This was my contribution to the third event of the People’s Performance Project, just held here in Melbourne:

Aging in a Time of War (2)

     Aging in a time of war is to watch armor and rockets, bullets and bombs tear through flesh, through bone, through hope, through youth. Our old bodies scarred by the accidents of life remember the days of wholeness, remember the body when it knew no fear. I see the faces of the young who have fallen, those who will never reach 60 years, who will never have the luxury of wearing out their joints in the pursuit of chosen pleasures. We who best know how easy it is to fall must refuse the deadening of these faces. Old men, it is said, send young men and women to die; and we will pay the price for every day we live on the bones of our young. We who walk with canes or tremble in the looseness of our limbs, we who nurse along a fragile thing because every morning is a touch we would not relinquish, we must rage against this killing of their days. Our most precious knowledge, how histories accumulate in the bone and in the heart, must stand against the witless waste of war.

People’s Performance Project November 11, 2006 Featuring a diverse and exciting line-up: musical acts Guns for St Sebastian, Purple Dog Rhythm, Robyn Tokah, Richie Lipp, Simon Jerrems, Belly Slap, spoken word Joan Nestle, Anna Gould, Ria Strong, Anjelka Bazdaric, Taylor Kendal and more performances Sally Goldner and Jez Wiggins Open Mike and more! Chairs, food and cask wine provided BYO blanket (if required). $10 more if/less if - to be divided amongst performers, cover cost and go towards the Amal Basri film project When? 5pm arrival to the carnival atmosphere - (improv music, banner painting, roving performances etc) Performances start 6pm (we will start on time) Where? In our backyard [member’s address deleted], East Kew The People’s Performance Project is a grass-roots resistance movement bringing people together in the spirit of community - making private space public, dissolving borders and boundaries, building alliances and friendships by sharing art and experiences.

Purpledog Rhythms - Audience Participation