How Mainstream Is It?

It's not enough that we should succeed: Everyone else must fail. We want ads EVERYWHERE: It's not enough that Linford Christie once wore the Puma logo on his Contact lenses. Or that "we" served in Vietnam, the Gulf War Neither is it "enough" that we're the most environmentally Contaminated place in the Western Hemisphere, nor that We pick apart everything Tiger Woods does on the Golf Course. It's just not enough to go around weepy and confused.

A "for instance": Mr. Potato Head's naked & fellating Tiger Woods. Is that enough? Every year 1000s of mice, rats and guinea pigs Are injected with chemicals to see if they do actual damage to Organs. That's why we have to be witnesses. It's not That we *personally* have experienced forgiveness of sin. The hoi polloi require creators re-invent themselves & that we routinely lead them w/the tools and processes we have.

And they have to PAY FOR the writing, the EU haircuts Otherwise, people simply turn away from us & we are Neither too good nor too bad & are simply recycled-- Pardon? What do you mean, "Is that not enough"? You might as well ask, "Is it enough that the shower heads in The women's locker room are at chin-height, that Our poems are endlessly overacted, tirelessly over-emotive & pedantically ... melodramatically ... morbidly contrived?"

If everyone's going to be like that, the stadium must be named after some stupid product: "The Ban on Meat-based Feeds," "After September 11," "Grandstanding & Witless Protest Signs." It's not enough that they invite us into their homes, to "live in Texas" with them. The key word here is "constantly." Must we constantly start over? Are we any closer to God? Why must we constantly prove ourselves? Must we constantly Be on guard against those "experts" who seem to think we are Totally inept and idiotic by virtue of being sheepish?

Human Destiny tells us that, just as we fashion laws to meet our Emerging needs, so must we constantly reexamine and revise Our poetry, and that our poetry not be at war with our "customers." We simply can't depend on the same individuals year after year To do the work. Poetry is too often used to solve specific Applied problems. Why must we constantly build new functions?

Have we not hearts big enough? Must we constantly revert to the Eighteenth century or, preferably, the seventeenth? Is *that* why we intoxicate ourselves? Distract ourselves? Constantly bombard each other with crap? Why must we Pit ourselves *against* crap? Does crap prevent us from seeing "The Big Picture"?

Can't we learn to enjoy the simple pleasures of helicopter noise? Must we constantly compare our helicopters to Other helicopters? Why must we constantly theorize about helicopters? Are they an appropriate code for living? Are they even "Realistic"?

We talk as if thought was precise and emotion was vague As if thought were a function of understanding As if there were no hand there to guide the scalpel's cutting As if thought were something "plunged into a sea of words & come up dripping." Do thoughts even work? Thought ought To be the most democratic of arenas, but has become Just another obscure professional specialty, the corpse wheeled away, The kidneys, the glands, the bruised heart--all tossed into a saucepan.

As poets, we need to embody wisdom, dignity, freedom & love Helping others to own these values, to reach the point Where they are ready to embark on their own lives, free of social roles. We need to embody regeneration through the synergy of Expressive breath, sound and movement. We need to transform What we are restoring, and to ask these questions with great Patience and intention, to embody them, to live them & to support programs that foster great patience and intention.

RIGHT NOW is an extremely important time for the "Core Self." We need to embody the whole of our human nature To devise systems of rules (selves) which describe how language Works; we need to embody--to give birth to--all of our "selves." We have many selves: the image (fantasy/memory/dream) self, The physical self, the soul. It's time [APPLAUSE]. With this in mind, we can better prepare ourselves for the future Adopt policies of dignity, inclusion, and fair treatment [APPLAUSE].

Each self is different [APPLAUSE]. They are each different & we need to embody those values in our new laws [APPLAUSE]. If hope is going to be more than a theological theory, we need to Embody, in the dramatic pattern each of us of calls, "my life," These values *as* legislation, because the court will not do it For us [APPLAUSE]. We need to embody choreographers [APPLAUSE] so that way we may understand the world more in "human" terms. We think that is the point. For you and I to live an effective life We need to embody successful consumer driven initiatives (principles) So as to "get" a grasp of the kinds of connections and relations between Things. [APPLAUSE.]