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See YouTube video (Sony) of Janet Kuypers performing her poem “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” in the lotus position for her 8/6/16 showThoughts on Peace” at Expressions (of Peace)! in Austin’s the Bahá’í Center.
video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers in her 8/6/16 show “Thoughts on Peace” at Expressions (of Peace)! in Austin reading her poem “Queen ISIS (battling for peace)”, then portions of her editorial from cc&d’s v249 book Invisible InkChoices We Make”, then her poems “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “On a High Horse Like This”, all to rainforest sounds while she sat in the lotus position (video filmed from a Canon Power Shot camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetryshow #janetkuypersfeature
video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers in her 8/6/16 show “Thoughts on Peace” at Expressions (of Peace)! in Austin reading her poem “Queen ISIS (battling for peace)”, then portions of her editorial from cc&d’s v249 book Invisible InkChoices We Make”, then her poems “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “On a High Horse Like This”, accompanied by rainforest sounds, all while sitting in the lotus position (this video was filmed from a Sony camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperspoetryshow #janetkuypersfeature
Thoughts on Peace chapbook
Download all of the show poems in the free PDF file download chapbook
Thoughts on Peace
including her poem “Queen ISIS (battling for peace)”, then portions of her editorial from cc&d’s v249 book Invisible InkChoices We Make”, then her poems “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “On a High Horse Like This”.
video not yet rated See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Part of my Pain” (from her book “Part of My Pain”), and (read together) “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)” 9/10/16 at “Poetry Aloud” open mic at the Georgetown Public Library (Sony).
video video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Part of my Pain” (from her book “Part of My Pain”), and (read together) “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)” 9/10/16 at “Poetry Aloud” open mic at the Georgetown Public Library (Sony, hue cycling).
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See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her 2 poems together as one “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” and “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)” 9/10/16 at “Poetry Aloud” open mic at the Georgetown Public Library (Cps).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix T56 camera).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; B&W).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix T56; Sepia Tone).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix 2500; Threshold).
video See YouTube video live 9/26/18 of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Ocean’s Call to Dive”, “Jumping, Flying”, “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2017 Dripping Springs edit)”, “Poem About This”, “For Far Too Many Years”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)”, “Juxtaposition, or Irony?”, “Quieted Soul”, “The Page”, “Other Souls”, “yearning to break free”, and “I’m not sick but I’m not well (Future Imperfect edit)”, from her show “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” with chapbook “to the Bottom of the Earth and Back” performed during the feature performance at In One Ear in Chicago (Panasonic Lumix 2500;n Edge Det.).
video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “And I’m Wondering”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, and “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)” from her poetry performance art collection book “Chapter 48 (v2)” live 10/8/18 at The Buzz Mill’s “Fort to Famous(from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera camera).
video See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “And I’m Wondering”, “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)”, and “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 political edit)” from her poetry performance art collection book “Chapter 48 (v2)” live 10/8/18 at The Buzz Mill’s “Fort to Famous(from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera camera).
video Enjoy this YouTube video from 4/29/23 of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Everything was Alive and Dying (2016 cruelty to animals edition)” performed with background acoustic percussion during the 2023 Animal Tales for the Tablerock Poetry Festival at Tablerock of Salado, TX (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr).
video You can also enjoy this YouTube video that video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr).
Also enjoy this Facebook live video stream video that was was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypers #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuypersfeature #janetkuypersveglife
video Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her v208 6/23 Down in the Dirt issue/book “Some Things Are Universal” poems “True Happiness in the New Millennium (2016 edit)”, “The Truth Is Out There”, and “Everything was Alive and Dying {2016 cruelty to animals edition}” during her “Poetic License 6/4/23 global open mic” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). video
Also enjoy this as a Facebook live video stream of flipped video that was broadcast live during the open mic, filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuypersveglife #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Everything was Alive and Dying
(2016 cruelty to animals edition)

Janet Kuypers
8/2/16 additions to the beginning of a 1995 poem

I had a dream the other night
And in it
I walked out of the city
to a farm road
where the square acres of living land
just started to bloom
displaying a colorful checkerboard quilt
as far as the eye could see

I walked along the empty road
next to the crops at three thousand south
and a small little pig
walked right up to me

now, this little pig
didn’t look like a farm pig,
he looked like a ten inch
pot-belly pig
and he walked right up to me
and he said thank you

for not using cosmetics
tested on animals,
I know you humans are pretty smart,
so there’s gotta be a way
to make yourselves pretty
without killing me

and I said,
I think the companies
don’t worry about the animals
unless the chemicals are toxic,
meaning it’s toxic to humans

the little pig then snorted

which lives are worth saving,
the little pig then said

cut-throat corporations
don’t answer questions like that,
I said.

And he said I know.
But thank you anyway.

*

Yeah, I had a dream the other night
I walked out of the city
to a forest
and there were neatly paved bicycle paths
and trash cans every fifty feet
and trash every ten

and then a raccoon came right up to me
she had a few little baby raccoons
following her, it was so cute, I
wish I had my camera

and she spoke to me,
she said, thank you
thank you for not buying furs,
I know you humans are pretty smart,
you have to be able to figure out a way
to keep yourselves warm
without killing me

and I said, you know they don’t
do it for warmth,
they do it for fashion, they do it
for power. And she said I know.
But thank you anyway.

*

Then I walked a little further
and there was a stray cat
she still had her little neon collar on
with a little bell
and she walked a few feet,
stretched her front paws,
oh, she looked so darling
and then she walked right up to me
and she said thank you
and I said for what?
And she just looked at me for a moment,
her little ears were standing straight up,
and then she said, you know,
in some countries I’m considered
a delicacy. And I said how
do you know of these things?
And she said
when somebody eats one of you
word gets around
and then she looked up at me again
and said, and in some countries
the cow is sacred. Wouldn’t they
love to see how you humans
prepare them for slaughter, how you
hang them upside-down
and slit their throats
so their still beating hearts
will drain out all the blood for you
and she said isn’t it funny
how arbitrary your decision
to eat meat is?
and I said, don’t put me
in that category, I don’t eat meat
and she said I know —

and then I woke up in a sweat.


Copyright © Janet Kuypers.

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may be reprinted without express permission.



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