JANUARY CREATIVE COLLOQUY

Tonight, I read during the open mic of the January Creative Colloquy.

Usually, prior to a reading, I listen to heavy metal music to set the mood in my head for the pieces I'm going to read. But tonight, I listened to Vs. by Pearl Jam. It was a welcomed change in "warming up" for the reading.

The beer of the evening, for me, was 21st Amendment Brewery Blood Orange Brew Free or Die! IPA.

I had five new poems with me and ended up reading four of them. (I decided not to read the octopus-themed "Lullaby." The crowd didn't seem ready for it.) Lines from the four I did read follow.

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from "Graveyard Shift"

"A coffin can be life boat. / Ask Ishmael. Ask myself. / Queequeg isn't in the coffin. / My mother is in an urn."

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from "Moments on the River Walk"

"mere moments as they pass by on the river walk / time bent • folded • Möbiused / into orgami orchids and paper peonies // scent sealed into the pulp during manufacture"

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from "Laniakea (Immeasurable Heaven)"

"sewn into their canoes / pushed by the currents / pulled by the star that tether their eyes"

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from "Eighth"

"all is Holy Holy Holy / in the mouths of the blessed angels // do not steal this from them / do not clamber up and seat yourself / upon the throne"

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The standing-room-only crowd was attentive, gracious, and responsive. It was an awesome night of poetry and a few scattered short stories.