by KELLY ZEN-YIE TSAI
In the city that never sleeps
Call to prayer on the corner
Storefront church on the block
Temple beside the hot dog stand
Goddess circle at midnight
In the city that never sleeps
Curls of hair twist before the ear
Jehovah’s witness on a bike
Amulet hangs from necklace chain
Encircle the wrist with prayer beads
In the city that never sleeps
Ancestor shrine next to Pokemon cards
Drum circles in the park
House dance until dawn spirits fly
Yoga mats drone with caffeinated om’s
In the city that never sleeps
Eight million prayers held on the in-breath
Eight million prayers that may never come out
Lips
Words
Being
Sound
Silence
Silence
Sacred
Sound
Echo
Echo
Echo
Call
Echo
Echo
Echo
Call
What sounds like silence
Isn’t silence at all
Makeshift the miracles
Revamp the rituals
Gain in the trade
of cynical for spiritual
We’ve got no time for memorial poems
Kelly Tsai’s website is Yellow Gurl
“Say You Heard My Echo” – Spoken Word Poetry Theater
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Flushing Town Hall
137-35 Northern Blvd
Flushing, NY
5:00 PM
$15
SAY YOU HEARD MY ECHO is an evening-length spoken word poetry theater project that juxtaposes fictional narratives of three Asian American women in NYC a decade after 9/11. Their struggles with survivorship and faith prompt them to call on three female religious icons (Mary Magdalene, Guan Yin, and Aisha) for solace and answers as they come of age in a world impacted by war. Rendered with humor and humanity, SAY YOU HEARD MY ECHO questions what remains sacred in times of war while unearthing intersections between feminism, Asian Pacific Islander American identity, and religious freedom. The event is presented on the main stage of the historic Flushing Town Hall in Queens, across from where the Flushing Remonstrance was signed more than 450 years ago, a fundamental document in establishing the religious freedoms enshrined in the US Constitution.
A co-production of Asian American Arts Alliance and Flushing Council on the Arts & Culture. Major funding for this event is provided by the Asian Women Giving Circle. Co-sponsored by the Asian / Pacific / American Institute at New York University. Say You Heard My Echo is a commissioned piece by the Asian American Arts Alliance for Kelly Zen Yie-Tsai.
A New Play by Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai
Directed by Jesse Jou
Performed by Adeeba Rana, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Yalinidream
Developed by Amissa Miller
Produced by Andre Lancaster & Nancy Kim
Costume Design: Valerie Bart
Scenic Design: Chien-Yu Peng
Sound Deign: Mike Skinner