Representing Portland Poetry Slam, poets Brenna Twoh, Alex Dang, Doc Luben, and Leyna Rynearson together perform the poem “Choose Your Own Adventure” at the 2014 National Poetry Slam in a video produced by Button Poetry.
The poem starts in the fun, fast style of the popular Choose Your Own Adventure interactive fiction novels–complete with a sinister, dark room and a dragon eating the observer’s face–and quickly escalates into everyday life choices, each ending with a dragon eating the observer’s face. The powerfully inspirational poem ends with addressing the audience further, telling them that every choice they make is permanent and urges them to accept that and take action. The performers’ impeccable timing contributes to the the sense of urgency in the poem as they say, “You are the dragons, something huge and powerful and impossible to tame. You can set the world on fire. All you have to do is breathe.”
Sooner or later the book will get too heavy.
You’ll run out of fingers for all the pages you wish you could choose again.
Every morning starts with a dark room and an ominous door and there is no such thing as not choosing.
Doing nothing is choosing to do nothing.
via Waxy Links
