I have been noticing lately that a public bathroom is not just a place to release your bowls, but can be a haven to express your thoughts and opinions. People write slangs, curses, rants, political statements, on the stall walls, creating pieces of poetry. This type of art form is seen as vandalisism, but its much deeper. I believe these individuals want to let their voices be heard; inspire and shock others, to allow them to view the world from a different perspective. I decided to write a poem, combining the messages I have read on a bathroom wall.
Blood stains cover the brown tiles, creating roses.
The toilet flushes away the echo of voices, as paper sticks
to the bottom of a shoe.
The head turns sideways, eyes absorb ancient etchings
carved in wood, bleeding ink:
I love myself, I hate myself
Life is politically incorrect
Be beautiful
TH and GB forever
'No Toque mi sueño'
Fuck you
All you need is love
Your full of shit
Fingers trace the words, ink tattoos them
on the skin.
The stall door opens, hands reach out for the
faucet, to wash clean the images.
But, the cries become embedded in the pores.
Not all poetry has to rhythm or follow a concrete patten, it can be a stream of unanswered questions, simple or vivid images, words that seem out of place, yet form a puzzle. Even though the sentences on bathroom walls are written by different authors, they are connected by a single idea of freeing their minds; and sharing a common space.
Yes, good post. Bathroom graffiti as poetry.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem first of all. From the context of your post, it is beautiful...
ReplyDeletebut before I read your poem my brain kind of stopped and was like wait, bathroom graffiti as poetry? What about in the context of a boys middle school bathroom where they write things like "my dad banged your mom" or "you have a small dick"? And it doesn't have to pertain to just middle school but all sorts of bathrooms where there are immature comments. Is that an outlet?