curiousa2z
Be patient till the last.
I got my nerve up on Monday and went to this poetry reading. I didn't know what to expect, and I wasn't sure I'd have the nerve to get up and read anything in front of anyone any way...
There was quite a mix of people there, including a somewhat pompous high school English Lit teacher, who was balding and had no chin and kept reminding us he was an English Lit teacher, but, who nonetheless wrote some awesome sonnets!
Then there was this American ex-pat (AKA DRAFT DODGER!) who looked like he was in his late fifties and had smoked WAAAY alot of ....something. He had scribbled lines that even he couldn't read, and he kept wandering off topic and bitching about US politics (yawn), but every now and then he had an interesting line or two.
There was some goon who had been staring at me from the mystery section whilst pretending to read a book; finally he comes and sits down and the host asks him if he's there for the poetry readings and he says "yah" and then sits there staring at me. Finally I gave him the fuck off glare and he eventually sidled off. omg!
One woman read from her PUBLISHED book - some incredible stuff - wowo!
She was also an ex-pat, from Virginia (yes, stoner boy was from California!omg) but had been living in the area for a long time and didnt have an accent like that guy did.
I got her to read this one - cos i was still chicken shit!
After the funeral
after the funeral we sat in the Church basement,
eating small sandwiches,
watching the faces
of the dearly Beloveds
and the
old lovers
and the
forlorn friends
stuck
somewhere in between...
Steve was there to cruise
We shushed him- half mockingly- cuz we knew you'd approve,
really.
The sun was glaring down on the sheen of the
black hearse,
so black…
as was the slash in the Earth where your Mother had been opened up
to receive you
once again
against the snow.
The snow, bright and white, and clean as an Angel's gown.
You sleep now
at peace.
Comforted, no doubt, under your comforter of
purity,
lying on the ground.
Lying on the ground,
If you lift up your eyes –
beyond the dazzling blue of Mary's gown -
outside the aegis of that calm and peaceful sky,
you'll know the blanket that covers Earth
as the blackness of space -
with stars so sharp they cut the heart.
******
later, I got a bit of nerve up, and read this one
Poem For Lestat
Drum flourish,
Bass kicking out the rhythm
The crowd,labile, milling about and dancing to the tempo
Heads follow you when you take the stage.
You seek
You seek
Lean strong muscles under straining leather pants and mesh shirt
Growling the chorus
Lips pull back to show white even teeth
A plethora of dark curls dance above your forehead
Drape your neck
I’m in the darkness listening waiting
You seek my eyes.
You lean into the mike
Langorous, low – voiced
Intimate
Singing to the women at the front table.
They sway, sanguine with drink,
Willing you to satiate them.
The vein at your neck pulses
I smile with white even teeth.
The crowd dims around me
Noises off
I hear your low rumble
Voiceless
Voiceless
Yet do I raise my head at your call
You seek my eyes for the cipher at the back of the room
We smile across the floor with white even teeth.
**********
the English Lit teacher was a bit of a prat about that one, though, cos when I explained it was based on a scene from Queen of the Damned, he said he didn't watch or read vampire books, movies, cos he " didnt believe in them."
um....what?
My jaw just sort of dropped..I was afraid to say anything in case I LOLed!
There was quite a mix of people there, including a somewhat pompous high school English Lit teacher, who was balding and had no chin and kept reminding us he was an English Lit teacher, but, who nonetheless wrote some awesome sonnets!
Then there was this American ex-pat (AKA DRAFT DODGER!) who looked like he was in his late fifties and had smoked WAAAY alot of ....something. He had scribbled lines that even he couldn't read, and he kept wandering off topic and bitching about US politics (yawn), but every now and then he had an interesting line or two.
There was some goon who had been staring at me from the mystery section whilst pretending to read a book; finally he comes and sits down and the host asks him if he's there for the poetry readings and he says "yah" and then sits there staring at me. Finally I gave him the fuck off glare and he eventually sidled off. omg!
One woman read from her PUBLISHED book - some incredible stuff - wowo!
She was also an ex-pat, from Virginia (yes, stoner boy was from California!omg) but had been living in the area for a long time and didnt have an accent like that guy did.
I got her to read this one - cos i was still chicken shit!
After the funeral
after the funeral we sat in the Church basement,
eating small sandwiches,
watching the faces
of the dearly Beloveds
and the
old lovers
and the
forlorn friends
stuck
somewhere in between...
Steve was there to cruise
We shushed him- half mockingly- cuz we knew you'd approve,
really.
The sun was glaring down on the sheen of the
black hearse,
so black…
as was the slash in the Earth where your Mother had been opened up
to receive you
once again
against the snow.
The snow, bright and white, and clean as an Angel's gown.
You sleep now
at peace.
Comforted, no doubt, under your comforter of
purity,
lying on the ground.
Lying on the ground,
If you lift up your eyes –
beyond the dazzling blue of Mary's gown -
outside the aegis of that calm and peaceful sky,
you'll know the blanket that covers Earth
as the blackness of space -
with stars so sharp they cut the heart.
******
later, I got a bit of nerve up, and read this one
Poem For Lestat
Drum flourish,
Bass kicking out the rhythm
The crowd,labile, milling about and dancing to the tempo
Heads follow you when you take the stage.
You seek
You seek
Lean strong muscles under straining leather pants and mesh shirt
Growling the chorus
Lips pull back to show white even teeth
A plethora of dark curls dance above your forehead
Drape your neck
I’m in the darkness listening waiting
You seek my eyes.
You lean into the mike
Langorous, low – voiced
Intimate
Singing to the women at the front table.
They sway, sanguine with drink,
Willing you to satiate them.
The vein at your neck pulses
I smile with white even teeth.
The crowd dims around me
Noises off
I hear your low rumble
Voiceless
Voiceless
Yet do I raise my head at your call
You seek my eyes for the cipher at the back of the room
We smile across the floor with white even teeth.
**********
the English Lit teacher was a bit of a prat about that one, though, cos when I explained it was based on a scene from Queen of the Damned, he said he didn't watch or read vampire books, movies, cos he " didnt believe in them."
um....what?
My jaw just sort of dropped..I was afraid to say anything in case I LOLed!
