,It takes a beast to know a beast, 
and that’s just what I’ve become. 

With fangs and a hunched back, 
even a limp, 

I carry weighted words now, 
heavy with anger and embarrassment. 

I’m writing from the inside, 
and it’s dark in here, I tell you. 

But I feel the same as everyone else. 
I know it’s no different, 

alone, helpless and scared. 

So I lash out with the best of them. 
We toss criticism and loud howls 
into the empty night. 

We are no different! 

I just wonder how long it will take 
for us all to notice this. 

Why can’t we all see that? 
The small steps we make to fix one another 
go a long way. 

Much, much more than we all realize. 

So when the authorities come 
with their worker mobs 
of greed and success, 

the type they’ve been trying to sell here 
with no takers. 

Can we ban together? 

For the state in which we reside 
is a product of their doing, 

and it’s time for a change. 

For we are creatures 
of majestic beauty 
chained to their cold and muddy cages. 

It is us who have the numbers! 

With hearts big enough 
to swallow this whole land. 

And compassion that could birth 
the love and new ideas necessary 
to move on from this way 
of doing things. 

(Laugh) It’s funny. 
Because in order to make the change, 
you yourself have to actually believe 
that it’s possible. 

And being the way we are, 
looking different, 
thinking different, 
we have no place in their world. 

But today 
that is done. 
A new flag is rising, 
a call to action has been sent out. 

The time has come for you to become more than a number. 

It’s time to realize 
your true beauty 
and the potential 
your loving heart 
carries around with it 
each and every day. 

- Ian Morris, Founder of Wake Magazine

from Parking Lot Manuscripts, released January 31, 2013

www.ianmorris.bandcamp.com

#Age-Old and The Watering Hole are both dynamic organizations doing amazing work. #Age-Old curates various styles of art, building community and providing platforms for artists that are underrepresented.  The Watering Hole invests in pursuing the craft of poetry, learning about southern poets of color and poets who write about the South, providing affordable classes and retreats, swinging open the door for diverse forms of poetry, and pushing the bounds of a contemporary writing community.  

​Great stuff!