sarah xerta

Directed by Roger Ballen & NINJA Director of Photography Melle Van Essen Edited by Jannie Hondekom @ Left Post Production by Blade We luf u Fraser www.RogerB…

Holy Hiatus Batman! We’re back! Come check out Episode 22: a universe in every heart with Sarah Certa! We discuss the impression of the image on the page, poetry, hip hop dance inspiration, writing through the noise, workings of the human body, objectification, and making brash statements that will hopefully turn out to be untrue, maybe.

When we have mercy, deep and abiding change might happen. The corrupt imagination might become visible. Inequalities might become visible. Violence might become visible. Terror might become visible. And the things we’ve been doing to each other, despite the fact that we don’t want to do such things to each other, might become visible.

If we don’t, we will all remain phantoms — and, as it turns out, it’s hard for phantoms to care for one another, let alone love one another. And it’s easy for phantoms to hurt one another. So when the cop and I met that night, how could he possibly have seen the real me for all the stories and fantasies that have been heaped on my body, and the bodies of those like me, for centuries? And how could I see him?

from JULIET (II)

You look at Juliet’s ever-thinning legs

and think of the electric

blue neurons pulsing inside them

like the intestines of insects,

strung out and licking

against her bones, your bones, the bones

of people in Gaza, all those skulls

crushed in rubble, their brain-dead brains

oozing down into the dirt.

You shake your head. No more raping tonight.

Tonight you are thankful

Juliet is safe. You take a sleeping pill

and imagine it floating

down into your belly

like Jesus’ pinky nail.

You turn off all the lights

and lie down on the sofa, take another pill

and watch it do soft somersaults

like a baby astronaut

down behind your eyes