Poetry ·
I Watch You, Reimagined: Turning an Awkward Poem Into a Music Video
A few years earlier, I shared I Watch You as spoken word: a story about running into your ex at a party and engaging in the ancient mating ritual known as pretending not to notice each other.
The Life of a Modern Renaissance Man: A Video Journal, entry 31
A few years earlier, I shared I Watch You as spoken word: a story about running into your ex at a party and engaging in the ancient mating ritual known as pretending not to notice each other.
By 2023, I wanted to give that same story a fuller musical and visual life. So I returned to it, directed and edited a music video, and let the rhythm and performance push the comedy and emotional tension into a different space.
I like revisiting work because an idea can outgrow its first format. A poem might contain the core of a song. A song might suggest a scene. A scene might lead to an entire film. Being a multi-hyphenate makes those transitions feel natural to me.
The story itself is still deliciously uncomfortable: jealousy, pride, attraction, and two people pretending to be indifferent while practically monitoring each other's breathing. It's funny because we recognize the behavior. It's revealing because I've also had to learn the difference between genuine closure and wanting somebody to see how well I'm doing.
Making this video reminded me that old material doesn't have to stay frozen. You can return to a story with new skills and a new perspective, and sometimes the second version reveals something the first one couldn't.