David Delisca pays tribute to a loved one who passed away with this riveting spoken word performance
'Our legacy and impact of who we are is not just within the physical'
On August 1st, on stages across Ontario and Quebec, Black Canadian artists expressed what freedom means to them through music, poetry, performance and dance as part of FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2020, a program marking Emancipation Day, the day that slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire on August 1st, 1834.
David Delisca lost his best friend, Jordan Viera, just over a year ago. A sudden asthma attack cut off oxygen to Jordan's brain. He was only 26 years old.
"I felt like he was one of the most empathetic people and one that really cared about the betterment of people collectively," says Delisca. "And a lot of times, that was about empowering people and giving them the understanding of the strength that they have."
Jordan was a leader in the arts community in Toronto and a motivator for Black youth. He would visit schools and often perform his poem "Five-Foot Post" about how a wild elephant is captured and chained to a five foot post. "How do you tame an elephant? You tame his mind. You get him to believe in the phrase, 'I can't.'" He used this story to teach his audiences about the power of mindset.
Delisca pays homage to Jordan's poem with this spoken word piece "Five-Foot Post (an ode)," giving a riveting performance in collaboration with violinist Andrew Forde as part of the FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2020 special.
"With his passing, I wanted to cope and understand that he probably found a freedom — one he didn't anticipate, but freedom in the sense where his legacy continues. I'd like to believe that he's still here, because he is. The person that he was helped me become who I am right now, so how is he not still living within me?"
"He doesn't have boundaries now. It's proof that it's not just the body. Our legacy and impact of who we are is not just within the physical. Obviously, that is the most accessible and probably the most pleasing way to understand our impact. But it's not bound to that. It's bound to what you do for someone, what you do for yourself, what you leave behind and what you build. We have such responsibilities. We have such power. What are you doing with what you have?"
When Delisca was asked what he hoped people would take away from the performance, he answered simply: "I hope that it inspires people to give people in their life flowers while they can smell them."
Watch David Delisca and Andrew Forde's performance in the video above and stream the full special now on CBC Gem or YouTube.
