David Mills inspired me to write and relive life poetically after his performance. Mills led the Macaulay Honors students on a journey to Harlem and back as he stepped into the shoes of Langston Hughes.
At the Macaulay Honors building, Mills told us stories about a kid who tries to steal an old woman’s purse. She catches the young perp and stops him in his tracks. The kid, scared and apprehensive tries to put up a wall while the old lady tries to instill some values and morals in the rascal.
Mills enthusiastically and tirelessly reenacts the story about a cheating minister who would trick all the church-goers out of their money by pulling stunts. Albeit the stories seemed a bit outlandish and extraordinarily creative, I felt that the message conveyed in those anecdotes were powerful. The connection that was drawn with the audience was a intimate yet strong one. In each story, he tugged on heartstrings with various emotions. I felt as if I were living during those times in Harlem.
David Mills understands human sentiment so well. I wish to learn poetry from him due to his eloquence, his charisma, and his charm in his performance and emotion. When I asked whether he drew inspiration from any poets, such as Saul Williams, he suggest that it was perhaps him who inspired Saul Williams, a slam poet from a new generation of poetry.
I have written my own poem drawn from the inspiration from that performance dedicated to Langston Hughes:
My Musings for IDC
My teacher gave me an assignment
She told me here is a site. Do what you will.
What is my will? What will I do?
Will I see what I wish to see by the windowsill
and speak the language of the Georgian Store owner
who sells the dollar slices?
Will I inhale the high ambience
of the hipsters outside Hotel Washington?
Do I take time out of the clocktower that presides by Gramercy Park
and spend it jaywalking past cabbie that think yellow means “GO!”
Do I penetrate the walls of Credit Suisse only to find no credibility there.
Just men with padded shoulders and bank accounts.
Will I own the halls in which I swim in,
become the biggest fish?
Will I become the man I want to be,
the answer is, I wish.