoga

• a piece for Wanderlust online journal about hiking up Mount Fuji

• a blog entry about performing at Mixed Blood Theatre

• a transcription of freewriting from an audition for Sandbox Theater


PHOTOGRAPHY

My Flickr album for Stubborn Photography


VIDEO

While I was in Japan performing on Kinoshita Circus, I helped a friend of mine by filming videos illustrating some physics principles for her high school classes.

• Newton's Second Law

• collisions


PERFORMANCE

• solo improv, Where I Am Now: Loose String

• solo improv, Where I Am Now: Oil Painting

• clowning at Four Humors Theater's Firsty Thursdays: "Passing Through"


SPEAKING

• excerpt from The Pratfalls Podcast: "Buckaroo Banzai"

• excerpt from The Pratfalls Podcast: "Being (sm)arty"