Photo: Tiffany Bessire

Human Nature

In response to Rave Lucid

by Asif ElAmri-Brantley 

In response to Rave Lucid


We are animals 

Impulsively, inexorably imitating what we observe Regardless of inaccuracies 

Testing to see what sticks 

Kicking like kids 

Leaping like lambs 

Furiously, frantically frolicking like foals Moving to prove that we are alive 

Our soft bodies hurtling amongst the tumult of others Rejoicing over the fleeting moment of collision Lamenting the bruises left behind 

Ricocheting until someone sticks


About 
Asif ElAmri-Brantley
Asif ElAmri-Brantley is a high school senior born and raised in Nashville, he’s always been homeschooled, which means he’s been allowed to write, make art and run rampant in Tennessee’s wild places for 18 years. He wants to see more people like him in media, so his stories are full of queer, mixed-culture, chronically ill joy. In his writing he tries to capture both the world around him and the world inside his head.
OZ Arts Nashville presents Art Wire: an ongoing collaboration between OZ Arts and The Porch in which 10 writers attend the OZ Arts performance season and respond to the presentations through original writing that is personal, playful, and deeply engaged. The OZ Arts 2019-2020 season offers each Art Wire Fellow a diverse array of inspiration, including innovative Japanese dance artist Hiroaki Umeda; a genre-bending presentation of Frankenstein by Chicago-based company Manual Cinema; and two emotionally raw works with Nashville's own professional dance company, New Dialect, just to name a few.

Explore The Work
Sally Amkoa The Chase Prose

In response to Rome & Jewels
Ami` Hanna-Huff Come and Gather Poetry

In response to Food
Kyoko Eng Birds on a Wire Poetry

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Aaron Shapiro Exit Pursued by Lunch Poetry

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JR Robles Lucide Poetry

In response to Rave Lucid
Asif ElAmri-Brantley Human Nature Poetry

In response to Rave Lucid
Isa Aguilera Teeth Poetry

In response to Black Hole
Nat Martinez-White unease/ecstasy Poetry

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Asif ElAmri-Brantley MENYOU Poetry

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Sarah Page-McCaw Why Don’t We Do It in the Road Essay

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Aaron Shapiro A Snowball in My Pocket Poetry

In response to Song of the North