Ode to Ani Difranco — July, 2004
You choose the color of your fabric by your thoughts
Adjectives, your thread
Adverbs, your stitches
Metaphor, your knots
With clever effort you reveal the majesty of your tapestry
You're an artisan at the loom
My hairs dance on end at the power of your imagery
You are a modern master poet,
standing among so few
i listen to your audience cheer
Women empowered
The sick consoled
The battered embraced
The poor enriched
Criminals reformed
How sad you must be that communism failed
How you must frown to see those succeed who work hard
What tears you must cry that profits motivate scientists to save lives
Beautiful blankets you weave, indeed
But they won't keep warm those left cold by the impossibility of your idealism
And, hypocrisy weakens the fiber of your yarn
For while you scream about the horrid power of the capitalism bomb
i grin in humored satisfaction at righteousbabe.com
note:
Shortly after writing this, i came across the following quote from Ani:
"i speak without reservation from what i know and who i am. i do so with the understanding that all people should have the right to offer their voice to the chorus whether the result is harmony or dissonance, the worldsong is a colorless dirge without the differences that distinguish us, and it is that difference which should be celebrated not condemned. should any part of my music offend you, please do not close your ears to it. just take what you can use and go on."
And?
While i respect and agree with her views about the chorus, and while i further respect her use of the lowercase first-person-singular pronoun, i can't in good conscience rescind my ode, for her comments about September 11th, 2001 sicken me.
i spent time there...below the horrid sun...it wasn't retribution.
~ topher