Sarah Kay – If I Should Have A Daughter…

I came across spoken word poetry recently and this piece by Sarah Kay has been on my mind ever since. It is officially called “B” but has become known as “If I Should Have A Daughter”.

It is a beautifully thought out and heartfelt piece.

Below the video I have put the script. Enjoy! xoxo

If I should have a daughter, instead of “Mom,” she’s going to call me, “Point B.” Because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. 

And I’m going to paint the solar systems on the backs of her hands, so she has to learn the entire universe before she can say, “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.” And she’s going to learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.

“And baby,” I’ll tell her, “Don’t keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that trick. I’ve done it a million times. You’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house, so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place, to see if you can change him.” But I know she will anyway, so instead, I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rainboots nearby. Because there’s no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix.

Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks that chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rainboots are for. Because rain will wash away everything if you let it.

I want her to look at the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat. To look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind. Because that’s the way my mom taught me. That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this,” my mama said. When you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly, and the very people you want to save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain, and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment, and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say, “Thank you.” Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shore line, no matter how many times it’s sent away. 

You will put the “wind” in “winsome… lose some.” You will put the “star” in “starting over… and over…” And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute, be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life. 

And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting, I am pretty damn naive. But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily, but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it. 

“Baby,” I’ll tell her, “Remember, your mama is a worrier, and your papa is a warrior, and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more. Remember that good things come in threes, and so do bad things, and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong. But don’t you EVER apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining. Your voice is small, but don’t ever stop singing. And when they finally hand you heartache, when they slip war and hatred under your door and offer you handouts on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”

Banksy: Art Terrorist

“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” – Banksy

I’m not a big art person. By that I mean, I know what I like and that’s about it. My personal knowledge of techniques and period pieces is… well… I have none. None whatsoever. I don’t speak art. And beauty is so subjective, I’ve never really bothered to spend much time learning about it – I mean, what would be the point? (I probably sound really ignorant right about now…) Anyway, on with the post.

If you live in or around London/Bristol, you would have been personally familiar with the work of graffiti artist Banksy for some time now. If you have never personally experienced his work, no doubt you will have heard about it or at least seen pictures of it. He has even taken his art around the world.

To some, Banksy is thought to be a breath-of-fresh-air-genius, to others a threat-to-social-fabric-vandal. Where ever you fall, there is no doubt his work is always controversial. He provokes outrage and he inspires in equal measure.

Banksy – the pseudonym of a well-known English based graffiti artist, painter, film-director and political activist has become quite the celebrity (albeit avoiding celebrity status by keeping his identity shrouded in mystery). His street art is satirical, subversive and poignant and he manages to combine dark humour with a political and social commentary. His art appears in public spaces and he has even completed works on the barrier wall which separates Israelis and Palestinians.

He is also well known for his controversial headline-making stunts, such as leaving an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner in Disneyland, California, and hanging a version of the Mona Lisa – but with a smiling face – in the Louvre, Paris.

But perhaps his most provocative statement, and the one that generates the most publicity, is the fact that Banksy’s true identity has always been a highly guarded secret, known to only a handful of trusted friends.

A series of myths has grown around him. One being that his real name is Robin Banks. Another being that he used to be a butcher. Also, that his parents don’t know what he does, believing him to be an unusually successful painter, decorator and labourer. Then there’s the suggestion that Banksy is actually a collection of artists which belong to a very secretive artist-guerrilla-society and that the individual man doesn’t exist at all.

Of course there are suspicions about his true identity and certain investigative reporters claim to have uncovered his identity, but the truth is, there is still no real conformation… and I kind of like it that way. I think of Banksy as the last Santa Claus/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny for grown ups – why ruin the illusion. Whenever I go into London, I look for evidence of his presence and every now and again I have gotten it!

Banksy has characterised graffiti as a form of underclass ‘revenge‘, or ‘guerilla warfare‘ that allows the individual to snatch away power and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy. His work has also shown a desire to mock centralised power. He demonstrates, through his art, that although power does exist it is not terribly efficient and it can and should be deceived. Banksy’s work deals with an array of social themes including war, social class, capitalism, fascism and existentialism, to name but a few. He also provides a commentary on the human fallacies, such as greed, poverty and alienation. He subverts tradition and plays with contrast.

I think it’s pretty clear that I’m a fan!

I can’t help but feel he’s the Andy Warhol of our time (with our obsession with his works and messages but without the excessive fame).

Through a telephone interview Banksy once told a magazine: “I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated assholes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is.”

Desiderata: Desired Things

This is one of my favourite poems. I use it almost as my commandments or my prayer – reminding me to take care in my daily goings about. It is a beautiful piece of writing which I wish to share with you all. If you know it, it needs no further explaination. If not, you are most welcome…

Desiderata

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

xoxo

Dreaming of Chanel

Whilst in a bookstore a few days ago, something caught my eye. Without flicking through it, I decided to buy it. In the car I pulled out my purchase and I was pleasantly surprised to find I had bought a wonderful little book.

It is a book called Dreaming of Chanel by Charlotte Smith. The cover is a Chanel pink with the drawing of a woman wearing an unmistakable Chanel suit. The suit itself has a tactile velvet feel.

Charlotte Smith, who inherited priceless vintage clothing from her godmother Doris, wrote the book. The pieces of clothing range from various time periods, beginning from 1790 right up to 1995.

The book is a compilation of stories which feature different pieces any woman would dream of owning. Each story is a page long and there are wonderful sketches by Grant Cowan, which accompany them.

Dreaming of Chanel is Charlotte Smith’s follow up from Dreaming of Dior (which is currently on my wish list).

As someone who is the furthest thing from a fashionista, I find this book remarkably simple and a pleasure to flick through. It makes for a good coffee table book. I love the stories, which are held within the fabric of the beautiful clothes. The stories are short and sweet so there’s no pressure to keep reading – I find it a useful book to read while doing tasks which afford me a few extra moments (e.g. when I’m warming up something in the microwave or when I have been put on hold).

I highly recommend Dreaming of Chanel which is for any woman who wishes they could be surrounded by splendid things xoxo