Eve Packer: NY Woman

(http://www.joeacanfora.com/pennsylvania.html)

This poem is the signature piece of Eve Packer, and it usually finishes her jazz poetry performances. It is a manifesto of NY woman protest.

I’M A NY WOMAN, I DO WHAT I WANT
do not tell me what I cannot & can do

do not tell me to wear long black baggy pants
when i wanna wear a short sheer orange
see-thru mini on subway, bus, tram, train,
trolley or any vehicle/of choice
(thats in moving violation of my volition/do not tell me what
I cannot & can do)

do not tell me not to bite my nails,
color my hair, ride my bike
w/o helmet, stop giving taxi drivers
a hard time piece of my mind,
cross against the light, (why
else is it red), sit on someone elses
stoop, swim twice in one day,
eat so much fruit
do not tell me what i cannot & can do

do not tell me not to talk to
strangers, flirt, network my cleavage, keep my legs
crossed & mouth shut while you are
orbiting saturn
do not tell me what I cannot & can do

I pay my rent, con ed, phone, get to work on time,
health club, yoga, dance class (sure need my r & r after
this urban guerrilla warfare), i light a fire
under my own stove, or use my phone-finger
for take-out, ticketron, 1-800, do not tell me
what I cannot & can do

& do not say you’ll e-mail if you won’t,
call when you don’t, appear late, make or
change plans w/o consulting, promise then cop, say you love
me & get misplaced, love & 1.50, 2 bucks, 2.10, 2.50?,
will get me on the 1,2, 3, 5, 6, 7, A,C,E, F,D, N, R
or shuttle 24/7 this is ny if you love me baby
show up

& do not tell me I cannot start my song
w/cannot i’m a ny woman I do what I want,
do not tell me not to go to the deli
at 4 a.m. startk naked even if there is no deli

& STOP TELLING ME TO STOP MAKING NOISE

(video by Eve Packer)

(Eve Packer)