Why I Need to Kick It

The Columbus Arts Festival is on Saturday and I have yet to finalize what poems I am going to read.  Nor have I started to practice any of them poems I might read.  What I would like to do it a variety of poems that transition from heavy to light.  So, going from heavier, deeper, possibly darker type poems about bullying, depression, suicide, et cetera to happy-go-lucky comical poems.  I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to pull that off though.  Normally I just wing this kind of thing, but I’m thinking that’s probably not the best idea for something this big.  I did go to the Writer’s Block Poetry Open Mic night last Wednesday at Kafe Kerouac for a little stage practice.  I thought my reading was good, but I didn’t make the best eye contact.  Scott Woods said it was a pretty depressing poem and asked if I would be reading that particular one at the Arts Festival.  I told him probably and he replied by saying you can’t eat a corn dog to that kind of poem.  I’m okay with that.

Since the Arts Festival is coming up I’ve decided to post some of the poems I’m considering reading and giving a few lines of explanation, assuming I can remember anything from when I wrote them (I’m partially kidding).  Please let me know what you think.

Before I get into tonight’s poems, please tune into 98.3 WPKO Monday night at around 7 if you’re in the area as I will be feature on the Night Mix.  If you’re in the Columbus area on Saturday, I will be reading at approximately 1:25PM.

This first poem is tentatively titled “Don’t Ever Give Up” and is the one I read at the open mic this last week.  I’m not a big fan of the title and am trying to think of a new one before Saturday, but have had no such luck thus far.  Nothing really in particular inspired this poem other than the fact that I was wanting to write something pretty deep and somewhat motivational that didn’t have a ludicrous amount of F-bombs so that I could either read it on the radio or at the Arts Fest.  I figure 1:25PM is much too early to drop an F-bomb on stage, especially in front of family.

Don't Ever Give Up

You see the steamroller coming towards you: You've got two options

You can either lay down on the ground and let it roll right over you,

Flattening you until you are paper thin, your entrails exploding out the sides

It is not instantaneous death, but rather, you will suffer,

Lying there, smashed on the pavement like an ant, bleeding and wanting to scream,

But you are completely incapable with no air in your lungs and your throat collapsed

So there you are, motionless, bloody. Defeated, dying, death is upon you.

Your eyes close and your heart stops beating and you take that one last breath,

Your life is over

OR, instead of laying down, you can stand tall and fight back

Take a deep breath and stare it down,

Give that steamroller the dirtiest look you can

And make it stop dead on a dime,

Drop your shoulder and charge

You can do this, make that machine yours

Put your shoulder right through it and watch it explode

The nuts and bolts, the coils, they fly through the air

The steamroller lies there motionless--it is defeated and you are the winner

You see the steamroller coming towards you: You've got one option

Stand tall, stand strong, fight back.

This second poem was inspired by a scene in an episode of How I Met Your Mother, which is a show I can easily relate to.  Honestly, that’s really all there is to it.  If you know the episode of which I speak, you’ll get it.  I actually started converting this into a short story too, but have yet to finish it.

Black Umbrella Amongst a Sea of Yellow

There's the lone man walking down the street, having just confessed his love for the woman he thought was of his dreams

But, instead he exits the building, walks down the stoop, and steps out upon the street with nothing but himself and his black umbrella

He is the Hopeless Romantic, the man who wants nothing more than to love and be loved

But everytime he tries he is met with supreme demise; he is his own worst enemy

But I believe that there is an equal for him out there, just like for you and me

And half the fun is the search to find the one whom you love.