Anais Vionet Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

the opium rave

I’m a master in the performance of freedom. In Paris, this is just part of the social graces, but I maintained it as an act, to deceive potential college friends and then my current boyfriend into thinking I’m more fun than my truth. 

The truth eventually outs though.

Shall we go poetic?

Last night we (my bf and I) went to an Opium rave
On Saturday nights we try to be brave
we ordered our drinks and as as they were raised
the noise hit us like a tsunami wave
I keep ear-plugs in my purse, so we were saved
but it was mood-wise and musically depraved 
we flinched, like a middle-aged couple, and flaked

I should have sampled the bands - It was a mistake.

Alas, it didn’t turn out the fun date-nite we craved
Sundays we recharge and we needed the break.

Ok, I’m over it (rhyming).

Opium’s a music label with a universe of artists like Playboi Carti and Sexisdeath. What drew me in was the fashion trend, a “Opium aesthetic,” you might say, which meant fans weren’t just listening to, they were dressing for it, developing a style, which pulled from goth, punk and metal. 

The sound evolved from those influences too, but there’s way more distortion, screech and hypnotic repetition. As bad as it was - and it was bad - it certainly kept the crowd moving in a film-it-with-your-phone mosh-pit way.

They were between DJs when we arrived and we’d ordered drinks - then the music hit and OMG, we gulped our martinis like shooters - leaving early and irritated. Does this mean we’re getting old?

Anyway, don’t worry about us, we’ll erase that experience when we see ‘Tyler, The Creator’ at the ‘Rock en Seine’ festival, Wednesday night. The man makes a crowd connection. 

Ooo, want a fashion tip?: Sasha Sorrell jeans are the new Hedi Dior jeans.
.
.
A song for this:
See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis) by Tyler, The Creator 

If you want to simulate our rave experience, try this link: and turn it up (I dare ya): 
youtu.be/Kx6OGDFS5Sg?list=RDKx6OGDFS5Sg

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David Kavanagh August 25, 2026 at 3:20 PM I’ve just taken your dare and listened to the link, wtf! Give me gothy punky metally stuffy nightcluby any day, obviously you skipped the free vials of fentanyl they give out at the door; but all that said thanks for the fashion tip, I best tell my wife to ditch the Mimchiks! This one’s up there with your best fun posts Anais! cheers David Anais Vionet August 28, 2026 at 5:49 PM Thank you! (fun posts) I love that. The only good thing about the bands we heard while we were there was that the songs were surprisingly short. a minute and twenty seconds, two minutes and thirty seconds. That was an audio blessing. I can find something to like in most musical styles, but I have no patience for 'Screamo', 'Gangsta Rap' or 'screamo-traps' 🙃

Alison A Smith August 23, 2026 at 8:52 PM A lively, candid hybrid of memoir, comic verse, and cultural commentary. The jaunty rhymes make the disastrous evening especially funny, while the conversational voice gives the piece real personality—self-aware, stylish, and warmly relatable. Anais Vionet August 24, 2026 at 3:43 AM A great review, thank you! 🙃

Vincine Fallica August 23, 2026 at 5:02 PM Jeeze! That really stretches the term ‘music’. And I’ve heard Charles Ives! My cohorts and I considered Talking Heads, DEVO, and the B-52s avant-garde. But then we were of the Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Who and Levis generation. I checked out ‘Tyler, The Creator’. Let’s trade YouTubes: Laurie Anderson < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkfpi2H8tOE > / 💛 Anais Vionet August 23, 2026 at 5:19 PM Ok, I LOVED it (Anderson) - I'm going to ample her hard. 🙃

Chris Conn August 23, 2026 at 3:26 PM Fiction.😏 Anais Vionet August 24, 2026 at 5:58 AM We do the clubs all the time. When I was little and we were going somewhere, Charles would spend the drive going over what to do if.. We did that so many times that now we're a finely oiled security machine with hand signals and practiced maneuvers. In clubs the dangers are mainly 1) a knifing (in Europe guns are extremely rare), 2) getting roofied or exposed to Fentanyl powder, or 3) overcrowding, fights or perhaps a fire. When we arrive somewhere, we routinely ID at least two exit points and we sit in the less crowded VIP areas in pre-defined arrangements, Charles routinely IDs himself as 'armed close-protection' (Agent de protection physique des personnes renforcé armé) to venue staff and club security. The most dangerous places are just outside and transport areas. Oh, I'm all about security. 🙃 Chris Conn August 23, 2026 at 6:17 PM Charles would consider something like this a “logistical nightmare” … Unless you were situated on his shoulders. Ooh, that sounds like fun just thinking about it. Anais Vionet August 23, 2026 at 5:23 PM Nope - it happened - although, in a larger sense, I suppose this vignette would be considered flash fiction. I had a real writer once tell me that since my vignettes only present one viewpoint (my own) that they are all, properly, flash fiction.