Over the next two months we will be introducing you to some of the tremendous young poets who responded to our call to share an example of their work and to reflect on their writing. Our first young poet is the splendidly named Sindri Sparkle Freyr who hails from Reykjavik, a UNESCO City of Literature. Enjoy the poem below and check out a link to their zine.
Real people
I realized way too young
that I didn’t know if other people were
real people
Maybe they were all just robots
and me, little Descartes, the only human.
I was playing in the schoolyard when I realized another thing,
I had no way to know if I was
real people.
I sat, naked on the bathroom floor looking for a button.
Since robots have buttons.
I prodded my entire body.
I prodded until I gave up.
I didn’t find any buttons, batteries, or power plugs.
Despite that, I couldn’t be sure.
I still look for clues from time to time.
Somehow I have a hard time believing I am
real people.
My name is Sindri but I also go by Sparkle. Sparkle is what my name means and it also makes me sound like a stripper. I’m a multidisciplinary artist living in Iceland currently focusing on comedy, poetry, and graphic design. I won the Nordic Fringe Network award at this year’s RVK Fringe for my storytelling show “You’re lucky he was nice” and preparing to tour with it. I’m also an active member of the Icelandic queer scene, specifically the BDSM scene, as well as being trans.
I’ve identified with robots from a very young age. I’ve struggled with anxiety most of my life and I feel like I always need to be more productive. This feeling often turns into a dissociative flow state where, if I’m not careful, I start to feel like a robot. I was thinking back on where this all started and it brought me back to kindergarten. Since I was sometimes bullied my memories of that time are often hazy but this one was crystal clear.
Young Poets' Stories 