Friday, March 27, 2015

First Time In, From A Poetry Workshop

My wife takes classes at Tulsa Community College and one day she brought home a flier for some "I Can't" workshops scheduled for March and April. They cover a variety of subjects such as screen printing, swing dancing and more. The workshops are free to students and the public so I attended the "I Can't Write Poetry" class this past Monday. Even though I already write poetry or spoken word or lyrics or whatever you want to call it I thought I'd give it a go. Maybe I could learn a new way to look at things. The instructor did just that for me. He told us to think of something that had a lot of concrete, sensory details which led to what's written below. I didn't do everything he said but still, it was interesting. Last night I was finally able to type it up and edit it, I must say though I'm sure it will change even more over time. How far in can you get before you know what I'm talking about?


first time in

on the edge
a violent maelstrom
swirling evolving
the one constant is change
i've never been inside
always stayed where it was safe
it surges and roils
bodies spit out
they pick themselves up
then dive back in
the band is blasting
in my face
over my head
off the walls
the energy reaches inside
it seizes my soul
prodding me
pushing me
drop your fears and worthless worries
accept the challenge
sweat pours freely soaking my skin
hesitation kills momentum
a small push from behind
suddenly i'm inside
no longer thinking
just reacting
arms come up
legs kick out
bodies jerk and spin
fists meet faces
knees to bodies
blood spills here and there
nothing intended all accepted
no pattern to the madness
a release of pent up anger
of aggression and stress
finally on the last note
the crowd is spent
nothing left to do
go back and replenish
we stagger arm in arm
laughing at the memory
i've done it
we've done it
the pit is now closed

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

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