Poetry Reading

Dimly lit with staged spotlight The beatnik coffee house Espresso or moca in every cup Black berets and sandals (optional) Digging the sounds of be bop In dark sunglasses Renditions of Miles and Coltrane Smoke like dry ice in water Dancing and disappearing In light in darkness Satisfaction and discontentment Free love and hopelessness Remembering the past Thinking of the future With neck-or-nothing passion In black Stepping to the open mike A poet appearing No applause Finger snaps beating claps Extempore and reading the script Tables nodding and chanting groans Finger snaps speeding claps Nodding and groaning More and more and more Oobalee owa. Selah. A poet disappearing Satisfied and away discontent Freely loved and away hopeless Remembering the past Thinking of the future With neck-or-nothing passion In black Berets and sandals (optional) Digging the sounds of be bop Stepping to the open mike The smoke dancing and disappearing Speaking of light into unseen darkness Dimly lit with staged spotlight At the beatnik coffee house