A Voice at Open Mic Night
Today I am grateful for the song "Amazing Grace" and a poetry reading opportunity last evening.
A special thanks to those who supported me in that poetry reading, including my husband Darcy and son Sam who were in attendance, and my friends Kelly and Betsy who listened to me practice and encouraged me to proceed.
It is great to live in a community with places like BreakAway Arts. I became part of the first-ever poetry open mic night last evening. There was no microphone involved. The group was small enough to sit around a large table and listen and share. Thank you to all who listened. Thank you to the other poets who shared, including two writing group acquaintances.
This was a stretch for me. I have rarely read my poetry out loud; only one other time in a public setting. It pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but was also exhilarating. I enjoyed picking out a few poems, practicing pace and emphasis, and even revising. As I read them out loud, I made some changes here and there and felt they were stronger.
Four of us shared, and there were about 10-12 people listening. I shared one I had memorized and then read three more. Since I still have it memorized, here is one:
Throwing Up
I caught the bug
Of ego inflation
It brought
A soul sickness
And a spiritual
Nausea
I felt like
Throwing up
So I did
I threw up
My hands
And surrendered
My will
LV (originally written in October, 2012)
A special thank you again to Darcy and Sam who were there to experience this with me. It was empowering. It was fun. The affirmation I received means a great deal to me. My voice continues to emerge. And there's next month's open mic night to look forward to.
A special thanks to those who supported me in that poetry reading, including my husband Darcy and son Sam who were in attendance, and my friends Kelly and Betsy who listened to me practice and encouraged me to proceed.
It is great to live in a community with places like BreakAway Arts. I became part of the first-ever poetry open mic night last evening. There was no microphone involved. The group was small enough to sit around a large table and listen and share. Thank you to all who listened. Thank you to the other poets who shared, including two writing group acquaintances.
This was a stretch for me. I have rarely read my poetry out loud; only one other time in a public setting. It pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but was also exhilarating. I enjoyed picking out a few poems, practicing pace and emphasis, and even revising. As I read them out loud, I made some changes here and there and felt they were stronger.
Four of us shared, and there were about 10-12 people listening. I shared one I had memorized and then read three more. Since I still have it memorized, here is one:
Throwing Up
I caught the bug
Of ego inflation
It brought
A soul sickness
And a spiritual
Nausea
I felt like
Throwing up
So I did
I threw up
My hands
And surrendered
My will
LV (originally written in October, 2012)
A special thank you again to Darcy and Sam who were there to experience this with me. It was empowering. It was fun. The affirmation I received means a great deal to me. My voice continues to emerge. And there's next month's open mic night to look forward to.
A strong poem -it speaks to me. Yeah -your voice is needed,.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aileen! I keep finding more layers of voice. Write on. . .
DeleteWhat a cool thing to do Lisa! Something very special about speaking poetry. So proud of you and wonderful support. Great poem...throw up your hands and say help me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Danita! It is a whole different ball game to read my poems out loud. I even did some revising as I went along. Reading out loud makes it stronger I think.
Delete