On March 27th, I had the opportunity to participate in Great Small Works’ monthly Spaghetti Dinner Cabaret fundraiser at a fantastic space called One Arm Red out in DUMBO, Brooklyn. I was performing that evening as one of a group of five poets from the Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology, alongside Stephen Boyer, Ras Osagyefo, Kari Giron, and Ben Rosenberg. Other readers/performers that evening included Lee Ann Brown, Tracie Morris, Tomas Urayan Noel, Eugene Ostashevsky, Robert Kocik, Daria Fain and The Phoneme Choir. It was an amazing evening of text, song, movement, and of course…spaghetti. Terror as Usual closed the night with their clever, imaginative brand of current events puppetry…truly sensational!
Below is a video of the song I wrote and performed that night. It’s called “The Disappearing Act” and mainly addresses the issue of gentrification in New York City. Surrounded by the rumble of construction and the General Assembly, I gave this song its debut at the OWS Friday Night Poetry Assembly in Zuccotti Park on November 4, 2011. A hand-written version of it has been published in the poetry journal, Po. Just for fun, I’ve added the lyrics below the video. Enjoy!
They are not from here
But they’re everywhere, it’s true
And they all come here because
They can afford to
They moved into the village ‘cause
They heard that it was cool
But that was a long time ago
The artists have all gone
They left behind their songs
And bankers took their spaces
Took their homes
You wanted to see change, I guess
You’ve come here just in time
You may have missed the first act
But we won’t forget our lines
Don’t need no Broadway tickets
To be entertained by me
Just step right up and see
The Disappearing Act.
They are not from here
But they’re everywhere it’s true
And they all come here because
They can afford to
The rich kids took the Bowery ‘cause
They heard that it was cool
They got some ink to prove it too
And a piercing on St. Marks
Oh they broke the poet’s hearts
Next thing you know they’ll be pickin’ up guitars
And down in Thompson Square Park
Where we used to get our drugs
Eight thousand yuppies and their stupid little dogs
At least the junkie punk kids didn’t piss on every tree
Step right up and see
The Disappearing Act
Oh there’s no more homeless people
Or hookers in Times Square
And thank the lord it’s safe for you to go shopping there
So much for huddled masses yearning to breathe free
Step right up and see
The Disappearing Act