Wednesday 17 October 2012

Repetition

During Art of Story 6p, my faci showed us a video. It's Phil Kaye on Why we tell stories. He started off with a poem and I want to share that beautiful poem with everyone.

"I remember the bed just floating there. Apart, apart, apart, apart. My mother taught me this trick, if you repeat something over and over again it loses its meaning. For example, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework. See, nothing.
Our existence, she said is the same way. You watch the sunset too often it just becomes 6pm. You make the same mistake over and over you’ll stop calling it a mistake. If you just wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. One day you’ll forget why. Nothing is forever, she said. My parents left each other when I was seven years old. Before their last argument they sent me off  to the neighbor’s house. Like some astronaut jettison from the shuttle.
When I came back there was no gravity in our home. Beds floating. I imagined it as a accident, that when I left they whispered to each other I love you so many times over that they forgot what it meant.  Family, family, family, family, family, family. My mother taught me this trick, if you repeat something over and over it loses its meaning. This became my favorite game, it made the sting of words evaporate. Separation, separation, separation, see? Nothing. Apart apart apart apart, see? nothing. I am an injured handyman now. I work with words all day. Shut up, I know the irony. When I was young I was taught the trick to dominating language was breaking it down it down, convincing it that it was worthless. I love you, I love you, I love you. See? Nothing.
Soon after my parents divorce I developed a stutter. Fate is a cruel and efficient tutor. There’s no escape in stutter, you feel the meaning in every word drag itself up your throat s-s-s-separation. Stutter is a cage made of mirrors. Every are you okay? Every what’d you say? every spit it out kid, is a glaring reflection you can not escape. Every terrible moment skips upon its own announcement over, and over, until it just hangs there. Floating in the middle of the room.
Mom, Dad, I am not wasteful with my words anymore. Even now, after hundreds of hours practicing away my stutter I still feel the claw of meaning in the bottom of my throat. I’ve heard that even in space you can hear the scratching of an, I-I-I-I- I love you."

Here's the video my faci showed us.



 Here's another video of him performing repetition. PLEASE WATCH!!


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Another fav of him and Sarah Kay - "An Origin Story" - the story of how they began. 

- Sarah kay is half Jap, half Jewish. Has a younger brother named Philip kay 
- Phil kaye is half Jap, half Jewish, has a younger sister named Sarah Kaye
They have similar surnames too, BUT they are not related, not married, not dating or ever plan on dating. 
They are what I call, SOUL MATES. 


"When the fire takes all you have, my home will be your home.
When you are old and can no longer remember my face, I will meet you for the first time again and again. 
When they make fun of your accent, I will take you swimming because we all sound the same underwater. (HAHAHA)"

" But I have seen the best of you, and the worst of you, and I choose both. I want to share every single one of your sunshines and save some for later. I will tuck them into my pockets so I can give them back to you when the rains fall hard."

" I want to be the mirror that reminds you to love yourself. I want to be air in your lungs that reminds you to breathe easy. When the walls come down, when the thunder rumbles, when nobody else is home, hold my hand and I promise, I won't let go."

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