Vox Populi
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Jose Padua: The Night We Tried to Get a Poet Arrested
I remember the night my friend and I tried to get a poet arrested
for his crimes against literature, his hiding
of horribly sentimental lines by speaking like a seller
of cheap real estate, those broken down houses
where everything and everyone leaks, in neighborhoods
divided by the tornado roar of long, slow trains, night and day.
It was just poetry, I know, words arranged like a landscape
of dark trees against the, whatever, azure sky,
but why should he escape punishment like the stealers
of poor people’s minority fortunes, the rule makers
who make us break our backs at hard labor
while they sit up high in penthouse suites
eating their feasts, drinking the best wine,
as they sneer at the riff-raff drawing heavy strings
and pushing square wheels along concrete floors
in the moldy basement, thump thump?
We called the police. “There he is,” I said,
“at the corner of State and East Washington,
ready to recite his deceptive verse. Take him.”
But they didn’t understand our soundness,
didn’t consider this criminal activity worthy of arrest,
as flagrant action against the laws they were paid
to uphold, defend, and protect. We argued,
we pleaded; they explained, they turned silent,
they hung up, believing they’d arranged the letters
of the law to the best of their abilities.
Because we couldn’t get the poet arrested
my friend walked around for years wearing
loose blue muscle shirts, his head bobbing
down and up through all the thick slabs of winters,
the thin white lines of summer, looking right, looking left,
grimacing what the fuck? to anyone passing close
enough to hear and refusing to listen.
These days I sit on park benches in the bright daylight,
enduring all manner of slurs and imprecations
and the endless spinning of the earth,
humming an old tune from my youth,
and thinking of all the different words for stone.
—
Photograph by Jose Padua
Vox Populi 
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AMAZING!
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Thank you
Fantastic Blog
Good luck
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://www.filemissile.net
_)_)””
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Reblogged this on tinaness202.
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beautiful
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Reblogged this on meritjones and commented:
Great title and good tone. Love it!
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Man, I would have liked and followed your blog on the basis of the title of this poem alone! Great stuff, thanks for posting. Now let’s go and arrest those dealers of doggerel!
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Nice post !
http://blog.muslu5.com
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Reblogged this on saurabhbobade.
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is this a job for neighbor against neighbor volunteer confidential informants and neighborhood watch snitches?
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Great title, the tone reminds me of Andrew Hudgins’ “Heat Lightning in a Time of Drought”
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Great!! Very original piece! 🙂
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thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Reblogged this on sechwaazpoetrytothebits and commented:
Have a nice look at a poet’s crime
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Damn!!!! this is real
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thanks, echwaaz (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Reblogged this on janice j. cunningham.
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Great read! X
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Thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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The above poem is awesome, thanks for posting..
Environmental Services in California
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Thanks raysmith! JP
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O_O I likeeee
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Thanks Mayam! JP
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Reblogged this on mrzrm.
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Reblogged this on magpieleigh and commented:
Interesting thoughts in this one here.. well done
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thanks, Magpie!
-JP (Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Love the imagery. I can feel the grit in the story, if that makes sense. Great work!!
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thanks, emmadotsophie. Yes, there IS grit! JP at Shenandoah Breakdown
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Reblogged this on Syke09's Blog.
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I am on a blogging101 assignment… I know this sounds lame (crickets), but your storytelling poetry is not. Awesome.
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thanks, Krissy (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Reblogged this on sportslover245 and commented:
Why would u want to arrest a poet
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Fabulous work. Every writer has their own voice and I guess sincerity is the key to good writing. Well spotted!
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thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Well nice photo haha.
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I absolutely love this poem.
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thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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its delicious
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Amazing poem !
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Thank you! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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great work.
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thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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I love the way this flows
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thank you, bailoun (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Have you ever engaged in getting lawful people arrested due to public policy preferences. Trend seems to be gang type activists interactive testing of equipment and solicitation of confidential informant personnel – both paid and unpaid. I dont get it. oh well.
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Love it. Great piece.
qwamebanxx.wordpress.com
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Thanks! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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loved it…
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thanks, Abigail! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Absolutely beautiful
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thank you, Lucia! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
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Thanks, Pickled Pastor! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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Reblogged this on RUNHIGHDONTFALL.
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Reblogged this on didine596472's Blog.
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Reblogged this on Jin Okubo and commented:
Now that is awesome
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thanks, Jin! (JP at Shenandoah Breakdown)
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