Re: Deviating from the Original Cause

The previous poem I've posted is from a larger, unnamed collection of works I've been appending together in the free time I manage to still have. It started after I went through a recent stint of watching and listening to spoken-word poets, more specifically the works of Anis Mojgani. 

Mojgani's works. to me, have been incredibly interesting. When I see them written, they tend to be a little flat or a little confusing at times. When they're just words on a page I can't really take much from them, but when I experience his performances of them they make a little more sense. The way he writes them is reminiscent of ammunition being prepared for him to fire at an audience. That last poem I wrote with Mojgani in mind, and hopefully I had it sit well on its own without having to rely on a voice to deliver it, but that may be the case. 

It's interesting how a work can be very un-engaging when we read it, but when we hear it we get hit with the "Oh okay, I get it now" factor, even if the work itself is abstract beyond what we can take from it. Let's take his work "My Library has 17 Books", a very popular poem of his. The parts are separated into 17 pieces, each representative of a book. But entirely, it's a bit confusing to me. I do not know what he means to send to his audience with it; his other works by contrast all have their own discriminatory aim. "Four Stars", "Milos" etc. all have a point that they make. Despite this, "My Library has 17 Books" remains a solid staple of his set up.

Here is his work in action:

I wonder why that is.