For the premiere relaunch of the Poetry Clash, we have two poets that are veterans of their own fields; Alex Alpharaoh, from South Central Los Angeles, is a stage actor, writer, director, and his poetry background was honed on the theater stage. Alex Luu is a multi-award winning poetry slam champion, hailing from Alhambra, California. With already 5 years under his belt, poetry slam champion Alex Luu is no slouch; but will theater veteran Alex Alpharaoh’s over a decade’s worth of stage-performance hold him down in the clash? Let’s find out!
Runner-up prizes donated by Vital Pomona.
[CLIQUE UP]
[JUDGES]
- Janine Bissic: Co-Owner of our clash’s sponsor, Vital Pomona. Janine is an educator and entrepreneur, married to nationally acclaimed poet MC Prototype.
- Stimey: Hip-hop recording artist and lyricist. Stimey brings his songwriting and performance experience of 14 years to the judge’s table.
- Aubrey Manahan: Aubrey is a poetry event organizer and has had her poems published by Murmur House, Lakas Zine, and The Pen Clique chapbook. Author of 2016 chapbook, “Cotton Candy”
ROUND 1
Theme: Summer
Alex Alpharaoh: “The Carcasses”
Black and brown carcasses
are stacking up like high rises
without enough sarcophagus’s,
as pigs’ knees on our necks,
are robbing us of oxygen.
The way cops digress from the subject,
is by objecting in public,
defending corrupted Mavericks,
who get paid administrative leave,
while the words “I can’t breathe”
are viewed as threats to Wall Street capitalists.
Our brothers and sisters lives
should have never been the catalyst,
peep how deep the trauma gets:
over 500 years worth of damages.
Check history’s receipts,
the misery repeats,
short term victories resulting in longer term defeat.
Fuck that: we’re revolting in the streets,
while engaging in clashes with racist badges,
hateful fascist, who devalue life over profits,
in the name of the ruling classes.
Amplifying our voices is a revolutionary action.
I put my life on paper without redaction,
let me ask you: For what you believe in;
Are you ready to die?
Is more than an album title from the king of Bed-Stuy
murdered to cover the FBI’s,
execution of Pac,
cuz he was instructing the youth on how to make shit pop.
Black leadership has BEEN systemically killed,
in the summer of 2015,
Sandra Bland was murdered in her cell.
MLK was sniped while at a Memphis motel,
Detroit Red, Dr. Newton, Nipsey Hussle, were all shot as well,
so fuck anyone who says that I should quell my tell.
And Ain’t a damn thing gonna be alright,
until justice is served:
let the Muthafucking cities burn,
until being young and black
isn’t a most dangerous condition,
death by PD is a racist fueled affliction.
Black lives matter is not a contradiction, to any other movement:
it’s really this simple, if part of me is in pain, then all of me is hurting.
Alex Luu: “Summer”
Tell me what your summer was like
Was it going to the beach with friends?
Was it staying inside and playing games?
Was it outdoors or was it in?
Did you do something fun or fundamental
Can you remember what you did or didn’t do?
It is June 2020
The world is so sick of itself
That anyone can die from a bad decision.
Racism is so bad that it’s past revision.
So don’t be mad, be livid.
Cuz if black lives don’t matter
In a country that black lives built
Then neither does any of ours, you get it?
We’re a generation tasked with an impactful mission
Because revolution is the result of renaissance in retrograde,
Meaning we must reinvent ourselves before revival.
This summer can be breaktime or backbreaking
Depending on who can afford the survival
So, tell me what your summer was like
Was it going to the streets to protect your friends?
Was it staying inside and playing games?
Were you out the door or were you indecisive?
Did you do something fun or fundamental
Can you remember what you did or didn’t do?
ROUND 2
Theme: “Leap”
Alex Alpharaoh: “Leap of Faith”
I took a leap of faith when I applied for DACA,
even though I lacked a clean record and I wasn’t perfect,
cuz being a model minority ain’t worth it,
if it means aspiring towards an unattainable ideal,
that no one else has to achieve,
only to prove that you indeed deserve to breathe free,
but that was part of the deal:
so even though my record was sealed,
a felony turned misdemeanor
meant that deportation could be real.
Alex Luu: “Leap”
With my legs bent, ready to pounce
With every ounce of my ancestors
Clinging onto baited breath
With the rest of my life on the line
With my spine curled like coil springs
In a pogo stick
With the bamboo ceiling as my floorboard
With the roar of a lion
And the heart of a lamb
With my hands, ready to swing
From being chained for too long
With strong bones for my heavy spirit
With the purest form of Momma’s cooking
As I’m looking for the next place
I rest these legs
Before their next flight
With the height of the Shanghai tower
And the humility I found in a temple
And the oath I promised myself
That I would never settle for less
So send me your best
As witness to how I make
Stepping stones out of mountains
As I am counting my blessings
If my parents survived a war
Then I can handle a battle
You can measure my growth
From the miles I’ve traveled
And the miles I have left.
Took too long to find help
But now that I’ve had rest
Realized I have time
But I’m starting to have less
So I’m living each moment
Like it might be my last breath
Realized every prayer
Is just a grudge in past tense.
And this is how I leap.
ROUND 3
Form: Sonnet
Alex Alpharaoh:
If I ever see you again – my hope
Is that you will greet me as an old friend
May your battle wounds have healed and the scope
of your love and compassion know no end
If we travel down the same narrow path
While coming from opposite directions
And your memory of me calls your wrath
forth, don’t regret our former connection
For once, we meant all things to each other
Together we’d go and conquer the world
Raise a family, a girl, two brothers
Reality was sobering and cruel
Is that you I see, walking down the road?
If so, please stop and listen to this ode.
Alex Luu:
Everyday I am fighting for my life.
I am in no threat but my own two hands
Always trying to pray away my strife.
Or leave me without any chair to stand
Or find walls to pivot the steering wheel
Privileged to always look for an exit plan.
Sometimes I am not sure if life is real
I am only sure of what is sounds like
Like crying from a wound that never heals
Or yelling at poems I never write
Or the crackling weed that exhales the pain
Or my beating heart that forgives, despite
Everyday I choose to put down the knife
Is another day that I choose my life
JUDGES SCORE CARDS:
(Alpharaoh top, Alex Luu bottom)
| JUDGE | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ROUND 3 | TOTAL |
Aubrey Manahan | 7.75 | 9 | 8.5 | 25.25 |
| 7.5 | 8.5 | 8.75 | 24.75 | |
Stimey | 8.5 | 9 | 8.5 | 26 |
| 9 | 8.5 | 7 | 24.5 | |
Janine Bissic | 7.5 | 8 | 9 | 24.5 |
| 8.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 24 |
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