“I wanna hear a poem” (2003) by steve coleman (b 1970)

1. I Wanna Hear a Poem

2. I wanna hear a poem
3. I wanna learn something I didn't know
4. I wanna say "yes" at the end, because I'm sick of saying "so?"

5. I wanna hear a poem about who you are

6. And what you think
7. And why you slam
8. Not a poem about me and my poem
9. Because I know who I am

10.I wanna hear a love poem

11.A sad poem
12.An "I hate my dad" poem
13.A dream poem
14.An "I'm not what I seem" poem
15.An "I need" poem
16.An "I also bleed" poem
17.An "I'm alone" poem
18.An "I can't find my home" poem
19.I just wanna hear a poem

20.I wanna hear a poem about revolution

21.About fists raised high
22.And hips twisting in a rumble like a rumba
23.I wanna follow the footsteps of Chè
24.And hear the truth about the days of CIA killed the mumba

25.I wanna hear a poem about struggle

26.So that when I open my mouth, I can step outside myself
27.I wanna listen to no less than the sounds of protest
28.In the factories where workers sweat and make Air Jordans and Pro-Keds
because
29.If you wanna take shots at people
30.Target Phil Knight and Bill Gates
31.Contemplate how
32.They own the products
33.And they got the goods
 34.How they act like they care
35.But they're just Robin Hoods

36.I wanna hear a poem where ideas kiss similes so deeply that metaphors get
jealous
37.Where the subject matters so much that adjectives start holding pro-noun
rallies at city hall

38.Because I wanna hear a poem that attacks the status quo

39.That attracts the clapse of the cats with the fattest flows
40.That makes the crowd pass the hat
41.And pack my cap with a stack of dough
42.I wanna hear a poem that makes this audience yell "hoooo!"

43.Because I wanna guess your favorite color

44.Then craft rhyme schemes out of thin air
45.I wanna hear a poem about why the statute of limitations for rape is only
five years
46.I wanna hear a poem
47.I wanna feel a poem
48.I wanna taste a poem
49.Give me your spot on the mic if you wanna waste a poem

50.I wanna..Hear..A Poem

Steve Coleman is a poet, writer, performer, and director. He co-wrote and co-starred in Russell
Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Def Poetry won a Tony Award in 2003 in the Best
Special Theatrical Event category. A long-time creative collaborator with his wife Sarah Jones
(stage actress), he co-conceived and assistant directed Jones’s Tony Award-winning show
Bridge and Tunnel. His theater work and collaborations with Jones have also garnered two
Drama Desk nominations, an Obie, a Theater World Award, and a Helen Hayes Award. Colman
began his poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He won
the National Poetry Slam championship as a member of the Nuyorican Poets Café slam team
and also received the Café's Fresh Poet Award. Colman co-authored Burning Down the House
(SoftSkull Press), and Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and More (Atria Books).
Colman is a graduate of Macalester College (BA) and Case Western Reserve University (MA).
1. Internet Broadway Database www.idbd.com/person.asp?ID=104787
2. College profile: http://is.gd/b4ATR