I attended my second session of “Poetry, Pages, and Scribes” on Thursday, July 1st. To those who have not yet been there, it is a wonderful venue to both share and hear poetry and short stories. It is hosted by the beautiful and vivacious Ber-henda Williams at the public library in Southfield, the first Thursday of each month, starting around 6:30 pm. Ber-henda warmly invites both “old timers” and the “virgin” newcomers to share their work, and she also reads several of her own poems. Ber-henda has a book of poetry coming out in September, and I know that I will be one of the first in line to buy it.

As a native Spanish person, I look forward to hearing her read some of her poems in both beautiful and fluent Spanish. As she said last night, maybe I was the only one who understood it, but her pronunciation and diction are so perfect that I think everyone simply enjoyed hearing the words. It is like listening to Italian opera without understanding a single word, yet still being able to appreciate its beauty.

She also read a very touching poetry about someone close to her who passed away, and you could see and hear the emotion in her face. I know exactly how she felt, because I choked up myself when I read my short story about my father who died many years ago, “Daddy’s Little Girl”. Writing is so personal and gut-wrenching at times. Sharing it can be even harder. What you write is like your child, and you are both proud of it and defensive, afraid of how it will be received by others. It takes a lot of courage to stand in front of strangers, and share your work. I could stand all day in front of my class with ease, but put me in front of adults, and I feel like a child at a high school show, afraid that I will trip and fall, stutter and stammer, and be laughed off the stage. Not so here. Everyone is so warm and welcoming, as if they are members of a family.

There were quite a few people there yesterday, whom I heard last month, and I enjoyed their poetry even more this time. I can see how one could develop a fan base. Counting myself, there were two other virgins. It was kind of nice being a virgin again for a while! Maybe next time it will be easier to read in front of the audience.

Once again there was a lot of slam poetry read. So forceful and with such clear messages, read with vigor, so that it becomes almost like an act of a play. In fact one poet, Lightshineth, dressed up as Frederick Douglas, the abolitionist from the 1800’s, and read a poem as if written and spoken by him.

There were a few very young and budding poets, in their late teens and early 20’s, which impressed me. At that age, I do not think I would have been able to share my writing. In fact, it seems to have taken me many years to do so. Now I wonder what took me so long! One of the young teenagers, Marissa Shorter, recently opened up for Harry Belafonte, and she has her own television show: The Connection”. This is a local show on channel 15. You can log on to the city of Southfield’s website to find the day and time information. She both sang and read her poems, which were filled with so much depth for one so young.

Zack Ashley who was the featured poet last month read one of his slam poems, a very funny and entertaining poem about his guardian angel, a pink haired punk rocker. I laughed out loud quite a few times. His poems can be found on You Tube, and he is definitely quite a character. Mat Vega, who has some of his poems on CD’s, with a musical background was also another repeat poet from last month. I only hope to one day have the ease and force these poets have, and to work on that same delivery. The way you present your poem or short story can be as important as its content. And these seasoned poets draw in their audience with such ease. It made me feel self-conscious when I read mine, but at least I did not trip, fall, stammer, or stutter! And maybe, I will have the courage to read again next month. Maybe I’ll read one of my Gigi stories.