March 20th Anti-war protest/concert

So this weekend was the big 7yr anti-war protest/concert. I got to perform my little 5min. bit right before Guante in the line up, and you know what? I did alright. My voice was shredded from leading chants during the march, but I managed to stir up some energy I think. Steph was moved to tears, Jess said. And Guante seemed to like my stuff. I did mention that a wrote Make New Friends in response to seeing him perform for the first time. He said he was flattered!

Frankly, I’m glad he wasn’t weirded out : )

But I basically got to share a stage with my own local idol and broadcast a message that the resistance is on the rise! So that was cool. It was everything I said I wanted and a hell of a way to spend the 1st day of Spring.

As for the demo as a whole, it wasn’t bad. Over 500 people came out (they had 5,000 in D.C. and in San Fancisco). The community we marched through seemed highly interested in us, too. I’m glad it wasn’t the same old parade through Uptown this year. We definately started some conversations in that neighborhood. And as for the concert (which was meant to appeal to new youth in the movement) well, hopefully everybody had a good time. Hopefully someone shows up at our new members meeting. All we need is some new friends with ideas and some momentum. Anyway, here’s one of the poems that I read. Thanks everybody who made it out.

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Make New Friends

For that dam-breaking sense
of acceptance
the SURGE of interest
in a world outside ourselves so big
it holds everything as one

I’ve come to learn what you can teach me
and to show you these things that I’ve seen
to tell you the story in this, the only way that I know how
and to deliver the message:
that you are not alone, my friend
you have allies in the hear and now

Let us begin, let us discover
what we can about ourselves and each other
because together we are greater
than any # of our individual weaknesses combined

Let’s find some new way to communicate
that other’s can emulate for years to come
what we created
carried on

Because our voices carry us forwards
and yours soars
I heard you from across this concrete jungle
like a lion roars
It brought me striding through
new open doors to find you
to contribute to the collective mind
that you remind me I belong to
A choir of sorts
and maybe not angels, but agents of change
and I don’t think that’s so small a charge
when you consider the great pain of living
the daily overcoming that it is to be alive
to choose this path, gladly, and say

“It was nice to meet you”
Which simply does not convey my excitement,
my tongue-tied desire to begin, so until next time
my friend, until next time.