In a City (joe's script)

In a City (joe's script): RegularJOE (Director): “Here is the script I wrote and edited together based on some really beautiful writing and smart text curation that was contributed to our “In A City” collab.  I’m so happy and inspired by how this collaboration has been going — excited to take the next steps..”

VOICE OVER ARTISTS: Perform a reading of this script and CONTRIBUTE HERE

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In a City

I like walking alone, when it’s quiet.

It stinks here in the morning.  It stinks here all the time.

But I like it.

The city and I share sips of the sun.

I keep walking, and the streets start getting crowded.

I make like I’m minding my own business.

But really I’m watching and listening.

I’m checking in, seeing where we’re at, me and everyone else.

We graze one another, like a razor on skin.

It’s our daily routine, and sometimes it comes to blood,

but not too often, not if you’re good at it.

I can disappear for blocks at a time,

blending in with familiar strangers.

Upstream salmon, fighting the good fight.

And I can’t help but wonder if we’ll all be devoured one day.

They say in the end, all cities fall down.

My home city is not my home town.

She’s a vain, aging, boulevard star, under reconstruction.

And when the sun goes down, the electric lights glisten in our greedy eyes.

I follow the flicker from block to block.

You know it’s your city when, no matter where you’re headed, there are memories.

I catch myself searching for your face in a sea of faces that are always almost you, but never really you.

This is what they meant, all those painters, all those poets.

This is what they were trying to show me.

It’s us.

Swarming, seething, flailing, faces hard as stone.

Here we are then.  Together, alone.