Everybody

One of the most important techniques poetry has taught me is the power of conciseness. And if there's any poem that shows that off, it's this one. I was blown away.

"Everybody" by Marie Sheppard

I stood at a bus corner
one afternoon, waiting
for the #2. An old
guy stood waiting too.
I stared at him. He
caught my stare, grinned,
gap-toothed. Will you
sign my coat? he said.
Held out a pen. He wore
a dirty canvas coat that
had signatures all over
it, hundreds, maybe
thousands.
             I’m trying
to get everybody, he
said.
             I signed. On a
little space on a pocket.
Sometimes I remember:
I am one of everybody.

Stairs

Seated in sweat pants and old shoes
looking up the wooden, ratty staircase
from a spot on a jagged concrete slab,
I wonder if anyone is inside the apartment,
listening as the wind occasionally stirs the chimes.

It'd feel more homeless if it wasn't for a dorm room,
storing more things than one person should own.
But is it really that different
when I walk the stairs to sixth floor
knowing that no one is expecting me at the top?

Hell House

As I folded laundry, I started listening to the "This American Life" podcast from Oct. 25, "Devil on My Shoulder." In the first act of the show, the filmmaker of the documentary "Hell House" talks about what he saw while filming. 

As he began to describe it, I remembered hearing about it. The specific one he's discussing is in Cedar Hill, Tex., although the church has sold hundreds of "start-up kits"to churches in every state and even secular organizations. Here is how the Hell House is described on the film's website:

"Inside the Hell House, tour guides dressed as demons take visitors from room to room to view depictions of school massacres, date rape, AIDS-related deaths, fatal drunk driving crashes, and botched abortions. Hell Houses have now spread to hundreds of churches worldwide. With full access to the behind-the-scenes action, HELL HOUSE follows the process from the first script meeting until the last of the 10,000 visitors passes through the Hell House doors. The movie gives a verite window into the whole process of creating this over-the-top sermon, while showing an intimate portrait of the people who fervently believe its message."

I'm tempted to watch this film. But as the podcast progressed, angry tears welled up and my lip began to quiver. I couldn't even click to watch the trailer. How is it possible that there are people who actually would go through with this, much less in the name of a God of "love"?

From the episode, I tasted only a small slice of what "Hell House" documents. The filmmaker narrating how the rooms looked, clips from the Columbine and AIDS scene, audio from the faux Oscars ceremony at the end of the season where they give out awards like "Best Abortion Girl" and "Best Rape Victim." And also, Hell House is this particular church's largest event of the year. 

Beyond appalling. After just this small exposure, I could not believe my ears. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be able to handle any more.