Shane Koyczan, The Crickets Have Arthritis (from Words Aloud 2007)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 เม.ย. 2013
- www.shanekoyczan.com I've been asked to share more of my work on this channel, so over the next while (until we post something new) I will be posting some of my older work here for you.
This is an old one from the 2007 Words Aloud festival. They graciously allowed us to repost it here. (You can learn more about the festival at www.wordsaloud.ca/ )
Enjoy.
/ koyczan
Get a new poem from me every month here - bit.ly/106RAFq - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
"See? This was the first one i grew" Holy, gave me shivers
Dorian King What the...
+dragoxl5 Shivers? I was watching this with my parents and I was already crying, but silently ('cause I can do that), and at that, I was just full on sobbing!
I just lost it! So powerful!!!
i cried so hard after that, i had held myself together until that
It didn't click until now...😱It immediately gave me shivers
All Shane's poems are very emotional and I really take it to heart. I would love to meet this guy.
I met him at a show he did in my home town last year. Nicest guy ever. Took the time to sign my journal and chat to everyone who had come to his show
instablaster.
I've met him and he's wonderful
Hes been one of my favorite poets since middle school.. would love to be able to write like him
I still think of this.. I heard this in high school. I think of it ever since.
I think of this and I come back to it. I’m 28. No longer 18 and young and more innocent.
I think of this poem and recall it as one of the first ever spoken word poems I ever heard. So glad it was recorded and I can come back to it. Thank you. Thank you for this treasure.
Same here brother. Heard it when I was 15 and 24 now. All of his poetry gets me every time
Wow. Same here haha I’m 27. I used Shane’s poems for school competitions in high school. Made it all the way to State one year as well.
Love his work
i’m 26 and do the same. Saw it first as a 15-16 year old. I come back to this video every few months. it touched me in ways no other piece of art has, and it was this video that made me fall in love with spoken word. what a beautiful thing art is.
@@bumble7573 we are very similar ! I was actually thinking of this video a few days ago. Funny coincidence I get this notification. This was my first spoken word video I saw. It made me like it. It’s been years… But I love this video.
@@bumble7573 I’m 29. I was probably 14 or so when I saw it.
"The worst part about being sick is that you get all the free ice-cream you ask for. And the worst part about that is in knowing there's nothing else they can do for you"
Onions must've been being cut up all over the place as I heard that
Robert Heath hey what do you think meaning behind the title? the crickets have arthritis
@@tofudubu5059 when the crickets have arthritis, they can't play music
I'm not crying you're crying
I'm the one that's crying
Captainhermione no everyone is crying
no u r
half of what you're saying is true
I am crying
nO you-! *Sobs*
i don't often believe in angels but on the day i left, Lewis pulled a feather from his pillow and said, "this is for you". I have expected him to say "see... this is the first one i grew
*goosebumps*
I’m not crying you are
I came down with a kidney condition when I was 8 years old. The disease literally makes my kidneys fail and not work. I was put on a floor in the hospital where kids died everyday. This poem makes me sad because it brings back memories... Memories of kids dying while I got better. The thought of me being able to pull ahead and get better while the best friend I made in the hospital died 2 weeks after I left... It hurts knowing that I made it, but it makes me happy knowing that most of the kids there were brave and fought hard so they can go home with their mom and dad...
I'm not the sort of person who listens to poetry. But something about this it truly magical. Not just the writing, but the emotion, the way its delivered, the pauses. Everything is delivered in a magical way. It truly is art.
Im not an "emotional" man and don't wear my feelings on my sleeve often but that made my eyes leak a little awesome. Thank you for that.
I don't know if you read these comments very often but Shane, I want you to know that I've figured you out. You are not a poet. You're a storyteller. Every story you tell is just another deluge of inspiration that I couldn't live without. I used to want to be a great poet. Thanks to you, I now realize that ive always wanted to be a great storyteller. Thank you so much.
Poems are stories
TakaraSatan Poems are not as grand, usually.
Space Lemon.
"Poems are not as grand, usually."
They are when they're masterpieces.
Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one... and they serve a very important purpose, so let’s let them have there’s, knowing it has no impact on yours😊
He's a poet too. Poetry doesn't have to rhyme. And a performance artist.
I've been listening to his poetry on repeat for the past 2 hours. Haven't stopped sobbing.
+Alexa D Im on hour 6
suuuuure you haven't
Listen to "Why does this man fight monsters?" It's about his grandpa & it's humorous. But I agree he expresses pain really well.
The ending...that was perfect...I was listening more intently then I've ever listened to anything ever before and then that ending, "Lewis pulled a feather from his pillow and said that, "This is for you." I half expected him to say, "See, this is the first one I grew."' It jolted me and made me sit in front of this video for five minutes replaying those words in my head, and I don't think I'll ever forget them.
Why? To the 34 people who disliked this you need to open your eyes. This was just plain beauty.
I'm 33 years old yet it took until I watched this video to realize how inspiring and beautiful spoken words could be. Thank you Shane.
This is the most heart breaking and moving piece of art at the same time I’ve ever seen. Wow!
A shout can get you attention, a voice can make people listen, wise words can make them think. Respect to a man who's got some stories to tell.
This poem that I’ve heard a hundred times helps me, I’m currently battling leukaemia
this man puts words together like no one i have ever heard and everything he says is an inspiration
Just incredible. You have such a way with words, the way you sprinkle humor in amongst the poignant. It's so beautiful to listen to you.
"He'll still be planted in this bed like a flower that refuses to grow."
out of 47 poetic famous people I know he's my favorite
I can't watch this without crying... Something about your words, Mr Koyczan are just powerful. Never stop. Please.
The delivery, too! He's just all around amazing.
The Crickets have Arthritis by Shane Koyczan
It doesn't matter why I was there, where the air is sterile and the sheets sting. It doesnt matter that I was hooked up to this thing that buzzed and beeped every time my heart leaped like a man who's faith tells him God's hands are big enough to catch an airplane, or a world. It doesn't matter that I was curled up like a fist protesting death, or that every breath was either hard labour or hard time, or that I'm either always too hot or too cold. Doesn't matter because my hospital roommate wears star wars pajamas, and he's 9 years old. His name is Louis, and I don't have to ask what he's got.The bald head with the skin and bones frame speaks volumes. The gameboy and the feather pillow booms like they're trying to make him feel at home because he's going to be here awhile.
I manage a smile the first time I see him and it feels like the biggest lie I have ever told, so I hold my breath cos I'm thinking any minute now he's going to call me on it. I hold my breath because I'm scared of a 57 pound boy hooked up to a machine because he's been watching me and maybe I've got him pegged all wrong, like maybe he's bionic or some shit. So I look away like just I made eye contact with a gang member who's got a rap sheet the length of a lecture on dumb mistakes politicians have made. I look away like he's going to give me my life back the moment I've got something to trade. I damn near pull out my pack and say, "Cigarette?"
But my fear subsides in the moment I realize Louis is all show and tell. He's got everything from a shotgun shell to a crows foot and he can put them all in context. Like, "See, this is from a shooting range", and "See, this is from a weird girl". I watch his hands curl around a cuff-link and a tie-tack and realize that every nick-nack is a treasure and every treasure has a story, and every time I think I can't handle more he hits me with another story. He says, "See, this is from my father" "See, this is from my brother" "See, this is from that weird girl" "See, this is from my mother". Took me about two days to figure out that weird girl is his sister, it took him about two hours today after she left for him to figure out he missed her. And they visit every day, and stay well past visiting hours because for them that term doesn't apply. But when they do leave, Louis and I are left alone. And he says, "The worst part about being sick is that you get all the free ice cream you ask for." And he says, "The worst part about that is realizing there is nothing more they can do for you." He says, "Ice cream can't make everything okay."
And there is no easy way of asking, and I know what he's going to say but maybe he just needs to say it, so I ask him anyway. "Are you scared?" Louis doesn't even lower his voice when he says, "Fuck yeah." I listen to a 9 year old boy say the word fuck like he was a 30 year old man with a nose-bleed being lowered into a shark tank, he's got a right to it. And if it takes this kid a curse word to help him get through it, then I want to teach him to swear like the devil's sitting there taking notes with a pen and a pad. But before I can forget that Louis is 9 years old he says, "Please don't tell my dad."
He asks me if I believe in angels. And before I realize I don't have the heart to tell him, I tell him, "Not lately." and I just lay there waiting for him to hate me. But he doesn't know how to, so he never does. Louis loves like a man who lived in a time before God gave religion to men and left it to them to figure out what hate was. He never greets me with silence, only smiles and a patience I've never seen in someone who knows they're dying. And I'm trying so hard not to remind him I'll be out of here in a couple days, smoking cigarettes and taking my life for granted. And he'll still be planted in this bed like a flower that refuses to grow. I've been with him for 5 days and all I really know is that Louis loves to pull feathers out of his pillow, and watch them float to the ground. Almost as if he's the philosopher inside of the scientist ready to say, "It's gravity that's been getting us down."
The truth is: there's not enough miracles to go around, kid. And there's too many people petitioning God for the winning lotto ticket. And for every answered prayer, there's a cricket with arthritis. And the only reason we can't find answers is because the search party didn't invite us, and Louis, right now the crickets have arthritis. So there is no music, no symphony of nature swelling to crescendos, as if ripping halos into melodies that can keep a rhythm with the way our hearts beat. So we must meet silence with the same level of noise that the parents of dying 9 year old boys make when they take liberties in talking with heaven. We must shout until we shatter in our own vibrations, then let our lives echo and grow, echo and grow, grow distant. Grow distant enough to know that as far as our efforts go, we don't always get a reply.
But I swear to whatever God I can find in the time I have left, I'm going to remember you kid. I'm going to tell your story as often as every story you told me. And every time I tell it I'll say, "See, there's bravery in this world. There's 6.5 billion people curled up like fists protesting death, but every breath we breathe has to be given back. A 9 year old boy taught me that." So hold your breath, the same way you'd hold a pen when writing Thank You letters on your skin to every tree that gave you that breath to hold. And then let it go, as if you understand something about getting old and having to give back. Let it go like a laugh attack in the middle of really good sex, the black eye will be worth it. Because what is your night worth without a story to tell? And why wield a word like worth if you've got nothing to sell?
People drop pennies down a wishing well, so the cost of a desire is equal to that of a thought. But if you've got expectations, expect others have bought your exact same dream for the price of a 'hard work, hang in, hold on' mentality. Like, I accept any challenge so challenge me. Like, I brought a knife to this gun fight, but the other night I mugged a mountain so bring that shit, I've had practise. Louis and I cracked this world wide open and found that the prize inside is we never lied to ourselves. Never told ourselves that we'd be easy or undemanding. So we sing in our own vibration, and dare angels to eavesdrop and stop midflight to pluck feathers from their wings and write demands that God's hands take the time to catch you. So, even if God doesn't, it wasn't because we didn't try.
I don't often believe in angels, but on the day I left Louis pulled a feather from his pillow and said, "This is for you." I half expected him to say, "See, this is the first one I grew."
You completely got it. The point. The possibility of being a bare naked soul striving. Of painfully beautiful, courageous, desperate alive in the face all that dead. My love. You got it.
I can not put into words how much this poem means to me. I have listened to it countless times and it always hit hard. Just wanted to thank you as a random stranger from halfway around the world.
I found this for the first time in middle school. 11 years ago. Crazy. I thought about this poem a lot when I was in the hospital as a kid.
I absolutely love Shane’s poems, but this was the first time I heard this, and this poem made me cry so hard that towards the end I had to touch the screen to see how much time was left, because it hit me that hard It literally knocked the wind right out of my chest! Incredible !!!!!💔❤️
I teared up a little bit here and there throughout the whole thing, but as soon as you said "I half expected him to say 'See... This is the first one I grew.'" Referring to the feather, I bursted out crying. That's the first time a cry has hit me unexpectedly like that.
This man needs a blinkin award! His poetry is unlike anything i've ever heard, it helps u access parts of your emotions you're never before considered. I wrote 5 performance poems over the last few weeks, because of this incredible artist! And all the other amazing poets i've found on here. Poetry will never die and that is incredible
This is absolutely beautiful. You are a man who is utterly gifted with words. My mother died suddenly in her sleep and still I'm trying to deal with it, because the gravity of what happened never hit me. I appreciate this because listening to you let me think about it. Think about what's real and what's not, what's an illusion and what's cold hard reality. Thank you for that.
It takes a lot to make me cry, but man does Shane get me tearing up every single time.
Trying very hard not to cry...
I find your avatar amusingly fitting.
I hope that you read this. But I discovered Move Pen Move when I was 14, and it inspired me to write. I wrote even if it was cringey or not worthwhile; cause it just felt right to do at the end of the day.
I hated asking my mom or my dad for anything cause I know we didn’t have the money. But every time you’d put out a Short Story Long album I’d beg my mom for it. And when I heard it I wouldn’t regret the aftermath of backlash.
Your piece “For Instance” came out when my friend was in a bad car crash. And your piece really helped me cope with the thought of losing her.
Thank you Shane. For taking the leap. For sharing your work and your words and your everything. There are millions like me who are so grateful. Thank you. 💛🌻
I could listen to your words for hours and still be mesmerised in the fact that you can say these most inspiring things and capture both imagination and reality in just a few words. I wish that you can write and say more of your work because you have truly worked wonders with your words.
Words cannot describe how I feel about the words this man says
The way you speak your words with such passion gives me goose bumps just as music does. I cannot wait until your next post.
I have probably watched this a hundred times but without fail I always cry
crap I can't hear it but his voice alone makes me so sad. i wanna cry, but i can't even hear it. WHAT?
Beautiful, Shane. You've got a gift for words and personality to match. Thank you for the strength your pieces have loaned us. Myself and anyone who's used them when they needed them.
I just learned of this man and his work, and already I can tell I can't get enough. His words have awakened me to want to do more to help others.
Watching this made me start to think about how I will never drink or smoke and I will do everything I can to keep myself healthy because there are some who just can't help it. I thought about how I will spend every spare dime I have to cure the world of cancer or try and make everyone's world just a little better with a smile. Then I started thinking what a world would be like without cancer and pain, and the world is ugly. The most beautiful thinks in this world come from pain. The Most beautiful things, the most beautiful thoughts, the most beautiful people come from pain. Children shouldn't have to think like that, but children aren't blinded by the world yet and so when they are forced to endure that much pain they can see it so clearly.
In tears...
Shivers... he is amazing. Wow. This is what poetry is supposed to do, reach down inside you and force you to feel.
Like poetry, I've spent months trying to find this man because all the videos I've seen never tell who this man is and I am so glad I've found him with his beautiful words..
I started bawling when he said "see this is the first one I grew" Im bawling again oh god
This helped change my perspective on life. Thank You Forever Shane.
I'll have to come back. I can't handle anymore. I keep crying, damn it!
I usually don't comment on anything ever, but I remember finding this like 6 years ago and for some reason i got brought back to it tonight, it meant alot to me and stuck with me, i even recited a section of it for a college speaking class a few years back, still got much love and respect for these words. I still quote "every breath we breathe has to be given back" and "i brought a knife to this gunfight but the other night i mugged a mountain so bring that shit I've had practice"
Thank you my man, for reminding me why writers write. Our little thoughts and poems are empires we build word by word, but to others they are songs of emotion, and someone else saying what you can't put into words is life changing. Keep up the good work
No poet I love more; your words flow like river who learned to speak; your words fly straight to my heart where they run through my veins; as the run through my body, I shiver; not in fear, but in inspiration; like I could jump out my seat and claim any dream worth dreaming. I feel an 'alive' like no other; I feel the pain, the happiness, the love, the hate, and the passion that fill my life and I feel them like I have never felt before. Your poetry is so beautiful. Never give up that gift.
It is miracle to find a gem in this world. You have become a rare one for me. If I could ever meet you Shane, all I would want to do is hug you and show you how precious a gem you are to me. Thank you for every word and I will continue to hope, man to man, that I can one day have the joy of meeting you.
You are seriously the most beautiful man that i have ever heard of, and by far the best spoken word artist i have ever come across.
I dont cry easily at all to videos, or emotional stuff in general. But shane your poetry never ceases to bring tears to my eyes. And I praise you for that
CHILLS. TEARS. One of the best things I have ever heard and THIS. THIS is why I listen to poetry.
Thank you Shane...again...
I love poems and I think if more people would listen to you speak maybe they would open the eyes and see the world differently
aalexis Allums is your profile picture a euphonium?
I’ve listened to this poem so much, it moves me every time. Could cry right from the start. So beautiful
now i just want to sit there and listen to that kid forever and forever until he got better because i know someone with that much wisdom and strength cant just go... but then again... ive been wrong before
Came back to this poem while my son is in the hospital. Helped me a lot
This makes me cry... No words can tell how amazing his poems are or how touching they really are. If people shouldn't be so fast to judge some one they must think before they speak because maybe that person has something amazing, and important to say that can change the world if you let it.
Truly amazing. And what a beautiful voice! Shane is one of those people who give me hope for humanity.
So powerful! Have listened to this almost a dozen times and moved to tears every time. Each word and each phrase is so exquisite "if it takes this kid a curse word to help him get through it, then I want to teach him to swear like the devil's sitting there taking notes..." or "...'do you believe in angels?'...I say, 'not lately,' and I just lay there, waiting for him to hate me. But is doesn't know how..." This gives me goosebumps!
Shane, you are an inspiration. Not just for writers, not just for guys like me who usually just watch PBG, or Rabbidluigi, but to everyone in the world. You are an absolutely incredible person.
I just come here to cry thanks Shayne
You will forever and always be my inspiration! I've never heard anything so beautiful.
I'm speechless this is so beautiful..
My heart has been shattered so many times stomp on and beaten so there's nothing left just a hard shell but this really touched me it came through
i cant count how many times i've watched this video and it still effects me the same way, so so beautiful
True. It's almost impossible to describe. No words known to us seem to do it justice. The way the words hit, the way they linger, is indescribable. It leaves you wanting more, but is always just enough. Complete genius.
"and why wield a word like worth/ if you've got nothing to sell"
it's hard to explain why this line is the one that stuck with me through all these years
Shane, you are magic, you deliver masterpieces of poetry that weave their way into my soul and set a fire there. You are the reason people like me spend 10 years in college, to study the great writers, poets, legends. Please hear me when I say, none of those classic or modern poets ever made me want to cry and cheer and live and die ALL at the same time. But your poetry IS all of that, all at once--and it makes me happy, and it hurts my heart, and it's like getting a love letter from the Muse after a lonely life! Shane, you have to come to terms with the fact that YOU are proof that angels exist, and YOU are confirmation that there IS a God, that God is real--that He gifted you with a voice that will move mountains, and souls, and Nations.
Shane you are an angel. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with the world.
I'm in awe! I'd never heard you before now, but have watched several videos, and you... are so beautiful. Thank you for your expression. I've never heard anyone like you.
Shane - you are right up there amongst my favourite poets - I don't rank my favourite, I just keep adding to them. Keep the connection with the divine to keep the words flowing. Love you.
Shane, every time I watch one of your incredible videos, I weep and weep. There's too much beauty in your words for my feelings to handle.
I go on these binges of Shane and it gets so bad that the inner monologue in my head sounds like him. Dramatic pauses and all
This gets me every time.
This one gets to me every time. This is poetry doing what it should - making you feel something.
I love the way you talk and how your words just flow together when you do these things. You are my inspiration and I understand you.
U are truly amazing. U deserve so much recognition. Ur words speak volumes and i think everyone else here can agree
I couldn't help but cry. Goodness. You are absolutely wonderful with what you do.
the end mad me cry and remember those I lost to cancer.
THANK YOU, Shane for this and every poem you've written and then shared ... This one is my number 1 favorite but I love them all. My husband and I will be seeing you live soon ... I can't wait. Love and Peace to All
Never ceases to give me chills and brings tears to my eyes. I love this piece so much.
You are truly amazing and passionate. The world needs more people like you in it xxx
Oh my God, that last line. The tears are stinging.
What a powerful voice this man has and what a way with words.
I'm in love with the way you think and your words could change the world
I have watched this more times than I have fingers on my hands, and I can't lie and say each time I watch this I don't cry. Because I do. People like you are what give me hope, are what keep me strong what make me believe that anything in this world could be possible.
Dude, you have save more lives than you think. And for those who are sick i know this will give them hope. I want to thank you, for being inspiring to so many people!
Thanks
Oh my gosh I don't know how he does it, but everytime, Shane you make me cry and I love you for it. I listen to these poems every day, as much as i can, i could even recite some for you, that much, and its amazing
After reading the comments on all of your videos, it seems obvious to me now how much you have changed so many lives for the better. For that, you give me hope.
Wow..... That was remarkable
I love this poem because it humbles me to realize that I had the striking privilage to be able to live my life to adulthood. And it makes me value my childhood so much. It may not have been perfect but it was still happy.
you're voice is so soothing and calming. you have such a way with words, simply amazing
Shane, I learned about you from an UpWorthy post on FB. Now I cannot get enough of you! Thank you!
This hit me deep but honestly this made me crack up thought the tears "maybe he's bionic or some shit"
I forgot to breathe during that. That was amazing. Your work brings me to tears. The beauty of the pictures you paint with your words, the passion in your words, the emotions I feel uncontrollably.
More, I need more!
I keep watching your videos over and over again.
Please upload more soon.
Watch this when ever I feel like crying
Those last few words... Like a sucker punch right into my emotional core. Saying you have a way with words doesn't even come close. Hat's off to you.
Shane, thank you. I'm sure many have uttered these exact words to you, however, absorb them, embrace them. You have a gift to awaken life within people. The way you phrase and carry your words, everything from your voice and posture, transfers your words into the souls.
Again, THANK YOU.. from a dead poet who struggles to bring thoughts to words of sensibility. You inspire me Shane, and for that..I thank you.