i’m standing at a precipice
a precipice of my own making
and i think i’m
excited
poem a day
June 26, 2025
getting choked up
at rallies where we all chant
“we are New Yorkers”
to signify we won’t be beaten down
or give in
to fascism
literally tearing up
while reading the world’s responses
to our mayoral primary
“that’s my mayor”
in Cleveland
in Virginia
in New Zealand
in Europe
those damn tote bags were right —
don’t you dare call me an american
i’ve never had any
pride in my country
but don’t you dare forget
that i’m a New Yorker
and my chosen city
stands up for all our
beliefs
and when we get together on something
don’t you dare forget
what we can all accomplish
as New Yorkers
together
June 25, 2025
talking
all morning
about silly business ideas
singing
all evening
about higher stakes lives
than our
own
June 24, 2025
eradicate one war
and we’ll throw a tantrum on the oval office floor
because we’re all just children
trying to impress daddy
trying to get back the love we never found
and we think that adoration is one step above
and fear another
but inside, those who start wars
are empty inside
and just trying to fill their own souls’ holes
with explosions of others’
i can’t teach the lessons
that they’ll never learn even from their own experiences
but i can make sure i never forget
my own humanity
and empathy
in any part of my life inside me
[and that’s why i vote with my conscience
for those with a
conscience]
June 23, 2025
fascinating
to be so devoted
to encouraging folks
to join the circus
because, for me, circus means
a place where our human bodies
are the art — they become the
strength and ability we never thought we’d have
the magic of human feats
and humanity
is how i see
the circus
but i know
that’s aerial circus
modern cirque, if you will
traditional circus
[though i do love the music and the costumes and the vibe]
has a horrible history
of exploiting animals
[and people, honestly]
in troubling conditions
[to say the least]
and the word “circus”
to an elephant
may be
complete
and utter
trauma
June 22, 2025
when i think of an elephant, i see giant gentleness, i hear the stomps of their feet and the flapping of their ears, and i feel a sense of peace and safety
~~~
when i think of an elephant, i see mammoth past, i hear calls for connection for the present, i feel uncertainty for a future for them all
~~~
when i think of an elephant, i see a being, i hear a whole herd, i feel the lifetimes of their ancestors and descendants all around me
~~~
rsvp to The Elephant Play here
June 21, 2025
perhaps this
decision paralysis
is why i’ve said yes
to being part of things —
ensemble
background
rather than leading
because others can actually take an active role
while i am overwhelmed at even the potentiality of a leadership anything
and i can follow
not because i am a follower
but because following action
is the action i’ve allowed myself, somehow, to actually do
my default state is action
it is the frozen with too many choices
that has become my leadership achilles heel
and in order to heal
i need[ed] to take a step
backwards
so that i may indeed
lead forward
again
soon
June 20, 2025
uncertainty
in what to write
in what to do
at any given moment
day
or night
the uncertainty
is what freezes me
not potential good
or bad outcomes
but all the options
showing themselves to me
beat
by beat
by beat
until
the overwhelm becomes too much
that inaction is the safest path to take
[but it actually
never really
is]
June 19, 2025
an educated populace
is a dangerous populace
to the folks in charge
who gain
with everyone else’s
losses
June 18, 2025
i’m just writing words
and the minute i move on
to the next line, the words above
seem to fade from my mind
immediately
i wonder if this is going to be
simply the state of
today
kipventures 