WORKSHOP ALERT!

Hello lovely ones,

I am very excited to announce the first workshop in a series for SpokenWord/Performance Poetry at a wonderful space on Broadway called Work Shop. Check out the invite here, get involved and find your inner voice! http://www.work-shop.com.au/course/spoken-word-with-jessie-ray-from-art-party/

you inspire me

you inspire me like there's a wire tugging all the magnets in my chest / like the best parts of me are suddenly freed up and stick feverishly / to your heartstrings / you add fuel to my fire before letting the sky take her embers / remembering it cannot burn you if you keep the staff turning / remembering that we learn each time the fire dies, of the power of starlight /

you inspire me pulling up corners of the carpet of drudgery / til the floorboards underneath are gleaming / til we tapdance on the wood leaving little dents / kicking legs in the air / dense shadows the only indication that we have been here / we are still here / together / bent out of shape and more beautiful for it

you are the fireflies bringing stars to our gardens / sure they fly in lazy circles but small suns shine out of their arses / and sure they only live for two days, but those two days are filled to the brim with crazed flying, sparkling bodies and and the belief that they will remain, somehow, stay somehow, long after the somedays are over

you inspire me like the last peg in the basket / holding me up to the wind to mask the dampness / I'll amplify my vision through your glasses and never will we let the bastards get us down / for you, frowns exist only as upside down kisses and you dance a little jig just to prove you've kept your silliness / fill me up with a spark for a second, love / power in me the shine I give on / even lightbulbs need a power source sometimes

you inspire me like the birth of an idea growing wings / like the light in a childs eyes when they learn of possibilities / there's a whole world of wonder you claim as your own / grown from a seed you buried carefully in the middle of your imagination / there is no nobler a pursuit than creation

when i fell over into a bucket and drowned / you tipped it over gently sharing the water around and said, hey, listen, buckets are for putting fires out / or collecting drought water, not for drowning in / there is no sin in sadness little ray but you'll choke if you swallow it all yourself

i've not spoken to you about this yet  / true I'm not even sure if you get it / if you fully understand the impact you've had on me, friend / you are the truest definition of godsend

Bodhi Designs - a gift

The beautiful Fleassy Malay from Bodhi Designs surprised me with this little gift today - what a gorgeous sentiment and a cool way to show some of my poetry. I love it!! What do you think?

Tall Poppies

in a land of tall poppies
       the rains flood our riverbanks with shame

a girl who could not embody her name
thinking it crazy her parents should call her
                                                                      Bella
she tells no one what she sees in the mirror

a young fella racing around the house
like a madman
         reprimanded for his enthusiasm
gorwing up
resenting his children

of families who sweep all the hard talks
         under the carpet
then wonder why they can't walk
                                                    straight

we have a global epidemic of shame

you know when you hate yourself but
can't say a thing?
                             thats shame
or when you're suffering, thinking your friends
only want your happy face
                             thats shame
or when some unimaginable trauma
has hit you in the face
and you continue to blame yourself
                             thats shame

let me tell you something friends,
at 4am on the night of a woman's 60th
she tripped down the stairs,            knocked herself on the head
broke her arm in two places
                                  and went back to bed                bleeding
                                   in shame
thinking her family would frame her a drunk
or out    of    control       character

what black hearts have we if our mothers cannot
share hurts                  for fear of their offsprings
judgement

i met a thirteen year old girl so ashamed of her gender
in a world of men
that she                preferred to stay in bed
rather than dress on up for them

an old man who'd lived his whole life
                            pretending he loved women
collecting wrinkles
like linen
shameful his heart lay
                            among men instead

my own sister-in-law lets others believe
she is from Paraguay, Belize or Brazil,
                   not Lebanon
for which she receives ridicule
for which she receives suspicion
                   when she should be met with veneration for
                   her humanitarian aide in the orphanages

in a land of tall poppies
                   we are quick to let them die
teach them to reach up to the sky
before showing it as an illusion / a lie

there was a man on the street kneeling under glares
and raindrops
                   a sign held as he looked for the light in our eyes
don't judge me said the sign

what has humankind become?
         when we condemn our brothers to their coming undone
         when we bully our sisters and hurt them for our own amusement
         when we hush the children, angry at their freedom of expression
         when we let our neighbours hate the very bodies that they walk in
the force of shame escapes no one
for long enough

but we will remain steadfast in our masks of confidence
until we're not pretending         anymore

i want to even the score / here / tonight
let it be known
that
you are perfect

as you are

family

and through it all
i stand starstruck
                 there is
                 much too much to say
and only 26 letters in
the way we communicate

you have held my
hate for you
tenderly, willing back to life
the breath of a dying lung
mending that broken-winged heart
little bird

at my worst you gave me
compassion
un
conditional
love
at the very moment
i
gave
up
on
you

maybe thats the point of
b r e a k / throughs
                 broken / f a m i l y

like a bone
it mends
eventually
scar tissue still
pulsing
remembering the
c. r. a. c. k.

how fickle my young heart
what shame do i harbour
for its passions

drown in a puddle
i told myself
make that puddle of sweat and
tears
but you the rainbow
came glistening
you the sunshine, dried my feet
the reflection on the pavement
distant
memory

and suddenly
we were laughing so hard
my sides ached
we came back
eventually

my disbelief
r e i g n i n g
could we love
eachother
that much/?
could it be..

e v i c t

e•vict (ɪˈvɪkt)
to expel; to force out; to throw out

it was hardly a
s h o c k
the rocks began to crumble
around the same time
we threw out our furniture
let the telly loose
and started wearing onesies
a l l   t h e   t i m e

we don't buy
v e g e t a b l e s
anymore
we mostly pick them up
off the floor of a skip bin
somewhere
winning against the
wasteful west
somehow
and plowing through
bulk
e x p e r i m e n t a l
cooking

i hope they didn't see the
b i l l y
it's a pretty silly reason to evict someone
its really just a bit of fun
and harms nobody
in the long run
or
m a y b e
they saw my paintings
with marks left all over
walls, courtyards, stones
I'm prone to mess
s o m e t i m e s

i will miss the memories
hidden in the flaking walls
there's water damage from
tears of laughter
after we all woke up
t o g e t h e r
forever huddled in a multi
y i n - y a n g
of spooning
there's years of history
or more importantly
f a m i l y
here

i will miss our neighbours
the ones who cheered for
a g e s
when they heard
c a m e r o n
play his first art party
the ones who stood at our gate
waiting for the song to end
before inviting themselves in
those who jumped on a
m a t t r e s s
with us
creating instant
housematery

let's wait and see
it may be time
to cut the cord
umbilical brothers
and sisters roared
the amniotic washes away
a new day rises up
and we toddle further forward
step by blessed step
as we glorify the birth of
the day we all met

now that the womb
evicts us
where will we end up next?

I don't know my dear ones
come,
suckle at life's breast
remember the best
t h i n g s in life
are those openly
e x p r e s s e d
we will find a new nest
we will welcome new hearts
for you can't destroy an idea
and you can't destroy the arts

Peace x Love x Art x

we are art party

we are
hearts
together simply
floating weather systems
attracted by static electricity
and deliberately awesome
intercity lives

we are
a family
of many different melodies
a harmony of bells and teeth
relief from
all
that
apathy

we are
loving
the sharing the openness
glaring at you
as if it was the easiest thing
a bowerbird might not sing
but he's an artist
in
his
own
space

we are
part of that shining galaxy
that winding road of finality
and while we shine
shooting through the sky
we light up
someone's
night
for
a
time

we are
the womb bats
the onesie rats
the puddle of cuddles
and huddle of hats
we are
brother and lovers
sister souls and crew,
you're all a part of me
and I
a
part
of
you