It has been more than a minute
since there has been time
for words or windows or opportunities for life
and drowning
old legs trapped between wheelchairs
and ceilings rising low
New Orleans
you once or twice or too many times to count now
held me slow
warm like honey
you moved sleepy like molasses
sliding poetic across the page
the river
and the french built quarters to separate you
the water was beautiful
at night
a city separated
essence and Jazz
black boys dancing bottlecaps
tap tap tap
on the sidewalks
where do they dance now
nobody knows round and round the river goes
from sea to shining flesh infested sea
limbs are not so supple
submerged under how I imagine the water must be cold
New Orleans is unpredictable like that
what were they thinking
brown bodies don't vote enough
and Iraq is where the help has gone
Kuwait is donating money
and Bush is posing grammatically incorrect
for lenses that inflate him
floating upon a city
venecian blinding citizen
and resident alike
we only see what we are told
what do we do now
who do we tirn to for light
hope
this is a crossroads
covered in debris
and bodies of people who once sang
bitter
blew horns to deflate or pain
what do we do now
what to do
what do I do
what can I do
ineloquent and bloating
questions knock fetid at my efforts
cozy in my bed
TV
phones working
what do we do
left and thinking forward
leaning sideways
to better see
what do we do?
where do we send what?
people need suggestions
please post them
on the comments section
Staceyann
cheers to the blink-quick use of technology for human connection.
here is something musician kimya dawson is helping to organize. although there are indeed more crucial causes at the moment, this is an innovative idea to collect old discmans/walkmans/boomboxes and cds and tapes and donate them to the displaced teenagers from new orleans. it's a simple idea, but if you think about it, it would be terrible to be a teenager in this tragedy, and even more terrible to be a teenager in this tragedy with no music.
from kimyadawson.com:
it is amazing how quickly things can happen in desperate times. i just
came up with the idea a couple of hours ago and things are already
falling into place.
now, check this out. my friend sheila is in texas and she has been
volunteering at the astrodome. she is willing to have cds, cassettes,
walkmen, portable cd players, boomboxes, and headphones sent to her
house. she will organize a team of kids in her area to distribute these
things to teenage survivors of the hurricane who have been relocated to
the astrodome and transferred to schools down there.
so please, go through your music collections and your closets and find
things that are collecting dust. so many of us have upgraded our music
players and lost interest in things we used to listen to. i think it
would be okay to donate burned cds and mixtapes too. ask your friends
to donate stuff. ask local stores to donate stuff. maybe you don't have
a cd player but maybe you could spare $10 to send a gift card. ask
bands you know to donate some of their albums. ask record labels to
make donations.
i can't imagine being a teenager and going through tough times without
my music.
and i am just imagining having my cat die without listening to sting.
or being too shy to talk to ed without being able to listen to debbie
gibson. or being pissed off about having to clean my room without
having a suicidal tendencies cd to throw stuff around to. or driving
around aimlessly without the violent femmes. or ending a fight with my
brother without blasting metallica.
imagine losing your home, all of your possessions, and members of your
family, some of your friends...and just sitting in a strange place.
being told you can't go back AT LEAST for 2 months, but maybe FOREVER.
it might help a little to put on some headphones and escape.
so please help in any way you can. feel free to donate money too. this
way if sheila and her friends meet anyone with a request for an album
they are desperate to own again they can go get them a copy.
you can send your donations to:
Sheila Jozami
11423 Birchwood
Humble, Texas 77338
her live journal is:
http://www.livejournal.com/~itarisk
her myspace is:
http://www.myspace.com/vas_defens
if you can help us make a website with an information page and a
message board let me know.
awesome. thanks everyone.
you can also donate to http://www.secondharvest.org
or share your home http://www.hurricanehousing.org
i know that i have offered my home up to folks heading my way to rebuild...as far as giving money to a huge organization....im not doing it...ive given money to folks on the street who are coming from that way...and i plan on giving money to a possible smaller organization that will cut folks checks so that they have something to move from....its hard to tell were that money is shifted and how it will be spent in those bigger ones...
i have a large amount of my family in new orleans...most ive never met...so its kinda hard to even think straight...my sister was in biloxi at an air force base...she is safe but its really bad down there...worse than what theyve been showing...
another thing is needed is counseling...folks are fucked up so badly mentally that they dont even want to eat let alone do anything else...people are killing themselves...they are walking around in a rare form of shock...so money to an organization who is sending counselors is also an option....
other than that its all about specifics...go a little deeper when you are about to send some money somewhere...do some research...pinpoint what you think might need the most attention..and make it happen...dont let someone else make that decision for you...
Posted by: Tiona at September 5, 2005 12:50 PMWhat can we do?
Give our donations to compensate the loss of 10,000
even writing prolific concerns isn't enough
somewhere we lost the race with life
Team USA wants for nothin'
cookies cant crumble without the discretion of warm milk
the kind we would leave for fictitious santa clauses and easter bunnies and the leprachauns sending clovers from St. PAtrick's Day
they burned the foots of rabbits from Chicago to the big Apple and even fantasy like Hollywood couldn't dissect these dreams into adaptations
lost heartless abandoned _LUCK_
has changed his place of residency
moved in with Uncle Sam
Gave our laptops irreversible viruses
God the shepherd
is now callin' home the sheep of the dark continent
buy the multitude
he only wants us to be safe from lucifers
Team Hell with sulfuric fire
conquering all with proverbs and psalms the master shepherd
Hurricane Katrina
God's
Water
by the way I love you all I must tell you before i cannot any longer.
It takes years to gain truth and moments to cheat with dishonesty.
Several Suggested Progressive Agencies To Donate Your Hurricane Katrina Relief http://www.actionla.org/features/view.php?id=247_
Posted by: kayan at September 5, 2005 11:45 PM