Complete Poetic Collaboration from The Forum @ Middle of the Map KC

The Preamble

Structuring Symbiosis: An Ethereal Collaborative Word-Building Project Constructed Sillily; a Participatory Poem

Today our words will gesture toward an impossible world
A culture that cannot exist; yet does
The aim is not agreement in our neighborhood it is presence
A family without fights is too clean

This is a calling for conversation
Interdependent;
Mutually beneficial like a sandwich;
Academic as astronauts;
Intimately connected like dissimilar lovers;
Conversation.

Listening and Questioning
Passionate
Persuasive
Tongue tickling dialogue
Put your feather dusters in your mouths
And remove all that has been lying around
Laying around
Both/And

Prepare to educate yourselves
Wipe off your minds’ insides and make room
The innovators and the idea generators
Will explore each other
Like a blind man with his brail erotica

The peacemakers and placemakers
Rapping Metronomic as pacemakers
Will spill the future into our ears
Genomic wisdom will emerge

And you will build along with them
Constructing new syllables
Manufacturing myths
Fashioning phrases
Communally
Symbiotically

The Amble

Amassing the Mind of the Many into a Stream of Shared Consciousness from the Middle of the Map

If I could build a world...
If, what do you mean if?
We are all building
And rebuilding.
And un-building.
Peace, Love, Diversity Harmony
Building out of sustainable materials
On abandoned or distressed properties
From Iran to Lima
And back to the Westside
Glocal
Yeah that’s a good buzzword
Say Gloacl
The world is full of pain and suffering but music heals.

If I could construct a culture I wouldn’t know what to say
I don’t read or write
Don’t put that in
Are you putting that in?
People would read more in my culture.
A culture of mutual respect. No Ego.
Reduce Reuse Recycle
The order is important.
Invite, Host, Share,
Build, Create, Dance
The order is not important.
Get rid of the parking lots.
This will be a culture built on
Wine and friends
Running lunches
Where education is actually valued
As are sharing and sharers.

I am about to talk
Scared to death
Too much coffee

We need a declaration of Interdependence,
Let the good times roll!
Exposing ourselves to the human element,
Uncovering the truth,
Each fabric begins with a thread in our culture.

If I could manufacture a neighborhood I would have
Shared spaces
Proximity to Places
Community cookouts every Saturday
Goats as lawnscapping
Gardens on every rooftop
Mandatory Snow Days
Robust Public Transit
That crosses the city dividing lines
Diverse socioeconomic live jazz centered around libraries
A Neighborhood is not just a place to get drunk.

If I could fashion a family
It would be an
All encompassing
Bilingual
Win-Win situation
Valuing failure.
There would be more camping
And great traditions
2 dads 1 mom and the best sister in the world
Unconditional Love would abide.
We would document our memories
Whatever it takes to regain my rhythm
Don’t pray that prayer
Faith leads to risk
Risk to Acquiescence
Acquiescence to a God who is bigger than
Dyserythropoietic Congenital Anemia type II
I would fashion a family of joy.

Post Amble

Wherever There is Sincerity, Hipster Irony is Not Too Far Behind

We need more rich white people
Give me free things
Free PBR
Free Tibet
Free “Free Tibet” T-shirts and bracelets
A gas pump at every house for my SUV
And coal
Coal made from compressed baby seals
Also no more sharks eating my spirit
We need corn syrup gardens
A Jayhawk in every yard
I demand Homogenized Diversity
Also
Koalas are whores
‘Abstinence Only’ education doesn’t work in the wild.