Mike Rosen "When God Happens"
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- "Mike Rosen, an NYC-based poet and educator, performs "When God Happens" his poem about 9/11 as part of NYC Urbana Poetry Slam. The Bowery Poetry Club, 5/12. For more on Mike you can follow him on Twitter (@mikerosenwrites) or check out his homepage about.me/mikerosen
I cry everytime I watch this.
"Your war has done nothing but add to the list of boys who are still waiting for their fathers to come home.."
As a muslim i just really want to thank you so much for writing this. It brought tears to my eyes. Things were turned upside down for the victims of 9/11. I have a friend who was in iraq when the invasion happened as well. War solves nothing. Hate solves nothing.
Being a Christian, I totally agree. I had tears in my eyes also. The whole world was stopped and time was no more.
Well God Bless and go on your way.
FablesFromSa3vis i dont think its anti God or religion. He's stating that our own beliefs do not matter when so many people have been affected. "When God happens no one is right" We are constantly arguing which side is right, our God in USA or their God in Iraq. I believe it's stating we are the ones who are putting too much of our own thoughts into the matter rather than focusing on the issue: war with each other.
I agree. Bush even once stated that he was doing this for the will of God. There's this whole idea of our God is better than yours. I don't think it was against religion though, just stupid violence in its name.
Get the heck out of here, your sick religion has never once apologized for killing us Americans for no reason. Instead you try to minimize the events of what happened. Good day to you sir.
I was all like, "We can handle this, right?" And my eyes said, "Nah, man. Tears."
i showed this to my classmates who joked about 9/11 and they cried. time is passing, people are forgetting the tragedy and emotions that the entire country felt, but i refuse to let the youth be ignorant. i love this.
+Tabetha Le 9/11 was an inside job
not forgetting, no one is forgetting. they are moving on. you don't constantly dwell on the death of a family member. you grieve but eventually you have to move on.
Tabetha Le yeah but you don't joke about it, that's insensitive
annie akhter Mark Twain once said that Humor is tragedy plus time.
@@protoman1521 Don't be stupid. There's plenty of evidence proving that only al-Qaeda, a terrorist group, did it. They also explained they did it because of US support for Israel and the murder of Palestinians, so ha!
Rare to see a poet who can actually make someone who hasn't experienced anything like this understand the gravity of the situation, and feel the pain that he felt. Well done
Moreover he didn't use rhymes. Gets it sounds so… idk what to call it!
Abdullah Al-Azmi spoken word
that's a really really nice thing to say. thank you for this comment!
Poem hit me like a train full of other trains.
damn dude
I swear this is like the 12th poetry video I've seen tonight, and each one is bigger and more powerful than the last...this one is right up there...
I haven't seen a better one than this.
Each slam poetry video I've watched tonight has killed some small part inside of me.
Jonny Vincent Omg. I agree. This was amazing.
As a veteran and plankowner of the US NAVY SHIP USS NEW YORK, I want to say thank you my brother. My ship is the one built in tribute to this day. The ship with 7.5 tons of steel from the world trade center built into its hull, built in a spot that cuts through the water as if leading the way. My ship is the one with the motto that reads "STRENGTH FORGED THROUGH SACRIFICE, NEVER FORGET!".
From the bottom of my heart, truly, thank you for this my brother. I promise I will never forget. Never....
I watch this poem every year on 9/11 so that I am reminded what that day actually meant. I am too young to remember more than individual snippets of that day, but I know in my heart of hearts that this poem signifies what that day meant to all New Yorkers and what it should have meant to all Americans.
I'm really glad the piece means this much to you, Colin. Thanks for writing!
Colin Churchill 8
i was 25yo and my brother died a month later. true story. that time period changed my life forever.
"your war has done nothing but add to the list of boys... the list of boys who are still waiting for their fathers to come home"i'm in tears T.T
Thank you for the line of 'it's not our god or their god' Thank you for that Mike, be blessed
How that made me cry.
It’s amazing how the second he mentioned the towers all the laughters and cheers just died and the room went quiet. That speaks volumes about what 9/11 did to Americans.
"There was no black or white because under the ashes everyone was grey."
I mentioned this to every class today, I asked my History and English teacher if we could watch it. Everyone was quiet, many had tears in their eyes. One of my friends who is from NYC was in tears. Here in California we talk and acknowledge but we cant imagine what it was like. We know nothing of how it felt or anything. But everyone after watching this saw this tragedy so differently. It's not just video and pictures and a memorial, it was emotions, community, hope, and grey.
wow. so touched that thsi poem has made it across the country! thanks, anali!
I was 4 and living in New York when 9/11 happened and it is my first clear memory. People don't understand why I have such a hard time talking about it or why I can't watch the videos we watch on 9/11 every year in school. I have PTSD from it and I was only 4. I didn't even fully grasp what was happening, all I knew was that planes knocked down big buildings and killed a lot of people and there was smoke everywhere for about three weeks. I cried every time I heard a plane go over my house for the next 8 years until I moved. I had nightmares that I plane was going to crash into my house, my grandmother's house, my brother's house, and kill everyone I had ever loved and cared about. People don't always realize just how traumatizing this event was for everyone in New York. Thank you so much for this. This made me cry, but in the best way possible.
Hope Moser
Dear sweet soul.. I hope that you are healing. I feel like you need s hug and I need to hug someone right now. Be well 💕
That's what happens
when you can hear a man's
HEART
BEATING
through his words
...powerful
This remains my favourite spoken word of all time.
I cant lie; tears are streaming down my face right now. Whether or not others get it, I loved this.
I'm actually crying.
i’m a new yorker and every 9/11 I watch this. It really hits me
I love the hush that fell over the audience as he opened with the words "Before the towers collapsed. .."
This is the type of Poetry I can actually respect. The fact that you touched on the fact that these were people under that rubble...not Americans but human beings... You are absolutely right. No child should have their father or mother taken away from them like that...be it an Afghani child or a New Yorker. I absolutely love this.
I got tears in my eyes, wow this is a beautiful piece of poetry. I am truly touched, thank you
You changed everything for me with that. Thank you and praise god for taking me here
I am bawling beautiful words sir
people talking and laughing at the beginning of the video and then she opens his mouth and your back at that time when it happened. i'm sort of still speechless after this. it was beyond amazing.
What powerful words. I was one of those little children waiting for my father to come home. Fortunately, he did. my heart goes out to the many children and family members who are still waiting, but without any hope.
He's voice wow, I could listen to him talk for years. I have been watching spoken word all night and he's is some of my favourite.
I've watched this so many times over the course of the last six months and every time I do I get chills. One of my favorite Slams.
I could listen to him talk all day every day! He has a great voice
This piece is a real eye opener
I was in preschool when 9/11 happened. I have no memory of the day and I have never felt any personal connection to it. Thank you for making it real for me.
Watched this three times... got me fighting tears every time... amazing.
Wow. Powerful and emotional.
i've never cried so hard at a poem before i can't believe how powerful this is
Woah. I don't even know what to say, the emotion behind this one... I don't even know. Words cannot describe how powerful this is.
i've watched this like 5 times already and i can't get over the power and emotion he has when he speaks. for lack of better words, everything about this poem is breathtakingly beautiful.
In my English class we have to pick a poem to remember and recite and I picked this one. My fave. Xxxx
Spectacular from the first line. It is one of the most powerful, and well-crafted spoken word poems I have seen.
Emotional. Tragic. Beautiful.
This one left me breathless and in tears.
More, please.
this haunts and gives me chills and it's beautiful
I think i will be forever haunted by this poem.
I've been thinking about getting back into writing poetry I've been writing since I was 5 but have only performed in front of a big audience 3 times.
Harmony Devaney do it! I believe in you
I second this! :)
In 2022 and still a fantastic poem hits deep
i love the intensity of his tone. Shivers.
"When God happens... no one is right." those words will always be with me.
I am an avid #MentalHealthAwareness advocate and spoken word performer, and I love this so much. I travel the country trying to bring that awareness on stages, in classrooms, hospitals, and on my RUclips channel, so I get excited when I see other advocates. 💙❤
I was seven and in New Jersey and I remember that day. Yup, crying.
Tragically beautiful. His passion is moving.
Today is 9/11/2020, I wasn’t old enough to understand what happened but I listen to this poem every year without fail. 19 years... wow
Oh my gawd the feels. Living in california and in sixth grade, I was fairly disconnected from that event, and while I was sad, it never struck me with emotion until I found myself in New York, seeing from outside the fence of the memorial where the destruction had happened. Having been there, and having seen it, I can not begin to fathom the terror that filled the city that day. But at least I feel for it now.
i know right?! am so moved by this.... he is amazing!
I'm a 911 survivor, ex-New Yorker and omg how "a city shapeless and somewhere else" indescribably perfectly described something indescribable.
This touches me in a big way...I have written so much about that day...
This gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. I can really feel te pain. A poem packed with full of feels indeed.
Actual chills. My God
His voice is beautiful.
this craps all over my spoken word attempt for 9/11. this was a whole 3 minutes of goosebumps to it. the way the audience catcalled as he silently stood...way before they knew the gravity of the piece. the second he breathed the first word and struck them silent. He made me love my dream City with his passion and accent. fucking amazin...
His voice gives me chills... this is beautiful...
Holly shit... I have no words for this. The only thing I can say is this is the single most amazing poem Ive ever heard
this is so good! I love that he considered the people in other parts of the world who have been affected by this 'war'.
So intense. The emotion is just.... Wow. This deserves to be viral.
This poem, this work of art...was beautiful. Thank you so much for your words. As someone who lost someone special in the WTC on that day, your words and the passion in which you spoke those words are overwhelming and powerful.
made me tear up, powerful, hits home
Just came back to this. Very relevant today
I couldn't agree with this more. That's what this poem is largely the point of the piece. Happy to answer questions about that.
So powerful. Such a deep meaning. It's hard to put it into words.
in this terrible night more than ever, when god happens no one is right.
Michael, as a fledgling poet, I hope to get wings as wide as yours someday. You're brilliant, man.
Thank you for that wonderful piece of poetry. I can't even count how many times I have watched this in the last few months. Your words express my feelings exactly.
Wow... Just wow. You left me absolutely breathless.
"Under that rubble there was no red, white and blue" That line is so true. Misfortune and death is not solely for one country. Death is a unanimous and ubiquitous experience. Death doesn't discriminate. There is misfortune everywhere in the world and it is almost impossible to understand other people's pain; all we can do is sympathize and comfort. War is a terrible, terrible thing which only results in worse terrors. This poem always makes me want to cry.
I want to say something intelligent here, but I know it won't compare. So instead I'll say that this brought genuine tears to my eyes and put words to feeling I was having trouble grasping at. I don't know if I could ever be that honest to a microphone, but I hope someday that I can write something that gives someone the emotions I'm feeling right now.
This is one of the greatest poems ever written about any patriotic event that actually does embrace a native of that culture and land. as I listened America seemed not to be great- but to still house visionaries and heroes who can portray the ugliest truth in a way that continuously pushed against gravity the tears under my eyes. know that side of pain. And remind me it wasn't my country that was attacked it was his city...My day hardly changed then. But watchin that changed me in a way I already knew- but now know I knew nothing about..the horrors of that day
All I can tell you is that I was 4 when this happened, and I thought it was in MN because I didn't know that our news stations talked about anything outside MN and my dad was a firefighter at the time and I sat there sure he was dead and couldn't stop crying.
Such a tear-jerking poem.
so beautiful it gave me goosebumps. and the last lines were perfect.
the reason why I love SPOKEN WORD POETRY, this is so amazing, I'm so inspired
Oh My God... This was amazing. I love how the atmosphere in the room was playful until he started speaking. This was so touching and unbelievably amazing. Great, great poem.
I also write poems and make videos.. I'd love some feedback...
This poem is not about the validity of God (it actually takes a stance on how the actions of both parties had nothing to do with a true image of God). The poem is about a difference in views in reaction to the tragedy of 9/11. The very fact that people are getting caught up in how this relates/doesn't relate to God shows the great misunderstanding of this poem. The speaker is talking about carnage, fear, the loss of human life and mourning it, how our response in our hurt was to be equally destructive and how utterly hypocritical that was of us as a nation. He is saying that people who really mourned that day, the people of New York, had an experience entirely different from the rest of the nation. New York City didn't get the privilege of having the footage being taken off the air because it was "too hard to watch" they watched it happen right before their very eyes. No one was there to pop out the tape for the scenes that were heartbreaking like when the people were jumping out of the building. They weren't getting commercial breaks, they were dealing with what was left. He is using his experience to show a contrast between a city and a nation.
Yes I couldn't have said it better myself. It's one thing to hear poem but another to listen and truly understand it.
You're wrong. See the title of the poem for a clue.
*"When god happens, no one is right."*
I can't make this any clearer to you.
yoyojemojo I think its talking about the fact that we need to stop renaming terrorism as a "war of religion" and realize that if were claiming to be above terrorists and better "children of god" (or just plain human beings) than going to war with iraq and afganastan is completely going against that. We can't claim to be better and above that if we respond in vengeance. We need to realize that going to war only causes more casualities and the death of innocent lives.
@julie thank you. This is exactly correct.
@@yoyojemojo i think thats what she's saying. We are ALL THE SAME underneath is the point. we all suffer and bleed the same and are human, with the same human needs. period.
I wasn't expecting that, and now I'm crying.
this will always be one of my favorites.
His voice is beautiful and the passion behind his words is so true. I wasn't there but after watching this I almost feel like I was. :)
This made me cry. My family lost a very close friend that day. Just...wow. good job, you're very talented!
Incredibly moving.. very well done... my heart has been shredded by emotion.
You have a gift.
I'm not American, but I remember that day. This gave me a lump in my throat the size of a fucking Grapefruit.
I lost it listening to this. Being a child in NY when this happened i felt the heat from each passing cars headlights. Not knowing if i would remember the next few seconds. That night felt like every death protecting me. I will always remember it that way..... I don't care what i know i now i don;t care what you think. That day was endless.
proud to say i own your book "michael rosens book of nonsense" one of my favourites from my childhood
Showed this to my english class, don't know how well they took it. But I'm in love.
I literally got goose bumps... amazing.
this gave me legit chills
This is a great poem, much Props. For those who didn't know, this poem was not about how he hates God or something like that. He was saying the incident of 9/11 was about his people and not people the media made it about. He was also saying that this war that is going on now only takes away from his people even more.
Almost brought me to tears.
Same here, only thing is I was talking to my mom about the trade center a few days before it happened and the she had to go on a trip for work. I had no idea if she was there or where but when we finally got the phone call that she was stuck in another country until they allowed planes in the air again I was almost calm again
Cried so hard
Damn I love poetry.
More relevant than ever, given the results of the US election (11/9/2016)
What does this actually have to do with the results of the election?
Kind of everything. Kind of nothing. I get both of your points.
I Love his voice. I would listen to him read the phone book but I'm so much happier that he does Slam Poetry.
I got chills... amazing.
God damn!!!
this gave me goosebumps
I was typing it out when I saw your comment, I don't know if this is what you had in mind but here it is:
Before the towers collapsed into a white noise of bodies and strewn papers there were people in the windows.
They clutched family photos and they jumped, became human tombstones, falling into the shrapnel of a city covered in the ash of its own citizens.
A city shapeless and somewhere else riving as it fell.