Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Jillian Weise

BIOHACK MANIFESTO

BIOHACK MANIFESTO

BIOHACK MANIFESTO

It is terrible to be trapped at DEF CON
with not even Ray Kurzweil’s
daughter to gaze upon
I know some of you wish
I would go wherever
my people go, the factory,
physical therapy, a telethon

No! says my mentor
Not this. This is too angry

This is too much about
Not that. Not that

I like to hack, sometimes,
the Hebrew Bible

I don’t think my mentor hacks
the Bible b/c it has too much
lame deaf blind circumcised in it

Not that. Not that in poetry
Didn’t we already have
Judd Woe? He was so good to us
so good and sad and sorry

The great thing about Judd Woe
is that now we don’t have to
keep looking for a disabled poet
We got him

Everybody together now: We got him
Thank yhwh he’s a man

I am so relieved, aren’t you?
I am so cock blocked, aren’t you?

Here I am at the cobbler

Please, please can you make
all my high heels into wedges

Here I am at Wal-Mart

Please, please, can you make
your children stop following me

Here I am at Advanced Prosthetics

Please, please, can you
change my settings

THIS IS NOT POETRY, they said

Be happy with what we give you
We got you

Insurance: You are allowed ten socks/year

Insurance: You are not allowed to walk in oceans

Insurance: If you had fought for us, if you
had lost your leg for us, for freedom, then
we would cover the leg that walks in oceans

AND WHY IS IT ALWAYS A POEM IS A WALK?

A poem is like a walk
A poem is like going on a walk
A walk is like a poem
I was walking the other day and a poem tripped me

Don’t leave
Don’t I have any other ideas
Be a man, mortality, zip it

Call in the aubades
I wish I would read an aubade
Is it morning yet? This manifesto
is so so long. Too angry
Who you bangin’ on my door?

JUDY GRAHN

Thank YHWH. It was getting hot in here
Ray Kurzweil’s daughter is in Hawaii

I was about to give up

Yes
Yes
I know

I am trying to walk the treadmill
My leg beeps at 3 mph
This is the conference for hackers
Can somebody hack me
Can somebody change my settings

Yes
Yes
I know

JENNY HOLZER

So glad you could make it
Come in, JUDY is here
What do y’all do with all the men in our heads

Yes
Yes
It is terrible

My people are just trying to get born
like please don’t test us
we are going to fail
and the test comes back
and says YOUR BABY IS FUCKED

JUDY, JENNY, I have been your student faithfully

I have kissed some ass, tho, hoping
if they like me enough – what
if they like me enough – why

JUDY, do you need a coaster?
Thy cup runneth over

The glass slipper, amenities
The manifesto must go on

BIOHACK IT

CUT ALL OF IT my mentor says
This is not poetry

My mentor says: A poem is a walk
Get well soon, I pray for you

Must go          Poem about coed
virility          aging       dahlias

Recurrent word to describe beauty
hacked from the Hebrew Bible: Ruddy

Don’t leave     In the morning
I will vacuum this up      Scansion, feet

I am sorry if you offended me
Role of disabled artist:
Always be sorry
Close

BIOHACK MANIFESTO

It is terrible to be trapped at DEF CON
with not even Ray Kurzweil’s
daughter to gaze upon
I know some of you wish
I would go wherever
my people go, the factory,
physical therapy, a telethon

No! says my mentor
Not this. This is too angry

This is too much about
Not that. Not that

I like to hack, sometimes,
the Hebrew Bible

I don’t think my mentor hacks
the Bible b/c it has too much
lame deaf blind circumcised in it

Not that. Not that in poetry
Didn’t we already have
Judd Woe? He was so good to us
so good and sad and sorry

The great thing about Judd Woe
is that now we don’t have to
keep looking for a disabled poet
We got him

Everybody together now: We got him
Thank yhwh he’s a man

I am so relieved, aren’t you?
I am so cock blocked, aren’t you?

Here I am at the cobbler

Please, please can you make
all my high heels into wedges

Here I am at Wal-Mart

Please, please, can you make
your children stop following me

Here I am at Advanced Prosthetics

Please, please, can you
change my settings

THIS IS NOT POETRY, they said

Be happy with what we give you
We got you

Insurance: You are allowed ten socks/year

Insurance: You are not allowed to walk in oceans

Insurance: If you had fought for us, if you
had lost your leg for us, for freedom, then
we would cover the leg that walks in oceans

AND WHY IS IT ALWAYS A POEM IS A WALK?

A poem is like a walk
A poem is like going on a walk
A walk is like a poem
I was walking the other day and a poem tripped me

Don’t leave
Don’t I have any other ideas
Be a man, mortality, zip it

Call in the aubades
I wish I would read an aubade
Is it morning yet? This manifesto
is so so long. Too angry
Who you bangin’ on my door?

JUDY GRAHN

Thank YHWH. It was getting hot in here
Ray Kurzweil’s daughter is in Hawaii

I was about to give up

Yes
Yes
I know

I am trying to walk the treadmill
My leg beeps at 3 mph
This is the conference for hackers
Can somebody hack me
Can somebody change my settings

Yes
Yes
I know

JENNY HOLZER

So glad you could make it
Come in, JUDY is here
What do y’all do with all the men in our heads

Yes
Yes
It is terrible

My people are just trying to get born
like please don’t test us
we are going to fail
and the test comes back
and says YOUR BABY IS FUCKED

JUDY, JENNY, I have been your student faithfully

I have kissed some ass, tho, hoping
if they like me enough – what
if they like me enough – why

JUDY, do you need a coaster?
Thy cup runneth over

The glass slipper, amenities
The manifesto must go on

BIOHACK IT

CUT ALL OF IT my mentor says
This is not poetry

My mentor says: A poem is a walk
Get well soon, I pray for you

Must go          Poem about coed
virility          aging       dahlias

Recurrent word to describe beauty
hacked from the Hebrew Bible: Ruddy

Don’t leave     In the morning
I will vacuum this up      Scansion, feet

I am sorry if you offended me
Role of disabled artist:
Always be sorry

BIOHACK MANIFESTO

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère