In Dreams

I wish I could make myself into a mermaid.

Elusive, fictitious, long flowing hair- the works.

I would swim and watch the ships in battle,

watch to see which men are still alive when they

hit the surface of the water.

And then I would swoop in and scoop them up,

wounded and unconscious,

sailors or soldiers or slaves, I wouldn’t care.

I would take them away under the water

and tend to their wounds.

And I would sing to them too.

Mermaids and men don’t speak the same tongue,

but music travels easily through water.

I would tell them without words that it was all a dream

and that everything is going to be okay

(whether or not it was true).

The ones that wouldn’t make it, I’d take down into the blue.

The rest I left beside the sea, and hoped to leave a song inside their heads

so they would know that it was me.

Because, we mermaids are the stuff of dreams

and in their dreams I return to them.

And in our dreams we can be anything

where a pair of legs, like wings, could sprout

have our father part the sea, just so we can walk out!

(It’s funny to dream of being a thing that dreams of being me)

But a mermaid’s heart is a ship inside a bottle.

The want to get out is somewhat inevitable. And the men,

they wake up and they tell themselves that it was just a dream

and rarely go down to the sea to walk along the shore to remember.

The mermaids are out there.

But they don’t seem to see.

And the sunset sends them in again.

And our song is swallowed up by the vastness

of the ocean and its long din.

So we go back in to play with dolphins and wait

for a prince that likes to swim. 

A little slow going to start, and a lot to learn

My, my, my... My project is plucking along, and here I am not blogging one single thing about it. It's not that stuff isn't happening, it is just the unexciting stuff of "getting my ducks in a row" that doesn't translate to amazing posting (and I admit that the holidays took a chuck out of last month where I did nothing productive at all). But that doesn't mean I'm not chomping at the bit to tell everyone all about it- I am.

In fact, I really ought to start blabbing about it to any and everybody because what I am learning fast is that I am going to need a LOT of help! I am suddenly supposed to be the "director" of all aspects of this project, and I am starting to realize just how much work it really is. Work that, as a community organizer, I am used to sharing the burden of (frankly). See, I'm used to working on things as a part of a group. We decide to do something, I volunteer for the parts I can help with or am good at, and the rest just magically happens (sometimes the success of an event or campaign is really magical, because the number of people it takes to pull it off is often smaller than you would think). But the point is, I am a part of a team, group or organization, and trouble shooting and brain storming and all that are a team effort.

 Now, for this project I am my own team. I have to build a team, and I have to be in charge of the work getting done. (Oh god) The bottom line. A leader. All that jazz. So, yeah, stuffs happening but I've got that much more to do. I've got a lot to learn.

But here's how you can help!

I need to get out there and perform some poetry! If you hear of any events, fundraisers, educational forums, organizations, or community groups that could use some spoken word poetry (of the social justice/ anti-war variety) you should definitely let me know! I need to get out there and do poetry. That is the most important thing right now (besides writing new stuff). If you can think of any good spaces/locations or if you know any cool poets or local musical acts that seem like they would be interested in "the project" I'm doing, you should also let me know. I think I am going to write up a more formal appeal on this later for my website (that currently exists, but not in any final form kinda way) but for now, shoot me an email or find me on the facebooks. Missteatree@gmail.com 

And thanks for reading my blog about it! Check it out: New buttons for my new website!!!

A moment of silence for the victims of this tragic shooting, and then a healthy conversation about violence in our society

In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, we must admit that we have a much bigger problem than just gun control in this country. We cannot pretend to be surprised by this kind of thing anymore. It happens every couple of months, and the shock and horror of it have become a sort of numb that I feel about the whole everything. The whole news broadcast, as it is dealt out to me, leaves me feeling helpless and numb. In fact, I took it upon myself to throw out my TV years ago- for my own mental health- and to avoid being sucked into watching the news elsewhere (since it is broadcast in shops and bars, and in the headlines of every newspaper on every street corner). Still, it seeps in and I hear about this shooting from my friends and it makes me cry. Me too, Mr. Obama, I cried when I heard the news too.

But with all the due callousness of a long time peace advocate- what else do you expect? This is what happens in a gun-crazed and violent society, like the one we live in today. This is what you get when the leader of our nation deems himself able to assassinate whomever he wants, wherever he wants, for his own “secret reasons” and never be held accountable. It is a classic case of “Do as I say, don’t do as I do” and if you don’t like to think so- here is another example:

If we are to believe that this gunman is solely responsible for this atrocity, and not just a product of the society that he comes from, then let’s call him a terrorist. And let’s say this schoolhouse was in Northern Pakistan instead of Northern America.

See the difference?

The President gets information that a dangerous terrorist is in a schoolhouse in Pakistan, and what does he do? He orders the strike to have him killed and a Hellfire missile is sent to bomb the entire building. Instead of 27 dead, every person in or near the schoolhouse would be under a pile of rubble and there would be no heroes, no survivors- not even a death toll. It is the official practice of our government NOT to count the bodies of the civilian dead, so that they can wave this strike in our faces later and say

“See? We got our man! One terrorist dead. Now give us another billion dollars.”

Now do you see how big the problem really is? It’s not just about guns. It is the acceptability, and the normality of murder. Murder by any other name, is still murder. And we see it glorified on the news every single day. And what we don’t hear about, mass murder on a scale that any would-be serial killer could envy, is being carried out by our government in our name and with our tax dollars. Every. Single. Day.

People want to talk about video games, and I say TALK. But really, it is a much deeper love of violence than that. Have you ever heard the term "war-porn"? There are websites set up with official U.S. government footage of drone assassinations, where users can comment and chat with each other while dark figures are blown up on the screen.

Sound a little fucked up to you? How about throwing the term “porn” in there to remind us that violence against women goes hand-in-hand with this kind of war-loving mentality. That rape is so common in our military that a female solider is more like to get attacked by her own fellow soldiers, then be wounded in combat.

But military service isn’t safe for women? Video games promote violence? These things have nothing to do with one crazy person gunning down a bunch of school kids. Unless of course you look at it as a whole, and see these things as the mere surfacing of the affects of war and violence on our collective psyche.

American culture is a many faceted and beautiful thing. No one thing can be considered the cause of the state of our society, but sometimes it takes only one story for the whole of the conversation to change. Take what happened to Trayvon Martin, another act of gun violence, where what is an everyday reality for black youth in this country came to the forefront of our national attention. It is up to us to make sure these children-all of the innocent children- did not die in vain. Let us take the time to see things clearly for what they are. The man who did this needed help, help he did not receive, and we all pay the price. We must teach our children to love and respect themselves and each other- before they reach for a gun. Until that day, when I see the news idly prattling on in the background somewhere- I will continue to look away.

And I will continue to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the so-called War on Terror (as it as produced more terror in eleven years for “them” and for “us” then the attacks on 9/11 could ever justify) until it is over, and not one more bomb is dropped. My heart goes out to the mothers and fathers of those children. I believe killing children is the worst war crime, because children do not hate. We teach them that by how we behave. And tt is time we change the lesson. 

On Military Drones (and tearing them to pieces)

It’s the arms race of the future, really, 

except this time Sputnik’s ganna be an unmanned plane.

And if the vessel is unmanned, doesn’t that make the killing 

automatically inhumane?

It’s odd to me to think that when I’m voting with my dollar, 

I demand a better treatment of the chicken for my dinner 

then our military seems to see fit for those people on the ground 

in places like Iraq and Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan…

You know, those unreliable statistics, because really- who sees?

The trouble with machines is there’s a lack of accountability. 

I want our government to have to make stickers for all their little planes that say 

“No dolphins or civilians were harmed in the making of this democracy”

How about that? How about a harm free approach to foreign policy? 

Can you install that, Uncle Sam, at the point of your gun?

Of course not, it’s an oxymoron. American the humanitarian. 

On a mission and it’s called an invasion.

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane- 

cause it sure aint Superman.

It’s a U.S. military drone and it’s loaded, so go ahead and run.

Cause it sees you too, but not with eyes. 

With orders.

Cause anyway, that’s what “collateral damage” is code for: 

Dead people, lots of them children.

Unarmed civilians is a way of saying that they had nothing to do with 

this conflict, but then neither do we- on this end.

The taxed, yet, unrepresented majority of people in this country 

who do not like the war, and do not support another one. 

But what can we do?

We don’t feel the trigger under our finger because we’re fed a constant stream of lies and all our lives we are taught that it’s “Do unto others has you would have done unto yourself”

And yet every time the news breaks that a woman is raped, that a village is slaughtered we are ready to make those sacrifices for what we call the safety of our country and it is utter nonsense.

Violence begets violence. This is a fundamental truth.

We are the purveyors of death and atrocity in these parts of the world, 

and then you wonder why they hate us   ???

So you tell me, who is the real terrorist? 

Rebel with a gun or a smiling politician?

Whatever gets the job done. 

And these days the job is as easily done as the push of a button 

by some pimple-faced in a bunker in Nevada somewhere.

Did you know the controls for these drones are compatible with a PlayStation? 

This is not a coincidence.

They are spoon feeding this to your kids, so I suggest you get acquainted. 

Because drones are the future of warfare that already is.

And I heard Obama just Okayed the use of drones over ALL U.S. airspace- so be prepared to see them around.

Equipped with cameras instead of bombs, 

so that should make us all feel safer. 

They say that they are looking for the terrorists among us 

and looking at everyone, you know –Just in case

Even though the only cases it seems our government team 

can solve these days are the ones they cooked up in the first place.

But hey-they’ve gotta spend that budget someway, don’t they?

And did you know that it takes a whopping, jaw dropping, 300 people 

to fully operate one of those drones for just one day? 

One of those $28 million planes?

Oh yes sir’ee, it’s a booming industry.

Remember that bumper sticker about how great it’s be if schools had all the funding they needed and the army had to hold a bake sale?

People, this is what our government is busy buying. 

This is where the tax dollars go.

So when they tell you they’ve gotta cut some spending, 

you just tell’em “Land some drones, man. 

Just land the drones.”

And call me a sentimental hippie like that, but I believe 

in the power of the people to fight back.

Cause we can’t just let this technology run wild, or go rouge, 

or come crashing home on us

We must realize and regulate, study up and educate each other

Before this whole thing gets out of control 

(with evidence to suggest we are already at the threshold).

So let your president and members of congress know 

what you think about the wars, 
and what you think about the drones. 

Tell'em we don't need any more killing machines, 
we could use that money much better here at home. 
Leave those kids in Pakistan alone.
It's time to end the war, and land the drones.

Poetry in motion tends to stay in motion...

It's December and as the year is coming to a close, I'm happy to have just received an email from Intermedia Arts announcing the Verve grant winners for 2012 (including myself)- and it's ready, set, go time! The world can't end in 2012, I've just got too much cool stuff to do!

So, what does this mean? Six amazing spoken word poets and I get to be a part of this really cool program through Intermedia Arts to work on our craft, learn about this art style and support each other while each of us is individually working on our own project that brings art into the community in a meaningful way. I can't even say how excited and honored I am to be able to work with these poets, and with Intermedia Arts (who has been a leader in community art in Minneapolis for decades. I remember the first time I went down to that cool building in Uptown with the amazing, changing graffiti art on the walls for a show- and now I will be performing there myself at the end of this year!) It is really, by any measure, a dream come true.

My project involves performing my work (hopefully lots of new stuff) at as many different types of events as possible and documenting it for a year. I'm calling it Poetry in Action. The intention is to go out into the community and use art as a tool to make change, to contribute spoken word poetry to the various movements Minneapolis is so fortunate to have bustling here. Things I am already involved in, like the anti-war movement and Occupy, to things like community gardening and hopefully some new stuff, new places and .orgs I just haven't met yet. Frankly, I've got a lot of learning to do, but that's the point. I just need to write and perform as much as possible. So, if you hear of any opportunities to do so-you should let me know. I'm already getting some traction, though. The show on Oct 18th with Jared Paul went great, and I've got plans to be a guest on a weekly radio show/podcast called The New American Dream (just as soon as the details get worked out).

Just this week I went to a neat little open mic at Mapps Coffee Shop that was put on by the Human Rights Student Advisory Board at the U of M. It was great, all of the performers were amazing, and all of the work was LGBT and/or Human Rights related (so my stuff fit right in). It was part of a week's worth of actions and events that they are doing for Human Rights Day (Dec. 10th) and it was perfect, because I got a chance to tell them about The Anti War Committee event on Sat. for Human Rights Day. We are having a rally and a march that starts at the corner of Franklin and Nicollet and ends indoors at the coffee shops called The Nicollet, where there will be refreshments and some speeches and I will be performing my brand new piece! I'm actually supposed to be finishing writing that right now, but then I saw the email :  )

So, yeah, good stuff in the works. Any and everyone who wants to should come to this thing on Sat
(here's the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/520565027954255/) 
 And stay tuned for future performances!

Peace,
Misty

Free, Free Palestine #194

(my speech at yesterday's rally in front of Senator Klobuchar's office, downtown mpls)

It is important for us to be out here today to cry outrage at the recent attacks on Gaza and the West Bank. At last count, 169 Palestinians paid with their lives (39 of them children) in Israel's latest assault Operation Pillar of Cloud, and while there is currently a ceasefire, we know that a moments peace is not enough to last. Because what has happened in recent weeks in Gaza is awful, but what's been going on there for decades is far worse.

Gaza is best described as an open air prison, where Palestinians live in dilapidated house, under curfews, and dealing with checkpoints where IDF soldiers continue to torment, harass and kill Palestinians all of the time. Just before this offensive by Israel began, a 13 year old boy was killed by soldiers. It is an everyday reality in occupied Palestine. And Gaza is under siege, and being purposely kept at near starvation levels by the Israeli government, who decides what goes in and what comes out. Let's not forget the flotilla in 2010 carrying desperately needed goods, food and medicine to the people of Gaza that was attacked in international waters by the IDF and boarded, and those activists where killed. Shot in the back of the head for trying to bring aid to people who are being intentionally deprived of basic needs.

The UN has called the situation in Gaza a humanitarian crisis, "a crisis of human dignity" and yet, the mainstream media will never cover this side of the story. That is why it is so important for us to be out in the streets in protest of these conditions. Because the media's take on the situation is bought and paid for by Israeli interests- and that goes for our politicians as well.

In the anti-war movement, we talk a lot about the futility of putting a "puppet government" in charge of another country whose interests are not the people's, yet we so rarely get to see so clearly how our own politicians are held up by these same strings, and how their actions are dictated by the unconditional flow of money into Israel (to the tune of 8.5 million dollars a day!) Because that's our tax dollars being used to buy drones, and bombs, and bulldozers for the IDF (and if you insist that all of this is for defense, then try explaining what the bulldozers are for).

We need to continue to speak out and to tell our own government, elected officials like Senator Klobuchar, to stop funding Israeli crimes. We want an end to the blockade of Gaza, an end to the apartheid state, and for all Palestinians to be free to return to their homes.

The people of Palestine are under attack, so what to we do?

Stand up, Fight back!



 (side note: immediately after giving this speech I learned that the UN voted to make Palestine a non-member state. Hopefully, this is a step towards real peace for Palestine.)
Here is what the vote looked like.