Hi Poetry fans! Boy do we have a treat today! Check out the Official Poetry Video for the poem "There's Not A Person Alive" - an astounding and thought provking bit of prose about regret, how we feel about our lives and ultimately, the hope that keeps us going.
THERE’S NOT A PERSON ALIVE speaks for itself in terms of its attitude on life, people, culture, justice and love. The video stars longtime friend Ashphord Jackoway lip-syncing to the poet's voice.
David N. Donihue, writer and director, brings you The Poetry Verse Series, releasing on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Clapper.Donihue has employed every trick in the book to redefine the spoken word poetry video for modern YouTube and vertical audiences. The videos all feature special fx, animation, stop motion, and our central hero, The Empty-Headed Poet alongside a variety of Los Angeles’s best actors.
THERE’S NOT A PERSON ALIVE
By David N. Donihue
There’s not a person alive
proud of every word
Not a person alive
With a past pitch perfect
A stainless soul lying undisturbed
Not a person alive
Who has what they need
As needs are in the mind
With imagination, a rabbit hole unending
And there’s not a person alive
Satisfied with their shell
And there’s not a person alive
Who has not uttered life is hell
And there’s not a person alive
When free from shame or worry
That would bother inflicting misery
Takes the former, for pain to keep on feeding
And there’s not a person alive
Without prejudice
No matter who you are,
Someone's demeanor
could trigger your shit
And there’s not a person alive
Who’s never felt debt,
never felt useless,
never felt like a prick
And there’s not a person alive
Who has not failed many
Yet to experience true life,
Is to love endlessly
Praise the heavens for the day and night
Until gratefulness becomes greatness
And you’re giving the globe
your absolute everything
And there’s not a person alive
that doesn’t deserve love
Doesn’t deserve redemption
the chance to rise above
And there’s not a person alive
Who is not addicted to something
Whether positive or negative
Our routines keep moving
And there’s not a person alive
Who should have never lived
Yet if they’d chosen forgiveness
Then maybe the spiral of sickness
Would no longer exist
And there’s not a person alive
Like you in the morning
Whimsical smile though weary lids opening
And there’s not a person alive
Like you when you’re you
Pointless insecurities thrown aside
So the truth may shine through
And there’s a person alive
Like you
There’s not a person alive
Like you
- ••
© copyright David Donihue 2023