People on the quay wave at us
as the ship leaves the port
their moving hands slowly fading
into puppet shapes,
the port buildings,
a coloured line in the distance.

Surrounded now by endless waves
big and small
in any direction
we are on our way.

There might be dragons there
or cities made of gold
or fruits sweet and fragrant
or beautiful plots of land
we can build our dreams on.

It is hard work, creating new lives,
new dreams, new lands;
but we are in this together
and together we can make this work
and the work will build bonds
between us that will last,
even when we set sail
for the next adventure.

A few years ago, I started to make NFTs from my poems. It was a new world for me. Many had already arrived in this world, and were exloring and settling it. Some of them have returned 'home' now. Either with a bit of new-found wealth, or disillusioned. But some of us are still here.

Exploring.

Settling.

Fooling around and finding out.

This week saw quite a bit of drama in the crypto/onchain world I live in. Jesse Pollak from Base was at the center of it, and a new thing called a content coin. It's not really a new thing. A content coin, just like a memecoin, is an ERC20 token on an Ethereum-powered blockchain. That can be a main network like Ethereum itself, or one of its many Layer 2 or 3 networks, such as Base, Zora and Optimism. The difference between a content coin and a meme coin is not the technical structure, but the way that structure is viewed. A content coin tries to exploit the workings of the ERC20, both in terms of technical definition and market usage, to generate income on both short and long term, for creators. It's a new idea. A new way of looking at it. It's about exploring, about settling, about fooling around and finding out if this will work.

The promise of blockchain for artists has been that it allows us to generate income independently and decentrally. But although this has worked for some, for others it hasn't yet. The potential is still there, though, and we are still exploring ways to make it work. NFT collections, either as 1/1s or Open Editions, coins, tipping, competitions, exhibitions, it is all not fully crystallised.

So, we explore. And explore some more. Also with content coins. Sure, it might not feel right, or comfortable for many. That is okay. That is what those people on that ship in the poem above are for. People like me, in a way. People that go out and explore. Let us explore. Maybe we find a way that will help us all generate an income that will allow us to independently create our art.

The poem above will be available as a 1/1 NFT, as an Open Edition NFT and the stanzas will be coined as content coins via Zora (here, here, here and here). For the love of exploring.

The open edition NFT has been airdropped to Trpplrs, the subscribers of my hypersub.

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Poésie de la vie

Promises of richness, a better life have been driving explorations for centuries. Even until today, explorers are searching for cities made of gold. A little clip to ignite a flame.