Reading

Well kids, my poetry reading this weekend went really, REALLY well. For once I was not so freakin’ nervous that I could barely hold the paper I was reading from. I was able to talk to the crowd a little and share something about the genesis of the two poems I read. Once again Sam tried to stick me reading after Alex Garza, who is an excellent poet and reader, but fortunately for me he didn’t show up, something about finals and studying. One of the two poems that appear in the latest issue is “Dusk,” which I submitted to the Brazos Writers annual poetry contest. It didn’t win anything (the top three winners are featured in the latest issue of Brazos Gumbo) but here it is, for your reading pleasure:

Dusk

Enthusiastic day-sounds,
The machine noise of life,
Fade with Sun’s final brilliance.

And the world holds its breath.

Sweet honeysuckle suffuses the air,
Heralding Night’s soft foot-step,
Poised on the precipice.

We plunge headlong into her velvet black embrace.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported me. It was really good to see Sam, Jer, Shawn, Alyssa, and Margaret again and I really appreciate you guys being there. As for the rest of you, you can purchase copies of this issue (or any issue) through the Brazos Gumbo website. My work appears in issues 1, 3, 4, and 5 and they all make great Christmas gifts. No, really, they do.