hi everyone
taught that goddesses only exists in the
heart and in myths well she must be
Amphitrite descendant unbridled
perfection a beautiful remnant blessed
with olive skin and auburn eyes a mind
as bright as the Sun when was I in
snared by her smile I couldn’t begin to
surmise but it happened in an instant
like a flash of light of burning deep
within me like a shooting star or a
crashing flight
like Icarus before his demise it felt as
natural as soil between toes the first
time our souls met she took my breath
away with every word she spoke and when
she would hold me close like a corset
even the small things she did with
divinity she spoke like a waltz
enhancing my affinity goddess among
women Rose amongst the weeds you are
effortlessly without fault there must be
something in the water that’s passed
down to the Mediterraneans daughters my
aunt for tri-d my goddess of the sea who
swam through my veins like cocaine it’s
true
goddesses only exist in the heart and in
medicine I learned that lesson once
again it’s proved more difficult than I
had imagined just trying to stay sane
you got under my skin like a tattoo and
you spread as quickly as a rumor
mysterious and magnificent and malignant
as a tumor and fateh ready as our
wonderful host and my dear friend
mentioned my name is Marcus Medford you
can call me Marge the poet if anyone
wants to connect with me on Twitter or
Facebook or SoundCloud or any that fun
stuff more as a poet is where you will
find me anyways the theme of this year’s
conference is ellipses the continuation
of a narrative a journey of discovery
and as all of you can see I am black and
for me part of that journey of discovery
was figuring out what that means to me
and also what it means to everyone else
around me and this next poem is about
that discovery this is black
election being your friends black friend
used to sound pretty cool but it’s a
little bit concerning when you think it
through
you’re not even black they say with
tents of subtle relief they find my
people deplorable but accept my
friendship with ease do I look like a
thug because of my tattoos or because
I’m a black male
I’m frowned upon for flirting with girls
whose skin happens to be pale why do you
seem so surprised that I don’t speak in
slang that I’m bad at basketball or
don’t belong to a gang and as a black
man I supposedly love chicken when there
isn’t a damn omnivore who feels any
different and it’s funny how acting my
skin colour is automatically comical but
when black people do it it’s ghetto and
abominable so because I’m black you
think that I’m likely to steal you say
that it’s just a joke but how much
better should that make me feel and why
is it such a shock that I enjoy works by
Bach who said that I should be limited
to Lil Wayne and to pot and as a black
man it upsets me how many times nigga is
heard carelessly whipped around as if it
were just another word look a word is
something more than sounds that you say
when it’s used as an excuse to take
history humanity and family away an A or
an ER don’t make the roots different my
nigga shouldn’t make you feel endeared
it should make you feel indignant though
not usually said with hate it still
reeks of degradation now everyone can
say nigga Congrats we’ve ended
segregation
I don’t usually bring it up it just
feels like the norm racism hasn’t gone
away it’s taken on a different form but
you’re not racist you tell me you have a
friend that’s black but when they’re not
around does that change the way you act
black reflection another aspect of my
identity is being a guy and like being
black that comes with its own set of
preconceived notions between
conversations you have with people
things you hear in music things you see
in advertisements movie TV constantly
telling you what it means to be a man
and what a man is supposed to be and
there have been times where I’ve
struggled to live up to those
expectations or deal with the pressure
of masculinity and this poem is about
that it’s called pressure I feel under
pressure as if I was under water urge to
hook up to get into someone’s daughter
when the boys hang out we pass along our
stories sharing our accolades tales of
triumph and glory desperate for
affection skin itching for the touch so
we sprinkle on words like love and
always and such
morals get cloudy when hormones are
urgent everybody knows it’s not cool to
still be a virgin fantasies of bodies
rubbing the desire to feel the warmth of
lovemaking illegitimate or real and it
feels so good to have then dismiss her
until the dumb is your little
sister it can be hard to believe that
love’s not fictitious when guys act like
dogs chasing after bitches shouldn’t sex
have greater meaning than simply seeking
pleasure this can’t be the reason that
men and women come together pressure
[Applause]
pressure and expectations can have a
huge impact on a person I’m sure
everyone can agree and I think that that
impact is especially felt when you’re
young particularly in high school and I
know in a lot of ways in high school and
in other places in life that women have
it more difficult than men I have a lot
of female friends so I’ve heard the
story told from both sides and I have
friends you have trust issues intimacy
issues low self-esteem and it all stems
from the same kind of stuff and I was
once asked to put myself in the shoes of
a teenage girl and to write a poem I was
actually paid $10 for but the girl never
paid me $10 but I did get this poem out
of it and this is this is a poem that I
really enjoy this design perfection
every morning when I get up I see my
reflection I see chubby I see ugly I see
imperfection I’m in need of affection I
have to be pretty if I don’t look good
they won’t bother with me so I get
dulled and caked up and smothered in
makeup just to have some boy tell me I’m
someone he to add to that I have to
be easy on the eyes to compete with the
girls and to impress the guys see to
them I’m a prize a challenge game just
another pretty face with a number and a
name so sure I’ll play along
pretending to be okay pretending I don’t
hear the rumors in the hallway it’s just
another day it’s hard but I’ll pull
through
but why couldn’t my reflection be
beautiful to imperfection
[Applause]
the pressure to be a certain way to act
a certain way to think a certain way it
it’s really an unnecessary burden that
we put on each other we tell ourselves
and we tell other people that you’re not
good enough because you don’t have this
or you’re not like that and I think a
big part of that problem is social media
and I’m sure everyone has you on social
media asked you guys to follow me on
social media but social media is this
weird alternate universe with like its
own weird kind of rules like not
everyone that’s your friend is like
actually your friend and not everyone
who likes your pictures like really
likes you and I think that it can be
hard to understand yourself and to
really meaningfully connect with other
people because of an over reliance on
social media and this next poem is about
this is 2011 likes / lots in the
electricity there exists a breed though
where they are indeed those who sit tea
and leisurely read words other than text
or post on a newsfeed only concerned
with me me me we’re constantly too busy
to see friends who used to be like
family but you’ll find the time if she’s
a dime or if he’s a cutie see I see the
trends having so many friends like that
girl from that place that you met Rek
one oh my god I miss you
oMG me too I’ll see you then at that
don’t lift on tix all ages events so we
can dance and get drunk and forget we
met each other again the social network
extends friends of friends become
friends enemies are conceived and
relationships end some bonds can recover
others won’t ever mend some things still
hurt no matter how many smiley faces you
said but hey at the end of the day I
guess Facebook’s okay how else would you
remember it’s your friend’s birthday
why would we take the time to talk when
we can twiddle our fingers away time is
money and I really don’t have enough to
waste i sm h if this is our fate soon
it’ll be too late to teach a book and a
face how to cooperate loss in the
electricity swept up in the current it’s
a sad state when the only way to relate
or manage to find someone a date is
through a keyboard we have all this
technology and we talk all the time but
we’re constantly bored and struggle to
communicate lost an electricity
who in the room is 20 okay this is a
couple of years early 19 year olds oh
all right this next phone is just kind
of about growing up in things that I
learned when I was 20 it’s called 20/20
dreaded 20 it’s just an age 20
bloody 20 it’s only a phase I’m going to
be 20 for a couple of days dressing well
is a form of good manners they say so
goodbye urban planet and hello to the
bay it’s time to find a real job earn a
decent pay one can only spend so long
making fish fillets tomorrow’s come too
quickly while you clutch at yesterday’s
time races buy and life is a highway
suddenly and without warning the things
you new become grey and somehow you’re
expected to know how to behave twenty
dreaded twenty it’s just an age twenty
bloody twenty it’s only a phase maybe
only fuel twenty for a couple of days
every critique is an attack you’re only
as good as your grades so you obsessed
and second-guess every decision you’ve
ever made the only thing harder than the
work is keeping temptation at bay
never mind that satisfaction tastes
sweeter after delay you don’t even
bother to make plans anymore they never
pan out anyways not every dying
friendship deserves to be saved
eventually you get used to lonely
Fridays with no one to keep you company
but essays and ashtrays twenty dreaded
twenty
it’s just an age 20 bloody 20 it’s only
a phase I’m stuck being 20 for a couple
of days by now you’ve heard it many
times before things are going to get
better you’re going to be okay
but nagging thoughts and heavy feelings
don’t make it seem that way who are you
who are you really
when everyone is away and what is
everyone else doing out of sight behind
stage 20 dreaded 20 it’s just an age 20
bloody 20 it’s only a phase it’s a
vicious cycle repeated day after day who
on earth which used to be this way 20
[Applause]
[Music]
breaking news
what baby named a Will and Kate select
did Tom Brady pay off the rest we have
traffic and weather coming up next end
and other news another brother was shot
to death we have seen from insert name
of American city here where the streets
have erupted with riots and unrest the
chief of police released a statement
last week saying he didn’t mean to shoot
that nigga six times in the chest so
don’t you dare tell me that I’m
overreacting if it’s not something you
have to worry could happen for
sakes I feel like a wooly hair Negro
just trying to survive this white man’s
world but how can I reassure little
black boys and little black girls when I
can’t even get on the bloody metro you
act like being black is something I
should be grateful you stand you
man I never asked to be brought to this
land and boohoo that you can’t say or do
anything that you choose but don’t be
confused there isn’t anything special
about you so to hell with your backwards
views and your impartial news I hope you
choke on your hate speech this is Marcus
Medford breaking the news
[Applause]
taught that goddesses only exists in the
heart and in myths well she must be
Amphitrite descendant unbridled
perfection a beautiful remnant blessed
with olive skin and auburn eyes a mind
as bright as the Sun when was I in
snared by her smile I couldn’t begin to
surmise but it happened in an instant
like a flash of light of burning deep
within me like a shooting star or a
crashing flight
like Icarus before his demise it felt as
natural as soil between toes the first
time our souls met she took my breath
away with every word she spoke and when
she would hold me close like a corset
even the small things she did with
divinity she spoke like a waltz
enhancing my affinity goddess among
women Rose amongst the weeds you are
effortlessly without fault there must be
something in the water that’s passed
down to the Mediterraneans daughters my
aunt for tri-d my goddess of the sea who
swam through my veins like cocaine it’s
true
goddesses only exist in the heart and in
medicine I learned that lesson once
again it’s proved more difficult than I
had imagined just trying to stay sane
you got under my skin like a tattoo and
you spread as quickly as a rumor
mysterious and magnificent and malignant
as a tumor and fateh ready as our
wonderful host and my dear friend
mentioned my name is Marcus Medford you
can call me Marge the poet if anyone
wants to connect with me on Twitter or
Facebook or SoundCloud or any that fun
stuff more as a poet is where you will
find me anyways the theme of this year’s
conference is ellipses the continuation
of a narrative a journey of discovery
and as all of you can see I am black and
for me part of that journey of discovery
was figuring out what that means to me
and also what it means to everyone else
around me and this next poem is about
that discovery this is black
election being your friends black friend
used to sound pretty cool but it’s a
little bit concerning when you think it
through
you’re not even black they say with
tents of subtle relief they find my
people deplorable but accept my
friendship with ease do I look like a
thug because of my tattoos or because
I’m a black male
I’m frowned upon for flirting with girls
whose skin happens to be pale why do you
seem so surprised that I don’t speak in
slang that I’m bad at basketball or
don’t belong to a gang and as a black
man I supposedly love chicken when there
isn’t a damn omnivore who feels any
different and it’s funny how acting my
skin colour is automatically comical but
when black people do it it’s ghetto and
abominable so because I’m black you
think that I’m likely to steal you say
that it’s just a joke but how much
better should that make me feel and why
is it such a shock that I enjoy works by
Bach who said that I should be limited
to Lil Wayne and to pot and as a black
man it upsets me how many times nigga is
heard carelessly whipped around as if it
were just another word look a word is
something more than sounds that you say
when it’s used as an excuse to take
history humanity and family away an A or
an ER don’t make the roots different my
nigga shouldn’t make you feel endeared
it should make you feel indignant though
not usually said with hate it still
reeks of degradation now everyone can
say nigga Congrats we’ve ended
segregation
I don’t usually bring it up it just
feels like the norm racism hasn’t gone
away it’s taken on a different form but
you’re not racist you tell me you have a
friend that’s black but when they’re not
around does that change the way you act
black reflection another aspect of my
identity is being a guy and like being
black that comes with its own set of
preconceived notions between
conversations you have with people
things you hear in music things you see
in advertisements movie TV constantly
telling you what it means to be a man
and what a man is supposed to be and
there have been times where I’ve
struggled to live up to those
expectations or deal with the pressure
of masculinity and this poem is about
that it’s called pressure I feel under
pressure as if I was under water urge to
hook up to get into someone’s daughter
when the boys hang out we pass along our
stories sharing our accolades tales of
triumph and glory desperate for
affection skin itching for the touch so
we sprinkle on words like love and
always and such
morals get cloudy when hormones are
urgent everybody knows it’s not cool to
still be a virgin fantasies of bodies
rubbing the desire to feel the warmth of
lovemaking illegitimate or real and it
feels so good to have then dismiss her
until the dumb is your little
sister it can be hard to believe that
love’s not fictitious when guys act like
dogs chasing after bitches shouldn’t sex
have greater meaning than simply seeking
pleasure this can’t be the reason that
men and women come together pressure
[Applause]
pressure and expectations can have a
huge impact on a person I’m sure
everyone can agree and I think that that
impact is especially felt when you’re
young particularly in high school and I
know in a lot of ways in high school and
in other places in life that women have
it more difficult than men I have a lot
of female friends so I’ve heard the
story told from both sides and I have
friends you have trust issues intimacy
issues low self-esteem and it all stems
from the same kind of stuff and I was
once asked to put myself in the shoes of
a teenage girl and to write a poem I was
actually paid $10 for but the girl never
paid me $10 but I did get this poem out
of it and this is this is a poem that I
really enjoy this design perfection
every morning when I get up I see my
reflection I see chubby I see ugly I see
imperfection I’m in need of affection I
have to be pretty if I don’t look good
they won’t bother with me so I get
dulled and caked up and smothered in
makeup just to have some boy tell me I’m
someone he to add to that I have to
be easy on the eyes to compete with the
girls and to impress the guys see to
them I’m a prize a challenge game just
another pretty face with a number and a
name so sure I’ll play along
pretending to be okay pretending I don’t
hear the rumors in the hallway it’s just
another day it’s hard but I’ll pull
through
but why couldn’t my reflection be
beautiful to imperfection
[Applause]
the pressure to be a certain way to act
a certain way to think a certain way it
it’s really an unnecessary burden that
we put on each other we tell ourselves
and we tell other people that you’re not
good enough because you don’t have this
or you’re not like that and I think a
big part of that problem is social media
and I’m sure everyone has you on social
media asked you guys to follow me on
social media but social media is this
weird alternate universe with like its
own weird kind of rules like not
everyone that’s your friend is like
actually your friend and not everyone
who likes your pictures like really
likes you and I think that it can be
hard to understand yourself and to
really meaningfully connect with other
people because of an over reliance on
social media and this next poem is about
this is 2011 likes / lots in the
electricity there exists a breed though
where they are indeed those who sit tea
and leisurely read words other than text
or post on a newsfeed only concerned
with me me me we’re constantly too busy
to see friends who used to be like
family but you’ll find the time if she’s
a dime or if he’s a cutie see I see the
trends having so many friends like that
girl from that place that you met Rek
one oh my god I miss you
oMG me too I’ll see you then at that
don’t lift on tix all ages events so we
can dance and get drunk and forget we
met each other again the social network
extends friends of friends become
friends enemies are conceived and
relationships end some bonds can recover
others won’t ever mend some things still
hurt no matter how many smiley faces you
said but hey at the end of the day I
guess Facebook’s okay how else would you
remember it’s your friend’s birthday
why would we take the time to talk when
we can twiddle our fingers away time is
money and I really don’t have enough to
waste i sm h if this is our fate soon
it’ll be too late to teach a book and a
face how to cooperate loss in the
electricity swept up in the current it’s
a sad state when the only way to relate
or manage to find someone a date is
through a keyboard we have all this
technology and we talk all the time but
we’re constantly bored and struggle to
communicate lost an electricity
who in the room is 20 okay this is a
couple of years early 19 year olds oh
all right this next phone is just kind
of about growing up in things that I
learned when I was 20 it’s called 20/20
dreaded 20 it’s just an age 20
bloody 20 it’s only a phase I’m going to
be 20 for a couple of days dressing well
is a form of good manners they say so
goodbye urban planet and hello to the
bay it’s time to find a real job earn a
decent pay one can only spend so long
making fish fillets tomorrow’s come too
quickly while you clutch at yesterday’s
time races buy and life is a highway
suddenly and without warning the things
you new become grey and somehow you’re
expected to know how to behave twenty
dreaded twenty it’s just an age twenty
bloody twenty it’s only a phase maybe
only fuel twenty for a couple of days
every critique is an attack you’re only
as good as your grades so you obsessed
and second-guess every decision you’ve
ever made the only thing harder than the
work is keeping temptation at bay
never mind that satisfaction tastes
sweeter after delay you don’t even
bother to make plans anymore they never
pan out anyways not every dying
friendship deserves to be saved
eventually you get used to lonely
Fridays with no one to keep you company
but essays and ashtrays twenty dreaded
twenty
it’s just an age 20 bloody 20 it’s only
a phase I’m stuck being 20 for a couple
of days by now you’ve heard it many
times before things are going to get
better you’re going to be okay
but nagging thoughts and heavy feelings
don’t make it seem that way who are you
who are you really
when everyone is away and what is
everyone else doing out of sight behind
stage 20 dreaded 20 it’s just an age 20
bloody 20 it’s only a phase it’s a
vicious cycle repeated day after day who
on earth which used to be this way 20
[Applause]
[Music]
breaking news
what baby named a Will and Kate select
did Tom Brady pay off the rest we have
traffic and weather coming up next end
and other news another brother was shot
to death we have seen from insert name
of American city here where the streets
have erupted with riots and unrest the
chief of police released a statement
last week saying he didn’t mean to shoot
that nigga six times in the chest so
don’t you dare tell me that I’m
overreacting if it’s not something you
have to worry could happen for
sakes I feel like a wooly hair Negro
just trying to survive this white man’s
world but how can I reassure little
black boys and little black girls when I
can’t even get on the bloody metro you
act like being black is something I
should be grateful you stand you
man I never asked to be brought to this
land and boohoo that you can’t say or do
anything that you choose but don’t be
confused there isn’t anything special
about you so to hell with your backwards
views and your impartial news I hope you
choke on your hate speech this is Marcus
Medford breaking the news
[Applause]
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