[Newspoetry] Please share the words of "The Pledge" with your readers!

[Chris Piuma]

The Zestfully Clean With Lemony Pledge
======================================

I pledge to fail to maintain,
and show the status quo the door.
My mind and body will be sound,
and sounded out,
and if that requires illicit substances now and again,
so be it.
I pledge to learn well, to step outside
or to bury my nose in books,
even if they're not on the reading list,
and I pledge to cut class or work so I can get this done.
I plan to be tomorrow
by stealing the best bits of yesterday 
and keeping close tabs on today.
I pledge to be lazy,
to spend enormous amounts of energy being lazy,
to set up systems to allow myself and others to be as lazy as possible.
I pledge to learn improper languages:
the formal languages of poetry,
the amorphous languages of the street,
the brittle languages of the immigrant,
the shadow languages of advertising,
the odd-shaped languages of my neighbors,
and the invented languages that tease and boggle the mind:
and I pledge to confuse and conflate all these languages
and allow these various tongues to slurp and suck and taste one another.
I pledge to judge my self-awareness with suspicion,
to use my misfortunes to my advantage,
and to ignore this and any other pledge as often as necessary.






-- 
Chris Piuma, etc.
http://www.flim.com
http://www.theminorthirds.com


Just before being eaten by wolves, DonPedroCookies at aol.com said:
> Please help me share the message of "The Pledge" with our children and youth. 
> We also have a Spanish version (La Promesa). The Pledge was approved by the 
> NYC Board of Education. Alberto O. Cappas, Author. The Pledge/La Promesa.
> 
> The Pledge 
> (Dedicated to our Children and Youth) 
> By Alberto O. Cappas 
> I pledge to maintain
> A healthy mind and body, 
> staying away from the evil of drugs. 
> I pledge always to try my best to understand 
> the importance of knowledge and education, 
> painting a positive picture of where
> I plan to be tomorrow, 
> not allowing obstacles to stop the growth 
> of my plans for the future. 
> I pledge to seek answers to questions, 
> understanding that the answers to questions 
> sometimes lead to other discoveries. 
> I pledge to work hard, 
> with the awareness and confidence 
> that hard work today will serve 
> as the seeds for my strong tree tomorrow, 
> a tree no one will ever be able to tear down. 
> I pledge to learn proper languages, 
> 
> beginning with my mother’s, 
> always prepared to appreciate others. 
> I pledge to gain a better understanding 
> of myself, 
> by understanding my cultural roots, 
> to fully accept who I am as a human being, 
> a rainbow of many cultures and colors. 
> I pledge to overcome any personal misfortunes, 
> always striving to become 
> A wiser person.      
> 
> "The Pledge: Dedicated to our children and Youth", by  Alberto O Cappas, 
> released in 2001.  The Book, based on the poem, The Pledge by the same 
> author, is a small, pocket size, 24 page publication, dedicated to children 
> and youth, especially students enrolled in the inner city public school.  
> This book is retailed at $5.00, but if order here, take $2.00 off .  To place 
> an early  order, send $3.00, payable to Alberto  O. Cappas, 85 4th  Avenue, 
> Suite 3JJ. New York, New York  10003, Attn. AOC/The Pledge. 
>          Bio: Alberto O Cappas: a graduate of the SUNY @ Buffalo. He has been 
> widely published in magazines, journals and is the author of several 
> collection of poems, including "Dona Julia."
> 
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