12th January 2022 A good portal

Guess what? I did my first open mic reading yesterday. Hadn’t planned on doing so. Officially, I am still in my research phase, or so I told myself. Over the past few days, I’ve been attending online reading events as a member of the audience. Listening in, observing how other writers read and often perform their work. Taking notes. Picking up tricks of the trade, ideas. I’m loving it.

What a great way to spend an evening! I love being read to. There is just something about snuggling up on your sofa with a good cup of tea and then relaxing into worlds and stories you had no idea existed. My plan was to watch, learn and observe for a wee while longer before taking the plunge. A good plan. And then, yesterday, I attended a smaller open mic event. Right at the beginning, the organizer let people know that due to some no shows and late cancellations, there were a couple of reading slots available for the night.

Hm…., I thought to myself.

Now, you need to know that this was a themed event. ‘Portals and thresholds’. That’s what drew me to it in the first place. I love a good portal! Who doesn’t?

So there’s me, sitting in my living room, and a little voice in my head screams at me. ‘Go on. You do it!’

‘But I haven’t got a text with the theme of portal or threshold.’ I say to my voice.

‘Dhhh! You’re a writer, honey! Go write.’

‘What, now?’ I shout.

‘Well’, my little voice says quite calmly, ‘now would be a very good idea. The event lasts 90 minutes, so I guess, the clock is ticking, sweetie.’

Readers, I wrote.

I did a little more than that. I held my hand up – virtually, with the nice raise hand feature – and said I would read towards the end of the evening. Ya. There was a tiny little detail… At that point in time I didn’t have a poem yet. Isn’t it funny, that whenever there’s a deadline looming, my brain just goes into overdrive? I had created a fact. My name was on the list of performers and… I had a poem, albeit a very short one, within twenty minutes.

It may not be the best thing I’ve ever written, but last night, I saw the opportunity to get my first open mic reading under my belt. I used to be far too hesitant. Never put my hand up, not even a pinkie. Missed out on lots of opportunities that way. I used to be scared and the fear always won. I’m done with that. Not always. But most of the time.

Here’s my wee poem. In case you are curious.

The other side of rain

Freckles on my window once again.

Familiar, plump spheres of distortion

or sneaky portals to another world?

A multitude of sins, beginnings,

or perhaps the beautiful endings

of last night’s story, pick one.

This looking glass has its own opinion

on what my morning ought to be like.

Clear sight holds little mystery.

This, though, unfolds, iridescent,

pearl by pearl, a pointillist dreamscape

and I, the still tired interpreter,

welcome my day, this side of the pane

and otherworldly, where the birds

patiently wait with all their knowing.

I’ll cross the threshold in a minute,

take my freckles, all of them,

to meet the other side of rain.

I woke up exceedingly happy, that I tried. A mini reading. I am pleased with the way I read, dare I say performed the poem? Next time, I’ll do better. For a start, I’ll write my material beforehand and not on the night. I’ll have enough stuff to fill my reading slot, every second of it.

I still like a good portal.

Some other news made my morning a very happy one. A fellow blogger, Lamittan Minsah, used my story ‘The Quiet’ as material for his own blog, http://www.laminsaindies.com. Check out today’s post Your Vocabulary Builder – Week 2, 2022 Can you believe it? Words from my story are being used as example sentences. I feel very honoured about this. Almost more chuffed than about my poetry reading.

Happy Wednesday to you all and I’ll see you here tomorrow, if you wish!