Poetry Slam
There's a local poetry slam, which I want to start going to - unfortunately, right now I have a scheduling conflict, and I haven't been to one yet.
For those of you who don't know or remember about Poetry Slams, I discovered them a few years ago when I saw a special on HBO called Youth Speaks. You can look up the National Poetry Slam or Youth Speaks or Spoken Word - you'll find examples. Basically, it's Kids (usually under age 21) who are using spoken poetry to express themselves, and small, regional "Slams" where they present their poems, are judged and eventually move on to larger and larger contests. The local slam is open to people of any age. It's hosted at the local theater (which is known nationwide as one of the best local theaters in the country).
One of the recent Slam nights had a theme based on plays that had been presented by the theater. A Map of the Soul and The Tricky Part. here's the info on FB We were given prompts, and it immediately sparked in me. Which is rare - I don't usually do much with prompts. But hey - when it works, why fight it?
So I wrote this, and I'll share it here, but... See, for the first time in my life I wrote a poem that is meant to be read aloud. When I read it silently, I can tell that it is not as good. If I can figure out a way to record and post it, I will. But in the meantime, here it is.
The tricky part 11/4/13
Heroes and tragedies live in the same space.
The rape victim whose voice was silenced
but her soul shrieks at you with every line
Every premature line on her face thunders,
“You will show me respect. You will hear me, even when I’m invisible.”
I feel invisible
The man serving your meal at the company party
got his last meal from the very food pantry your company just sponsored
for the end of the year tax break.
The CEO goes on about helping those poor, jobless people “out there”
and your 3 job havin waiter leans in.
“Would you like some more dessert, sir? The saccharine is perfectly disguised by the truffles, which were well fertilized by your bullshit.”
The teacher, no, the student, no the teacher, no the administration
so obsessed with the test
they’re forgetting why they’re there
and STILL won’t correctly spell the 2 forms of they’re I just used
because it’s (3rd form!) their school
that’s forgotten
The disabled person, just going about their life
showing the world, quietly
why thoroughbreds get handicapped.
The world can’t handle a full speed me!
but all they see is the chick with the blue tag
and no wheelchair
so they think, “that’s one more person deking the system! One more fraud!”
Instead of thinking
that’s one more story of triumph over tragedy
or one more person struggling to be a hero.
We seldom think to think.
We seldom think to think about anything that’s not shoved in our faces
but
Heroes and tragedies live in the same space.
The tricky part is figuring out
which side of the mirror they’re on.
© Terry Corcoran 2013
OK - figured it out (had to download a voice recorder - I'd accidentally deleted the one that came with. LOL). Now, to figure out how to upload a file... how do I upload a media file that's not a video!?!?!?
For those of you who don't know or remember about Poetry Slams, I discovered them a few years ago when I saw a special on HBO called Youth Speaks. You can look up the National Poetry Slam or Youth Speaks or Spoken Word - you'll find examples. Basically, it's Kids (usually under age 21) who are using spoken poetry to express themselves, and small, regional "Slams" where they present their poems, are judged and eventually move on to larger and larger contests. The local slam is open to people of any age. It's hosted at the local theater (which is known nationwide as one of the best local theaters in the country).
One of the recent Slam nights had a theme based on plays that had been presented by the theater. A Map of the Soul and The Tricky Part. here's the info on FB We were given prompts, and it immediately sparked in me. Which is rare - I don't usually do much with prompts. But hey - when it works, why fight it?
So I wrote this, and I'll share it here, but... See, for the first time in my life I wrote a poem that is meant to be read aloud. When I read it silently, I can tell that it is not as good. If I can figure out a way to record and post it, I will. But in the meantime, here it is.
The tricky part 11/4/13
Heroes and tragedies live in the same space.
The rape victim whose voice was silenced
but her soul shrieks at you with every line
Every premature line on her face thunders,
“You will show me respect. You will hear me, even when I’m invisible.”
I feel invisible
The man serving your meal at the company party
got his last meal from the very food pantry your company just sponsored
for the end of the year tax break.
The CEO goes on about helping those poor, jobless people “out there”
and your 3 job havin waiter leans in.
“Would you like some more dessert, sir? The saccharine is perfectly disguised by the truffles, which were well fertilized by your bullshit.”
The teacher, no, the student, no the teacher, no the administration
so obsessed with the test
they’re forgetting why they’re there
and STILL won’t correctly spell the 2 forms of they’re I just used
because it’s (3rd form!) their school
that’s forgotten
The disabled person, just going about their life
showing the world, quietly
why thoroughbreds get handicapped.
The world can’t handle a full speed me!
but all they see is the chick with the blue tag
and no wheelchair
so they think, “that’s one more person deking the system! One more fraud!”
Instead of thinking
that’s one more story of triumph over tragedy
or one more person struggling to be a hero.
We seldom think to think.
We seldom think to think about anything that’s not shoved in our faces
but
Heroes and tragedies live in the same space.
The tricky part is figuring out
which side of the mirror they’re on.
© Terry Corcoran 2013
OK - figured it out (had to download a voice recorder - I'd accidentally deleted the one that came with. LOL). Now, to figure out how to upload a file... how do I upload a media file that's not a video!?!?!?