story82.xml

story82.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-02-26

THE TICKING OF MY CLOCK

January 27th, 2002
January 28,
January 29, 30, 31st.
Don?t tell me not to worry.
February
March April
So what if I?m scared!
May is so soon
Leave me alone!
June
Flowers will bloom
July
My birthday again
August
New York City remember that heat?
I can?t breath it?s too hot.
Then September again
That blue sky
Almost holy
Sweet smell of morning
Neighbors wave by
I feel proud and awake
Glorious in new clogs
My tight jeans and thin shirt
I walk to the school
Trees lining the streets
A working class queen
I feel special today
With lips freshly painted
Eyes eager and proud
I tell them my name
I scream it out loud
Sign the dotted line as
I enter the tent
That voting booth
a magical space
It?s so romantic to think
That I have a say
in who governs this place.

I am frightened so there!
You don?t understand
I had hopes for much more
?cause I believe in this land
I am scared for September to reenter my space.

Remember those words
"Nothing will ever be the same."
"Our lives have been changed forever."
We will use less paper coffee cups.
"Americans no longer seduced by celebrities!"
And money.
"Americans feel more responsible for the earth."
We will watch less Talk Shows and talk to each other.

Remember these words

(RAP)
Reality TV
will become history
and democracy
will spread
in Africa, Chile
even Turkey
the only guarantee
For land of the free.

I?m frightened so there
You think you?re so smart
You with the answers
Don?t tell me not to worry
So what if I?m scared!

What have we learned since that day in September
I taste that blue sky
I still smell the deep dust.
I wished for a change
So what if I?m grown
I have dreams
I have hopes
And I wanted it all
I had hoped for
a new world
following that fall.

What have we learned since that day in September
Nothing has changed.
I remember
I remember

I?m frightened so there
You think you?re so smart
You with the answers
Don?t tell me not to worry
So what if I?m scared!

(Lullaby)
I dreamed that Zaire was covered with sugar
I hoped that the Middle East became fountains of water
I fantasized Puerto Rico owning its riches
I imagined Palestine alive and so free
I heard the new laughter between Miami and Cuba
I thought that we?d find all the guns in this world
Bury them in ground zero an architects delight

Then September again
That blue sky
Almost holy
Sweet smell of morning
An anniversary of glory.

I?m frightened so there
You think you?re so smart
You with the answers
Don?t tell me not to start
So what if I?m scared!
Leave me alone!
These are just my words
in an angry poem.