playlist poem - scorpio(n)

Dana Venerable

you crave and need cafes

because they remind you of radio stations

but with everything else

at the touch of eyes, hands,

tastebuds, smells, and yes, ears

the scorpion crawling toward you

in your dreams has needs, too

you create ethical systems of absorption

nutritious content

that isn’t harmful or irreversible in damage

you subsume dance and writing

for the scorpion

it’s dance and mating

circling the past and present now

committed to tiny futures

guarding and riding its exoskeleton

until the release of more scorpions

waiting and walking on their infinite 8

defending, eating, and relieving

they observe the land

having been here a while and not at all

things have changed

you must transcend surfaced levels of safety

finding refuge in cramped windowless spaces

or taking the risk to live everyday

energy constantly moves

to self-expose

despite its discomfort

people make the worst decisions

based on conflict

uneven threats of violence

hiding mentally ill being

outright classist racist sexist

hating women

hating children

most people who have power

a degree or two

warp empathy

surrounded by people

choosing delusion

a human exoskeleton

built with rhetoric, monuments

territory lines and weapons

shooting at themselves

the scorpion, which is real

doesn’t sting itself

the world is here

you, both, are responsible

there are no excuses

it lulls before it speeds up

like simultaneous silent attacks

yelling “leave those communities for other ones

it’s time to move on

those who choose to live and take

deserve this”

it’s time

turn time into record

arrange something you can share

without turbulence

you’re not leaving yet

what the scorpion views as self-preservation

confuses or offends

for hundreds of seasons

it often eats its own kind

you both grow

sharing flaws

showing awareness of how to improve

to work your way out of grief

or be left behind

people are dying and you are watching

you watch scorpions die

you watch yourself die

you hear, run, spin, and fall

you wake up and look in the mirror, you see?

the rain puddles are mirrors, too

your vulnerability puts people off

who haven’t felt deeply for a spell

take it and hold it

listen closely to everyone

who has experienced death

or lost someone they loved

because they are reborn

they glow in ultraviolet light

even if they don’t accept it

your hesitancy of trust makes you

look up at the sun for answers

you curl out

stretch into walls

of your exoskeleton

you yearn to be understood

for boundaries to be

proud of yourself

but what is pride?

personal growth

kept on the mind so much

it deflates and starts over

don’t cower

give yourself a chance

for this dance

to hold your pincers and spin

promenade é deux

for hours

have the feeling

it’s going to end

and begin and end

you’re welcome

to curve forward

cat - cow pose

your arched spine

and pair of pincers

endlessly with a stinger

with costs of safety rising

the points shine through

your own life

everyone could belong

you protect what you listen to

how you think

funny how things can change

segmented tales

of loneliness and brawls

connected somehow

over water and skies

you were born in a desert

you may never return again

you walk the walk towards it dissolving your distance into sand

“9” – WILLOW, SZA

“I Miss You (Dobie Rub Part One)” Sunshine Mix – Björk, Dobie

“Pretty Sweet” – Frank Ocean

“Before You Walk Out of My Life” – Monica

“So Real” – Jeff Buckley

“Reminders” – Mariah the Scientist

“Solar Power” – Lorde

“I U She” – Peaches

“HiiiJack” – SZA

“Dancing Circles” – Sampha

“Satisfaction” – Eve

“Inside My Love” – Minnie Riperton

“Pyramids (Change)” – Madlib

“Find a Way” – A Tribe Called Quest

“Lilly” – Toro y Moi

“Jeepers Creepers” – Ethel Waters

“Blueslides” – ScHoolboyQ

“Trip” – Ella Mai

“Intergalactic” – Beastie Boys

“Ghetto Supastar (That is What You Are)” – Pras, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Mýa

“Scorpittiarus” – Twilight