WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.340 align:middle line:90% 00:00:02.340 --> 00:00:04.980 align:middle line:90% So poetry is really serious. 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:08.630 align:middle line:84% And there's certain things you can't do 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:12.690 align:middle line:90% in poetry, like, I don't know-- 00:00:12.690 --> 00:00:14.880 align:middle line:90% that. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:16.630 align:middle line:90% Thank you for playing along. 00:00:16.630 --> 00:00:19.320 align:middle line:84% So this last poem is based on a true story. 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.487 align:middle line:84% Before I get into that though, these flyers 00:00:21.487 --> 00:00:22.320 align:middle line:90% are floating around. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:23.862 align:middle line:84% Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not 00:00:23.862 --> 00:00:26.580 align:middle line:84% checked out the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam, 00:00:26.580 --> 00:00:28.002 align:middle line:90% it's high time that you did. 00:00:28.002 --> 00:00:30.460 align:middle line:84% Make some noise if you're from the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam 00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:32.015 align:middle line:84% and you're in the audience right now. 00:00:32.015 --> 00:00:34.440 align:middle line:90% [CHEERING] 00:00:34.440 --> 00:00:35.520 align:middle line:90% Yeah, they're out there. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.520 align:middle line:90% They're among you. 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:39.272 align:middle line:90% This is amazing. 00:00:39.272 --> 00:00:41.730 align:middle line:84% A lot of the competitors that you'll see on the stage today 00:00:41.730 --> 00:00:43.800 align:middle line:84% will also be at the championship, which 00:00:43.800 --> 00:00:48.930 align:middle line:84% will be held right here, on April 20, Saturday, 1:00 PM, 00:00:48.930 --> 00:00:49.620 align:middle line:90% just like today. 00:00:49.620 --> 00:00:51.120 align:middle line:84% We'd like to see all of you back. 00:00:51.120 --> 00:00:55.830 align:middle line:84% Because on April 20, they will be performing their own poems 00:00:55.830 --> 00:00:58.320 align:middle line:90% that they composed themselves. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:00.363 align:middle line:90% So it's open to all youth. 00:01:00.363 --> 00:01:02.280 align:middle line:84% If you are interested in being a part of that, 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:03.480 align:middle line:84% grab one of these flyers, because you 00:01:03.480 --> 00:01:05.772 align:middle line:84% got to qualify before you can come to the championship. 00:01:05.772 --> 00:01:06.970 align:middle line:90% We would love to have you. 00:01:06.970 --> 00:01:08.790 align:middle line:84% It's one of my favorite things going on in Tucson, 00:01:08.790 --> 00:01:09.850 align:middle line:90% together with Poetry Out Loud. 00:01:09.850 --> 00:01:10.890 align:middle line:90% They're like sisters. 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:11.760 align:middle line:90% It's amazing. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.370 align:middle line:90% All right. 00:01:14.370 --> 00:01:15.900 align:middle line:90% This last poem is a true story. 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:18.480 align:middle line:84% I was driving out to Sells for some work, two weeks ago 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:23.850 align:middle line:84% with a good friend, and I for really real, really, really, 00:01:23.850 --> 00:01:25.560 align:middle line:90% for real saw chupacabras. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:27.840 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.190 align:middle line:90% For real. 00:01:29.190 --> 00:01:31.710 align:middle line:84% I've lived here most of my life, and have never seen one. 00:01:31.710 --> 00:01:35.490 align:middle line:84% And this poem is called "El Chupacabras Crosses Highway 86 00:01:35.490 --> 00:01:38.640 align:middle line:90% on the Tohono O'odham Nation." 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:41.910 align:middle line:84% "It is 8:00 AM, and the chupacabras 00:01:41.910 --> 00:01:45.450 align:middle line:90% is the only one not in a hurry. 00:01:45.450 --> 00:01:48.150 align:middle line:84% We are trying to make it to Sells, Arizona on time. 00:01:48.150 --> 00:01:49.860 align:middle line:84% We're trying to keep our human time. 00:01:49.860 --> 00:01:52.200 align:middle line:84% And the chupacabras is really not 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:56.790 align:middle line:84% in a hurry for his appointment of cabras de chupar, 00:01:56.790 --> 00:01:59.700 align:middle line:90% for his appointment of terror. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:04.290 align:middle line:84% It lopes, slow and hairless, unafraid to be seen. 00:02:04.290 --> 00:02:07.050 align:middle line:84% There is snow on the face of Baboquivari 00:02:07.050 --> 00:02:11.580 align:middle line:84% and my soul rattles ribs at 8:00 AM, as the truck in front of us 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:13.560 align:middle line:84% does not brake for the chupacabras. 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.170 align:middle line:84% Either that, or we are seeing something 00:02:16.170 --> 00:02:18.690 align:middle line:84% that the other drivers are not seeing. 00:02:18.690 --> 00:02:20.700 align:middle line:90% Did you see that, I ask. 00:02:20.700 --> 00:02:25.370 align:middle line:84% And I am so thankful when Sarita replies, [SQUEALING].. 00:02:25.370 --> 00:02:28.160 align:middle line:84% All that is Arizona in me moves at once, 00:02:28.160 --> 00:02:31.370 align:middle line:84% from shoulder to shoulder, as this is not a dog I am seeing. 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:34.190 align:middle line:84% I've seen coyote this of all kinds cross all kinds of lines. 00:02:34.190 --> 00:02:37.070 align:middle line:84% And this is no coyote, and no kind of hurry that I recognize. 00:02:37.070 --> 00:02:39.060 align:middle line:84% The other truck does not slow down. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.750 align:middle line:84% We are going to a place to talk to some people about a thing. 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:43.610 align:middle line:84% We are driving from Tucson to Sells. 00:02:43.610 --> 00:02:47.090 align:middle line:84% From the white city with a Native name to the Native city 00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:48.410 align:middle line:90% with a white name. 00:02:48.410 --> 00:02:51.620 align:middle line:84% And then there's the chupacabras. 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:54.440 align:middle line:84% And all that is goat in me shudders, 00:02:54.440 --> 00:02:57.260 align:middle line:84% scared as if somebody had just said barbacoa. 00:02:57.260 --> 00:03:00.230 align:middle line:84% And I am aware of where the water is 00:03:00.230 --> 00:03:03.920 align:middle line:84% in my body, of what [? Hasan ?] looks like covered in snow. 00:03:03.920 --> 00:03:06.560 align:middle line:84% And the ears are back, and the snout is forward, 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.400 align:middle line:84% and it is 8:00 AM, in winter light on the res. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.330 align:middle line:84% Why did the chupacabras cross the road? 00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:19.520 align:middle line:84% If I knew, don't you think I would have said so by now? 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:20.762 align:middle line:90% Knock, knock. 00:03:20.762 --> 00:03:22.370 align:middle line:90% Who's there? 00:03:22.370 --> 00:03:24.380 align:middle line:90% I think you know who. 00:03:24.380 --> 00:03:26.780 align:middle line:84% And if I knew, what would be the point 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:28.370 align:middle line:90% of writing all these poems? 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:30.680 align:middle line:84% We are on Highway 86 going 68 when it all 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:32.930 align:middle line:84% slows down, and makes feel something other than sense, 00:03:32.930 --> 00:03:35.240 align:middle line:84% makes part of me move off into the desert 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.120 align:middle line:84% on a blanket of wildflowers, barely born, still unbloomed. 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:39.680 align:middle line:90% And I'm no longer in the car. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:43.420 align:middle line:84% I no longer believe in the agency of no la prisa que contiene. 00:03:43.420 --> 00:03:46.340 align:middle line:84% I am other, I am roaming, I am off the grid lines. 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:48.860 align:middle line:84% I'm off the highway and there's no taxonomy for me, 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:50.210 align:middle line:90% nor any myth to be busted. 00:03:50.210 --> 00:03:51.650 align:middle line:90% I'm a four legged legend-- 00:03:51.650 --> 00:03:53.930 align:middle line:84% a story, a movement, a warm blooded fear-- 00:03:53.930 --> 00:03:56.870 align:middle line:84% my movement inexplicable towards the wordless desert trees. 00:03:56.870 --> 00:03:59.330 align:middle line:84% My time is other there and my name is unpronounceable. 00:03:59.330 --> 00:04:00.890 align:middle line:84% And certain circles, like the circles 00:04:00.890 --> 00:04:03.140 align:middle line:84% held by the arms of the clock, and scientific circles, 00:04:03.140 --> 00:04:06.860 align:middle line:84% [INAUDIBLE] outside, books and biology outside your lines 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:09.800 align:middle line:84% your ideas of nomenclature and extinction, redress 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:10.940 align:middle line:90% and preservation. 00:04:10.940 --> 00:04:14.060 align:middle line:84% A glance, and I knock, knock the stale hegemony of your science. 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:14.750 align:middle line:90% Knock, knock. 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:17.930 align:middle line:84% I am the butt of a joke, as the poet makes an ass of himself, 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:20.240 align:middle line:84% disguising his fear with cartoonish humor. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.040 align:middle line:90% I chase no roadrunners, poet. 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.920 align:middle line:84% I am not the cabros que chupo poeta, 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:26.360 align:middle line:90% I am not what you've heard. 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.690 align:middle line:84% I'm crossing the pavement, late dawn in the dead of winter. 00:04:29.690 --> 00:04:33.410 align:middle line:84% Life of living, no soy la línea entre city and reservation. 00:04:33.410 --> 00:04:36.890 align:middle line:84% I am this wordlessness crossing into stories, 00:04:36.890 --> 00:04:38.450 align:middle line:90% keeping kids up at night. 00:04:38.450 --> 00:04:42.620 align:middle line:84% I am moving off the highway carrying all the lives of all 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.550 align:middle line:84% the children that La Llorona has saved from drowning 00:04:46.550 --> 00:04:48.740 align:middle line:90% with merely her story. 00:04:48.740 --> 00:04:51.410 align:middle line:84% I am stepping, skin and bones, knowing 00:04:51.410 --> 00:04:53.930 align:middle line:84% that merely the story of me can scare you safe, 00:04:53.930 --> 00:04:56.605 align:middle line:84% poeta, I am passing with the power of turning tierra 00:04:56.605 --> 00:04:58.640 align:middle line:84% tiradita into tierra velada, 00:04:58.640 --> 00:05:01.430 align:middle line:84% making altars to sinners on consecrated ground. 00:05:01.430 --> 00:05:05.330 align:middle line:84% You want to take a photo of me to prove that I exist, 00:05:05.330 --> 00:05:09.470 align:middle line:84% and yet inside, you already know that I exist inside you. 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:11.450 align:middle line:84% And you believe only in pictures, 00:05:11.450 --> 00:05:15.890 align:middle line:84% and yet you yourself are made of stories, only. 00:05:15.890 --> 00:05:19.730 align:middle line:84% I have crossed the line of human rush, a field of vision, 00:05:19.730 --> 00:05:23.300 align:middle line:84% blue fields to cold fields to big fields to the old fields 00:05:23.300 --> 00:05:24.560 align:middle line:90% by the Santa Cruz. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:28.160 align:middle line:84% Buried under landfill, humanity under obliviousness. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:33.200 align:middle line:84% Notice, poet, this uncharted desert of spines with flowers. 00:05:33.200 --> 00:05:35.870 align:middle line:84% This place that defines you and defies you. 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.000 align:middle line:84% This thirst, it will break you, poet. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.180 align:middle line:84% Today, in this desert, it will snow. 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:42.770 align:middle line:84% This is not what you think it is, 00:05:42.770 --> 00:05:45.770 align:middle line:84% and yet you will tell this story of me 00:05:45.770 --> 00:05:47.240 align:middle line:90% for the rest of your life. 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:52.560 align:middle line:84% And this is why I crossed the road, poet. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:55.890 align:middle line:90% To remind you." 00:05:55.890 --> 00:05:57.690 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:05:57.690 --> 00:05:59.840 align:middle line:90% Thank you all very much. 00:05:59.840 --> 00:06:02.176 align:middle line:90%