Portraying a runaway slave
I chose
to just let go
and let the character
unfold
naturally,
looking at him
somewhat literally
as me,
ready, like him,
to fly into the winds
on a whim,
at a heightened pace,
dashing for liberty
or death
whichever appears first in the race.
I wanted him
to carry himself
calm and slow
but underneath
as I got into his skin
I began to sense him
as one who held within
his Negro
heart and soul
a muted yearning to say
“Hey, massa,
you better look my way
so I can tell you something you need to know.
The next time you wake me up
in the morning around fo’,
more than one day in a row,
one of us is go’
have to go.”
All who are oppressed
and want to be free
of such a reality
must somewhere inside
as a boost to his or her dignity
indulge in such a fantasy.
And, when I saw the screening
my character pleased me
with how I had him say
what he had to say
just the way
I wanted him to say it
when we filmed it.
Good to see
Old Jacob set free
because if you ask me
he was definitely
at a place in his destiny
when he was go’
have to go’.
That was the only
way I could play him,
don’t you know –
just like me
if I were a slave
looking to live free.
Run, Jacob, run,
you and me,
you and me.
The guy in the runaway slave graphic looks alot like the guy in the ‘don’t feed our bums’ graphic.
Slaves. Homeless. Treatment of. Definitely some similarities.
Ernie, I did not mean to insinuate or even suggest that homeless people are on the same level of oppression as the slaves that built this country.
And I wasn’t responding to any perceived insinuations on your part, OB Joe. My comments were based on the discrimination that slaves as well as homeless people face. Kind of along John Muir’s theory that when you find one thing in the universe you find that it’s connected to every single other thing – or some facsimile thereof, cha, cha, cha. Doo Waa (smile).
I’m trying to remember the Don’t Feed the Bums graphic. I think you’re right. Same model, perhaps? If so, I wonder who his agent his.
Thank you.
No hay de que.
So when and where is this movie and how does one get to see it?
Coyote Falls is the name of the movie. It’s a short film that the writer/producer/director, Cody Powers, a high school student, plans on entering in short film festivals and the like. I’ll let people know whenever its available to see. Cody is the son of local actor and playwright, Joe Powers, whose work some people might know.
Ernie- we need a screening for Ragsters! Including a Q&A with Cody!
That must be possible.
I second that – a screening would be awesome.
And I also really enjoyed the poem – nice work, Ernie!
Glad you liked it.
Great poem, Ernie, about a most important issue – freedom. I love that you could do this film and represent something you hold dear – that all should be free to be.
Lauren