Reading to Poets

[ampoule]

Reading to Poets

Well, today I remembered to bring copies
to the Northwest Indiana Poet's Society,
something warm for this below zero day,
for these versifiers who enjoy seeing and
touching the words as they follow along.

Yes, something warm, out of the hundreds,
what will it be, should I warm their loins
or their hearts, I did worry and fret and
Orange came leaping out,
"Read me, read me".

Sitting in a rectangle in folding chairs
around long tables, a circle became obvious
as we listened to things deep down,
silent hand-holding and pats on the back,
good and faithful servants of eloquence.

So there it was on the table, mine, but
now theirs also, and they were as
wonderful as you with their praise and
encouragement, except for reading too fast,
they wanted time to digest each thought.

And so, with the heat in my face, my heart
all a flutter, I finally took a breath.

ampoule, January Twentieth, TwoThousandEight

For those who might be interested in reading Orange, if you haven't done so already, you can find it here.

http://www.online-literature.com/for...t=29587&page=3

[blazeofglory]

Indeed this is a beautiful poem and something differently constructed. I like it for its presentation.

[Sweets America]

This is a nice poem, ampoule. I particularly like:

Sitting in a rectangle in folding chairs
around long tables, a circle became obvious
as we listened to things deep down,
silent hand-holding and pats on the back,
good and faithful servants of eloquence.

and the ending.

[PrinceMyshkin]

And then? And then? What the aitch happened next? I loved the narrative here and was grateful for the referral back to your none-too-shabby Orange poem.

[ampoule]

And then? And then? What the aitch happened next?

lol....I went home.

[Pendragon]

Oh, yes, readings... Do you know I had rather send my poetry to be judged by magazine editors I have never seen nor am ever likely to meet than go to a poetry reading? A storytelling isn't as bad because if I mess up somewhere my vivid imagination will supply. But to mess up a poem, especially one of my carefully constructed villanelles or sestinas or Pantoums, and you can’t fix that. And my dyslexia kicks in while reading aloud anyway so that I even read words that aren’t on the page. Hail to thee, Amp, if you can do it! I will continue to post and submit!

[jon1jt]

Well written ampoule. There's control and direction and you held my attention throughout. You take a simple moment and turn it into a lyric, beautifully done:

Sitting in a rectangle in folding chairs
around long tables, a circle became obvious
as we listened to things deep down,
silent hand-holding and pats on the back,
good and faithful servants of eloquence

You could tighten the poem some. And this part is gracious and all, but a bit out of place given:

and they were as
wonderful as you with their praise and
encouragement,