Burdens of Blockage began as an exploration of breakdowns, and what burdens may lead to one...

What are these burdens,
why do we carry them,
what do they cost us,
how long will we bear them,
how much do they weigh us down?

As an interactive process piece
in the streets of San Francisco
I began to show my burdens

They grew as people grew what I understood.
On buses and in cafes,
In theatres and at my job,
I carried my burdens with me
and heard of other burdens
of loss, of poverty, of pain, of break
heart and breakdown.

Some thought I was carrying a child,
Some thought I had a dead person,
One Vietnam vet thought I had a body bag
And he attacked me.
He lunged at me and hit me, on
6th and Minna.
He wanted to kill me for hurting someone.

We fought on the street
and I was not the least bit afraid.
I could see his burden
I had shown him mine.

I shouted at him
THESE ARE MY BURDENS
He stopped and looked inside
Failed dreams, and passed on people
Childhood brutality, and somnolescent rage
He sat and looked and cried.

Some people came up to pet the child,
As people do
And were disgusted to see what I had with me.

BURDENS
BURDENS
BURDENS