‘Seventeen’ Performance Poetry by Topaz Winters [Video]

By Button Poetry

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Topaz Winters, performing at the Button Studio in Minneapolis, MN.

Transcript provided by YouTube and edited with AI.

Someone once said, “Make yourselves useful,” so we decided to be useful by resorting to violence. It was the year when we regressed, leaving behind our youthful innocence at the age of 17. There were countless missed opportunities, overshadowing what we had left behind. In that year, we dreamt dreams unique to 17-year-olds, dreams that weren’t about mundane tasks like doing laundry but instead filled with secrets, treachery, and the taste of salt on our lips. We could have chosen self-love, but instead, we opted for self-destruction, finding it less demanding since our to-do lists were already extensive. Prayer was absent, but we shared the same coffee mugs every morning, considering it a substitute. After all, weren’t our bodies the least urgent aspect of our existence? We were 17.

At that age, we had encountered only a small amount of blood, and yet we found it alluringly romantic. I remember you standing by the gate, which is derived from the word “mouth,” unable to meet my gaze when my flight was announced. “Come on,” I urged, “I’m not just killing time; I’m in love with you.” But what was love to us at 17, apart from an insatiable hunger? It was a year when I always seemed more mature than my actual age. You found meaning and held onto it like a counterfeit passport. We were 17, familiar with every hidden spot in our city, knowledgeable about how to stir the air and aware of everything except how to love the place where our journey began.

Once, when I was 17, I witnessed the things I destroyed with my own hands, sensing the lingering aftermath. I knew every secret refuge within my city, capable of envisioning its unimaginable facets. Years and responsibilities later, we unexpectedly crossed paths again in that very airport terminal. You scanned me from head to toe and remarked, “Wow, you truly transformed your life, didn’t you?” I was so far from where I wanted to be in that moment, but it was the instant when I resolved to become better.

And you…

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This post was previously published on YouTube.

About Button:

Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.

We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, we hope to broaden poetry’s audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.

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Photo credit: iStock