Call and Response

I watched a documentary on human trafficking a week ago. It shows how modern slavery in the form of the sex trade (as well as in other forms) continues to thrive. However, what made this documentary different and very interesting was its employment of music. The whole thing was essentially a concert by a wide range of artists singing against human trafficking, with interspersed comments by experts, actors, and other celebrities. The reality portrayed in the film was very sobering, so I went back and wrote the poem that follows in response to it.

Call and Response is a very decent documentary, and when you sign up for it, just know that you're in for plenty of music from artists such as Talib Kweli, Matisyahu, and Natasha Beddingfield. Interesting, I hear you say. Absolutely. One thing about the music for me was that sometimes, the artists didn't seem to be singing directly about the issue that the film was about, human trafficking. But then, I realised, they didn't need to, because a thing as universal and pervasive as music does not need to be so direct and logical. Just the fact that they were singing their songs on that screen, and the music I heard, was a strong enough message to arouse my passion and fury against human trafficking. The music certainly carried the spirit of the issue at hand.

This is what that music and those images inspired:

VISIONS OF LIGHT

Through my eyes and into the world I see visions

That run through dark streets and splash into

Moonlit puddles. Through alleys of despair

And corners that reek of dreaded fish that

Has been the staple of the mouth beneath my eyes.

My visions are fraught with hope that frightens

But also enlightens, that tightens the lashes

Of conviction and constriction, or consternation

For a ruined nation. Such are my dreams, 

Fleeting like a cool breeze in the desert.

I live in darkness, but not despair; I live in pain

But I do not wish for numbness. Dumbness seeks

To assuage my soul, apathy that preys on

The senses. In a shrinking world, a global nation

I live, and dare to hope. In pain, I dare to hope.

In fear, I dare to hope. In men, I dare to hope.

In God, I dare to hope. Because through

The darkness I see bright dreams and visions

That shine with the light of a thousand sunrises

And vanquish with the light of a thousand angels.

For more on  Call and Response, visit: http://callandresponse.com/