Self-Evident by Ani Difranco

yes,
us people are just poems
we're 90% metaphor
with a leanness of meaning
approaching hyper-distillation
and once upon a time
we were moonshine
rushing down the throat of a giraffe
yes, rushing down the long hallway
despite what the p.a. announcement says
yes, rushing down the long stairs
with the whiskey of eternity
fermented and distilled
to eighteen minutes
burning down our throats
down the hall
down the stairs
in a building so tall
that it will always be there
yes, it's part of a pair
there on the bow of noah's ark
the most prestigious couple
just kickin back parked
against a perfectly blue sky
on a morning beatific
in its indian summer breeze
on the day that america
fell to its knees
after strutting around for a century
without saying thank you
or please

and the shock was subsonic
and the smoke was deafening
between the setup and the punch line
cuz we were all on time for work that day
we all boarded that plane for to fly
and then while the fires were raging
we all climbed up on the windowsill
and then we all held hands
and jumped into the sky
and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed
and the exodus uptown by foot and motorcar
looked more like war than anything i've seen so far
so far
so far
so fierce and ingenious
a poetic specter so far gone
that every jackass newscaster was struck dumb and stumbling
over 'oh my god' and 'this is unbelievable' and on and on
and i'll tell you what, while we're at it
you can keep the pentagon
keep the propaganda
keep each and every tv
that's been trying to convince me
to participate
in some prep school punk's plan to perpetuate retribution
perpetuate retribution
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution
is still hanging in the air
and there's ash on our shoes
and there's ash in our hair
and there's a fine silt on every mantle
from hell's kitchen to brooklyn
and the streets are full of stories
sudden twists and near misses
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters
with tales of narrowly averted disasters
and the whiskey is flowin
like never before
as all over the country
folks just shake their heads
and pour

so here's a toast to all the folks who live in palestine
afghanistan
iraq
el salvador

here's a toast to the folks living on the pine ridge reservation
under the stone cold gaze of mt. rushmore

here's a toast to all those nurses and doctors
who daily provide women with a choice
who stand down a threat the size of oklahoma city
just to listen to a young woman's voice

here's a toast to all the folks on death row right now
awaiting the executioner's guillotine
who are shackled there with dread and can only escape into their heads
to find peace in the form of a dream

cuz take away our playstations
and we are a third world nation
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son
who stole the oval office and that phony election
i mean
it don't take a weatherman
to look around and see the weather
jeb said he'd deliver florida, folks
and boy did he ever
and we hold these truths to be self evident:
#1 george w. bush is not president
#2 america is not a true democracy
#3 the media is not fooling me
cuz i am a poem heeding hyper-distillation
i've got no room for a lie so verbose
i'm looking out over my whole human family
and i'm raising my glass in a toast
here's to our last drink of fossil fuels
may we vow to get off of this sauce
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes
and find that train ticket we lost
cuz once upon a time the line followed the river
and peeked into all the backyards
and the laundry was waving
the graffiti was teasing us
from brick walls and bridges
we were rolling over ridges
through valleys
under stars
i dream of touring like duke ellington
in my own railroad car
i dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches
in a grand station aglow with grace
and then standing out on the platform
and feeling the air on my face

give back the night its distant whistle
give the darkness back its soul
give the big oil companies the finger finally
and relearn how to rock-n-roll
yes, the lessons are all around us and a change is waiting there
so it's time to pick through the rubble, clean the streets
and clear the air
get our government to pull its big dick out of the sand
of someone else's desert
put it back in its pants
and quit the hypocritical chants of
freedom forever

cuz when one lone phone rang
in two thousand and one
at ten after nine
on nine one one
which is the number we all called
when that lone phone rang right off the wall
right off our desk and down the long hall
down the long stairs
in a building so tall
that the whole world turned
just to watch it fall
and while we're at it
remember the first time around?
the bomb?
the ryder truck?
the parking garage?
the princess that didn't even feel the pea?
remember joking around in our apartment on avenue D?
can you imagine how many paper coffee cups would have to change their design
following a fantastical reversal of the new york skyline?!
it was a joke, of course
it was a joke
at the time
and that was just a few years ago
so let the record show
that the FBI was all over that case
that the plot was obvious and in everybody's face
and scoping that scene
religiously
the CIA
or is it KGB?
committing countless crimes against humanity
with this kind of eventuality
as its excuse
for abuse after expensive abuse
and it didn't have a clue
look, another window to see through
way up here
on the 104th floor
look
another key
another door
10% literal
90% metaphor
3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day
should be more than pawns
in some asshole's passion play
so now it's your job
and it's my job
to make it that way
to make sure they didn't die in vain
sshhhhhh....
baby listen
hear the train?

ART. IT'S WHAT IS FOR DINNER!!

For my art piece, I chose to do Untitled (kiss/beso) by Fred Stonehouse. It is quite an interesting piece of art if I do say so myself...and I do! It was done as acryllic on panel in 1992. To me, this piece seems to be saying that beauty is pain. The note above the hare reads "Beso" and seems to be showing the kiss of death...similar to the black spot of pirates. ;) I began to believe that an animal's beauty and savageness is destined for pain yet the tears the animal cries seem expected. These tears are extremely troubling to me. The amount of tear drops and blood droplets seems excessive for the piece. I just don't understand this part of the painting.

Now the relationship to America is just as troubling to me. I first took it to be that beauty and fragileness is the kiss of death in America. Innocence and frailty seem to be our weekness. The voice that is left out of this piece also speaks for America. We see the prey but where is the hunter? Who is the hunter and what are his motives? These are some questions that I have for Mr. Stonehouse. Why are the arrows scattered like they are...the arrow placement seems sporadic and the blood droples on the ground are unneeded. The wounds from the arrows are almost dried and not dripping yet there are large droplets of blood on the ground. What were his intentions?

The work this piece brings to mind, specifically from what we have read this term, is Edwards. He speaks about how we are all destined to go to hell and it is predetermined. The expected tears of the hare reflect this idea. It is almost upsetting to the point of hysterics.

Monsier or Senor...

Monsier M-W cannot only substitute for Mr. Kunkle as an AP comp teacher, but he happens to be able to substitute teach for french, college literature,and tech ed. How impressive is that? I mean really! He is such an advanced individual and I am forced to bow to his superiority. How many substitute teachers can do this and also have time to discuss the nature of folk music with aspiring musicians? I have to say that Scott Marrese-Wheeler is my favorite substitute teacher in the high school...MAYBE even the district! It't not like he is presently teaching the class I am typing this in. Why would be want me to type all of this wonderful stuff about him? Monsier M-W happens to be above that kind of thing. It is in our best interest if we aspire to be more like the one and only Scott.

French vs. Spanish

What makes french so special? Is it even special? When new students are registering for their classes, they are signing up for a foreign language. The majority of the students sign up for spanish and a select few choose to venture forth in french. Why is it that spanish is so much more popular than french? I have heard so many explanations as to why only a handful of students choose to continue their french education and I still wonder why. Some say it is because spanish will be the dominant language in America in the next decade and some say that it is already the dominant language in America. It have to agree that it is a beautiful language but will it get you anywhere outside of the United States? English is the number one spoken language in the world, followed by french. If we are suppose to be successful in life and engage with the rest of the world, why are so many taking spanish and not french?

p.s. I am in my french class while I am typing this...

I, too, sing sweetly

I am my own.
An opponent sent into opposition.
The fight being my truth.
One I dare not betray.
One I dare not deceive.
For it shall be my rebirth.

The thud of my existance
resonates in the hollows of my spirit.
No longer shall I be fearful.
No longer shall I be hushed.
I march on.

The field I walk is barren.
There is no resistance.
It is release.
It is triumph.
With the dawn,
I am free.

Self-Reliance

"Bid the invaders take the shoes from off their feet..." by Ralph Waldo Emerson

This simple line is, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing lines in the essay by Emerson. The simplicity of it also makes it one of the most confusing. It seems that it can be taken in numerous different ways and I really do not know which way is right, if any are truly "right". What I took from this quote is that we must not judge what we do not know. We need to take the time to understand and accept everything as it is originally. This may not seem to make the most sense but I believe it to be beautiful. After I read this line, I immediatly annotated "BEST LINE THERE IS!!!" in my margin. It just stuck out to me and I fell in love with it right away. This is something everyone should live by. How easy it is! To bid the invaders to take off their shoes is to welcome them into your life. They are no longer invaders and that seems to be the underlying message. We cannot decide who is an invader and who isn't. It is not right. We all deserve to be looked at with untainted eyes.