Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4RysJspGE4 Starts at: 02:53:25 (jump to 02:53:25)
Liza Roe — Spoken Word Poems from ‘The Sober Poet’
[02:53:25] Yes [02:53:26] Alright, thank you for that [02:53:27] Next to the stage is Lisa Rowe [02:53:32] Liza Rowe [02:53:33] Oh [02:53:33] Liza Rowe [02:53:34] Hey, come on to the stage, Liza Rowe [02:53:38] Thank you, thank you [02:53:39] Apologies [02:53:41] I forgive you [02:53:43] Okay [02:53:44] I was considering sitting down [02:53:46] But I’ll just stand [02:53:47] My name is Liza [02:53:48] And I’m going to share with you three poems [02:53:52] And the first one is called Feel It All [02:53:56] It’s going to be in my next book [02:53:58] Which is going to be called The Egoic Poet [02:54:00] Okay [02:54:02] Okay [02:54:02] Okay [02:54:03] , let’s start [02:54:04] She said, I don’t want to think about it [02:54:06] I wanted to tell her your body will act out [02:54:09] If you don’t address the rest of your thoughts [02:54:11] They’ll chase you down and follow you around [02:54:14] For the rest of your life [02:54:16] Until you decide to feel and acknowledge [02:54:19] The emotions and thoughts that you’ve tried to swallow [02:54:21] You might think they’ve vanished [02:54:24] But they’re just scared and damaged [02:54:27] So they’re hiding beneath the surface [02:54:29] Just lurking and waiting to find a purpose [02:54:33] And they’re just scared and damaged [02:54:33] But I can’t tell anyone how to live their life [02:54:36] I’m just here to share my experience [02:54:39] And go about mine [02:54:40] I no longer believe there’s a wrong and a right [02:54:43] Nothing in this world is black and white [02:54:45] And there are certainly no unhealthy emotions [02:54:48] We’re only human [02:54:49] And we are meant to feel every wave of this ocean called life [02:54:53] We need to embrace them [02:54:55] Not change or rearrange them [02:54:58] To fit in some square that the rest of the world has prepared [02:55:01] Fuck that [02:55:03] Shit [02:55:04] I want to feel every part of my existence [02:55:10] And that’s that poem [02:55:12] Then we have [02:55:19] This one’s called [02:55:21] My Demons [02:55:23] My demons don’t hibernate [02:55:27] They sleep next to me for as long as I sleep [02:55:31] Then they sit on my shoulder [02:55:33] And I’m like [02:55:33] Tugging my earlobe [02:55:35] I tell them to leave [02:55:35] But they ignore the word no [02:55:37] And every other ripened rejection [02:55:38] I’ve had to talk myself out of receiving validation [02:55:43] Like I’m looking over ledges [02:55:46] My inner critic is crazy [02:55:48] She’s got all kinds of ideas [02:55:51] One might describe as unrealistic expectations [02:55:53] But I wait [02:55:55] I am patient [02:55:59] An afterthought, affirmation [02:56:02] I continue repeating [02:56:03] Of my own [02:56:03] A meditative mantra [02:56:04] Meant to make my mind go blank [02:56:06] And prevent my ego from proceeding [02:56:09] Because I don’t know who told me that life is a contest [02:56:12] But they lied [02:56:14] There is no competition [02:56:16] No award for whoever lives the best life [02:56:21] There are only the messes that we manifest in our minds [02:56:24] The troubles we tally time after time [02:56:27] A crime of comparative culture [02:56:29] Creating confusion between winning and losing [02:56:32] The cost of being right versus being wrong [02:56:33] The cost of being right versus being wrong [02:56:33] The cost of not being humble [02:56:34] Therado I suffer with insidious struggles between sheets [02:56:37] B VIPs [02:56:38] My demons don’t hibernate [02:56:40] But neither do I [02:56:48] And then the last poem that I have [02:56:50] Is one that I should have memorized [02:56:52] But I’m just gonna have it here in case [02:56:54] It’s called High On Life [02:56:55] And it is from my first book [02:56:57] Which is called The Sober Poet [02:56:59] A collection of poems from a recovered alcoholic [02:57:01] And that’s me [02:57:03] I am so high on life that misery wants to tether me, [02:57:11] strap me to the ground, slip me in a straitjacket [02:57:14] and institutionalize my habit of snorting more than my fair share of joyful freedom. [02:57:20] Crushing lines of life, inhaling deeply through narrow holes [02:57:24] into my empty and open soul. [02:57:27] My body goes cold and numb with a pleasurable touch, [02:57:30] knowing that death is on my doorstep every moment. [02:57:35] I’m sure that if I close my eyes, I can relive that hopeful, submissive event [02:57:40] when I gave up control and floated with my spirit. [02:57:47] My dearest ego, it is time to take a vacation. [02:57:53] Your services are no longer needed. [02:57:56] Consider this your deflation, [02:57:59] because I’ve seen enough. [02:58:00] I’m not crazy to last an eternity. [02:58:03] I’ve birthed a new phase. [02:58:06] This is my millennium of maternity. [02:58:09] Unearthed greener days, and now my life is flourishing. [02:58:13] If the rain keeps a beat, then a storm is a symphony. [02:58:17] And if I am complete, then God, well, God is within me. [02:58:23] If I can speak, then I could share subliminally, [02:58:27] or I could be direct with my words, [02:58:30] say what I actually mean, quit fucking around with poetry. [02:58:33] But if you’ve been listening, it’s all the same thing, isn’t it? [02:58:38] Thank you. [02:58:42] And if you would like to follow me, [02:58:44] my Instagram is liza, L-I-Z-A, dot roe, R-O-E, dot outspoken. [02:58:51] And my book is available on Amazon. Thanks. [02:58:58] Yes, good job. [02:59:00] Give it up for Liza, y’all, yeah. [02:59:03] That was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.