"An Original Thought is a Dangerous Thing"

With comedian Ari Shaffir and poet Derek Brown

Greetings, Soul Friends!

This week on the Soul Boom podcast, Rainn sits down with comedian Ari Shaffir—a guy who’s made a career out of pushing boundaries, questioning everything, and finding humor in life’s most untouchable corners. Ari shows that comedy isn’t just for laughs. At its best, it holds up a mirror, shatters it, and offers an unexpected reflection in the shards.

And speaking of holding up a mirror—this week, we’re pairing our conversation with Ari with something that hits in a different, but also powerful way: a poem from Derek Brown titled An Original Thought.

Derek’s poem is an invocation, a call to break free from our divisions and easy prescriptions. It asks: Why do we accept the world as it is? What if we demanded more? More presence, more justice, more connection, more healing?

It’s also Black History Month, which makes Derek’s words resonate even more. As a native of LA, he’s been reflecting on how this poem feels different in the wake of the wildfires in LA, especially in places like Altadena, where so much of the historic Black community has been devastated. When we talk about loss, about rebuilding, about reimagining a future, An Original Thought reminds us that change starts in the mind, in the questions we dare to ask, in the truths we refuse to let burn away.

You’ll find the full poem (and a cinepoem version of an extract from it) down below, ready for you to read, watch, and listen to. And in the comments, we’d love to hear from you—what’s the original thought you’ve been afraid to say out loud? What’s the bitter pill you think we all need to swallow?

Wishing you curiosity & courage,
The Soul Boom Team

An Original Thought 

An original thought is a dangerous thing 
A fingerless glove on a black fist 
Asking why instead of nodding yes 
Creating your own offramp on the road less traveled 

What if we vetted... instead of just vented?
Treated freedom of speech as a privilege, not just a pastime 
and turned just enough wine back into water, 
so you can properly swallow the red AND the blue pill

What if it meant climbing down the corporate ladder?
Viewing stocks and bonds, like stockades and bondage
Crypto as a crypt 
and why can’t he who dies with the LEAST amount of toys be the winner? 

Why can’t we reinvent the wheel? 
Squeeze blood from a stone, if it’s willing
And where’s the glory in living in a country surrounded by all this cake 
if all the citizens can't indeed eat it too? 

Why can’t we be in a rush to sit still? 
Why aren’t reiki and sound baths covered by my insurance? 
Why isn’t meditation included in every K-12 curriculum? 
Why aren’t rose quartz and palo santo in every single first aid kit? 

What if we normalize group hugs,
Flash mobs of people on street corners, with open arms, jacked from uplifting spirits! 
What if we worked in… as much as we work out
Empathy on swole, sincerity dripping from our brows, compassion bulging in our veins. 
What if you never ever had to make your bed? Why? cause that's our safe space and the world kinda sucks right now
Best yet... What if "race"-ism was actually about the speed of your feet 
and not the long division of your skin color? 
We’ve had to show our work for far too long 

What if for the first time in your life, 
when you search the clouds for God’s face you found a mirror 
then after bowing your head, 
asking, praying, begging…What has all this been for?! 
You looked back up at the sky 
and finally know the answer.

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Derek D. Brown is a Los Angeles-born poet, author, and playwright whose work has been widely published in anthologies, literary journals and in his debut poetry collection, Articulate Scars. A featured performer at literary festivals and educational institutions nationwide, he has also facilitated the Watts Writers Workshop and guest lectured for the Community Literature Initiative. A certified reiki practitioner and soul work enthusiast, Derek blends poetry, storytelling, and spiritual practice to explore the deep connections between mind, body, and spirit. Find him on Instagram: @derek.d.brown and learn more at derekdbrown.com.