By Button Poetry
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Jared Singer, performing at Honey in Minneapolis, MN.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:02
– To my nephew Harrison I leave my throat.
00:05
It is the only part of myself
00:07
I have ever considered perfect.
00:10
It knows when to swallow and when to speak.
00:13
It will help you be the right amount of assertive.
00:17
To the last woman I loved I leave my bones.
00:22
They are broken but still work.
00:25
Just like you.
00:27
Like your conscience.
00:29
Please take them apart, learn how to be whole,
00:34
use any of the pieces you need.
00:36
I have long since forgiven your lies.
00:39
I have long since forgiven my body for failing,
00:42
for breaking, maybe, maybe forgiveness is transitive.
00:49
To my niece Tallulah I leave my ears.
00:54
Sound is the only thing in this universe that lasts
00:57
forever my dear.
00:58
You will know how to put these to good use.
01:01
I know you will always be careful with what you say,
01:04
what you allow them to hear.
01:08
To my wife I leave my skin.
01:13
It is stretched and tattooed.
01:15
Many people have looked at my skin
01:18
and thought it ruined.
01:20
Just like you have looked at yourself
01:23
and thought the worst.
01:25
But you are soft, and gentle,
01:28
and contain everything you need just like this skin
01:32
did for me.
01:34
To my friends, I leave my teeth.
01:38
I will not apologize for them.
01:41
They are broken and ugly.
01:44
But they are the parts of myself I worried about the most.
01:49
Just like I worried about you all.
01:52
Bear these as a reminder to take care of each other.
01:57
And to my own memories, to whatever is after this life,
02:03
I leave my words.
02:06
They are far from perfect and were frequently misused.
02:10
But they were heartfelt and honest.
02:13
The only legacy I could ever accept.
02:17
(applause) (cheers)
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video
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