Mujer, Interrumpida...

Open; Broken and Wide

For much of my life, I have always been attracted to art that brings you in, that makes you think and reflect on yourself. Because of this, I have a very particular taste in what I will watch, listen to and read…which makes me a little bit of a art snob. It is what it is. I know what I like.

I was given the chance to go see Rock Wilk’s one-man show, “Broke Wide Open” this past Saturday. I didn’t know what to expect, other than all the reviews I’ve seen from my peers on how amazing the performance was. It’s hard to impress me when it comes to poetry. I can count on less than both my hands who I could listen to endlessly recite poetry and be stricken profoundly by their words. This show made it on that list.

There was no gimmick. No trying to be something it wasn’t. It was raw, unfiltered emotions on this man’s life and all the tribulations he went through. I found myself beginning to feel what he was feeling, regardless of the fact that I have no idea what being adopted feels like. Things I had been feeling last week came to the surface as I began to examine them from the mirror this show held up for me.

I thought about my own family and parents. I thought about the places I’ve sought to find acceptance and love & the desperation that it came with. There was so much busted open inside me. I had to sit there after the show and absorb what I had just seen; it was impossible to just get up and move along my night as though something in me hadn’t been touched.

This show led me to reach out to a sister that I hadn’t spoken to in some time. I had a good conversation with her, and trying to put into words the things changing in me. She told me that one day I will tell him what he did was wrong and be completely fearless in doing so; that what he did is his shit and I don’t have to carry it. We realized that obsessing about someone calling you is merely a distraction to your own life (What are you doing? What are you accomplishing? Is your to-do list done?). I finally figured out that I can’t make a special someone pay for all the transgressions of those before him, and that I was thisclose to doing so.

Shows like this make you open yourself up. Whether you take the chance to do so is your issue, but this helped me in so many ways, I can’t even begin to thank Mr. Rock Wilk for what he’s doing. It just inspires me to continue my introspective journey within.