POETRY READING

Chimo and I attended a poetry reading, with open mike and jazz, sponsored by Mind Gravy Poetry tonight at The Drip in Five Points. Had a frappe (which was not icy enough) and Chimo had a coke and a root beer. The three-man jazz combo (bass, guitar, keyboard) was pretty good; Chimo was playing his DS but his head was bouncing to the tunes---I will develop a bohemian child. The featured poet, a last-minute stand-in, was a slam artist, and I liked his poetry. A bit derivitive, I would like to see him stretch into more current situations, but I did like his homage to the recently deceased Ms. Melodie (Ramona Scott) and women rappers in general. Some of the poems I really liked, some were okay (especially the younger just-starting poets), and some, well, I just thought, WTF??!! I wanted to get up and try one of mine, but I chickened out. I am not sure lyrical sonnets would be their kind of thing. Maybe some day. Creativity comes in all kinds of packages. The crowd seemed pretty friendly, and I could see that there were others who hesitated to get up and give it a try too. Chimo told me his latest poem (SNOT) while we were walking to the car and it was very good, I thought. I am making him write it down in his journal. His style is a little like mine. Imagine that.