07.07.08

Doctors and Poetry

Posted in Thoughts and Reflections at 11:47 pm by admin

I spent most of today reading and rereading all the poems I have written during the past thirteen months in an attempt to select a few to read at the open mic hosted by a local Barnes & Noble later this evening. I was quite surprised at the number I found, fifty-nine to be exact.

Fifty-nine poems completed with an average of six versions each. Hmm, does that count as three-hundred-fifty-four? There were also fifteen poems I found that I started but never finished. Several of these had only the first couple of lines written, but many had moved into the second and third strophes. I wonder what it was that made me just stop? Perhaps I had taken the poem as far as I could and then just hit a brick wall. Maybe the phone rang, and I became so distracted that I couldn’t pick the poem back up again. Perhaps I realized I was writing shite, but then why did I just not delete them. It’s funny, I don’t remember most of them.

There were three titles I remember remembering (does that make sense?) as being completed poems when I clicked on the document icon to open them. I do all my writing on the computer. To my surprise they each had only a few lines completed. I suspect that these three have been completed by my subconscious but haven’t yet bubbled up from the muck and mire where they were conceived to a place where I can grab ahold of them. Either that or the phone rang. Do these fifteen count? Three-hundred-sixty-nine, wow.

So I went through and selected only thirty-four, LOL. Now wait, of these there were twelve Haiku, two Tanka and one lonely Cinquain. Being the perfectionist that I am, I revised several of them before I printed them out.

By the time I had finished it was 3:45 PM. I had to get to my annual doctor appointment at 4:30. I jumped in the shower and was dressed and out the door with my poems and bag dinner in hand by 4:12 PM, and arrived at the doctor’s office at 4:38 PM. I wasn’t too worried about being a few minutes late because I usually sit in the waiting room for at least forty-five minutes. I took advantage of the waiting time by reading through all my poems twice, editing a few of them yet again. I was in the exam room at 5:05 PM and left the office at 6:00 PM.

The drive to Barnes & Noble took only twenty minutes, so I ate my dinner in the cafe and reread my poems twice again. This time I didn’t make any revisions. I met the lady from Barnes & Noble, Chris, and we set up the area for the open mic.

The poetry meeting began around 7:30 PM. Five of the folks who attended, out of seven, read. It was an eclectic group. The woman who organized this group, Nicole, read short stories. Another woman, Brenda, read what I would describe as a cross between inspirational speeches and sermons, but they were in poetic form. Brenda has a powerful voice. I can easily visualize her speaking from a pulpit. A young man who works at the store, Chris, read poetry.

Each of these folks read with a unique voice, and the material they read was just as varied. All of it seemed very raw, as if the work was in its early stages. Before we began the reading, while everyone was getting to know each other and catch up, I inquired whether any of the other folks attending the reading ever workshopped their writing, none of them did. I encouraged them all to find a forum online, or to join or create a group of writers who meet regularly to workshop their writing. My impression was this was a new concept for them. I hope they do, because there was great potential in what I heard.

Another gentleman, Daniel, read some of his poetry which was refined in both language and poetic form. The audience was very impressed with his work. I had two turns at the “mic,” the microphone was broken so we all sat or stood at a tall table and read aloud. Unfortunately, we had to compete with the piped in music that was playing, as one of the speakers was directly over the area where we met. I was a bit nervous during my first round when I read two medium length poems, but by the second poem I had relaxed quite a bit. Hmm, maybe that’s why my blood pressure had been up in the doctor’s office. It could also have been the three large mugs of coffee I drank between 1:00 PM and 3:45 PM.

During my second turn at the “mic”, I read two medium length poems and one very short one. I was very appreciative of the reception I received and several members commented on the imagery of my work. Anyone who knows my writing, both poetry and short stories, would understand how important this component of writing is to me. Nicole took a third turn at reading and then called for the meeting to end. I was surprised by this, but just as happy it was over because by then it was 8:45 PM. We all said good night and left.

What impressed me the most about this group was how attentive to the reader everyone was. Also, each person who read received a round of gentle applause when they had finished their turn.

When I arrived home, I sat in my rocking chair on my front porch and listened to the sound of the water from my pond in the front yard. It was very relaxing and a perfect way to end my day.

O.P.W.

Permalink