[next]
The Art of Exploring Silent Screaming
"What does this picture mean to you?" She says
"What does this poem mean to you?" She says
"What does this sculpture mean to you"? She says
"What does this graffiti mean to you"? She says
"What does this short video mean to you"? She says
"What does this sound clip mean to you"? She says
"What does this music mean to you"? She says
Week one or two:
"They mean the same to me as they do to everyone else". I say
Many weeks later "We are all Unique,
Mentally, Experientially, Physiologically" she says
Silently, the words "And Conscientiously", now implode within me
"Unique in our interpretations" She says
"Unique in the meanings we attach to the same piece of Art" She says
"Art work Evolves" She says
"Stimulates meaning, interpretation and the sub-consciousness"
Over weeks, like the sunrise
An understanding has dawned upon me.
I am aware that I have been stuck my whole life through?
Suffocated and stifled and afraid to say boo
Afraid to admit I haven't understood my aggressor's point of view
Afraid of getting it wrong from his perspective
Afraid of being disconnected
Afraid I will be misconstrued, with me always trying to be true
Afraid I will not be listened to
Afraid I will be disbelieved, however much I stick rigidly to the truth
Trapped by the interpretations and expectations of
Those I know and knew
Who know no better than me
What will make me happy
All this helped me see
What my fears and my hopes,
Mean to me