My Thank-you Note to Slam
This essence of energy
This soul-surge with style
Here
This glorious Dionysian Feast
Celebrating our Godde
of Wine and Theatre
Also known as the Great Liberator!
Freeing one from one’s normal self
by madness and wine
suspending the thoughts of care and worry.
Our Aulos - which is normally
a musical pipe
for us some time behind the mike
Calling all together
milling about impromptu ciphers
and Sages taking over
Awesome
Host City stages
so I thank you
all sizes and sexes and colors
all completely different
just two things in common
the need and the yen
to shout out our fire
and our preferences for ink and clicky pens
(Because that sounds so much sweeter
than the cock of a gun)
This Feast feeds me so much synaptic ambrosia
nothing else needed
like food and sleep
just walking around absorbing this magic
for forty-eight hours
with with a box from Pandora
I gather together
what others have generously
given me to keep
These butterflies in my box
I will open and set free
at my hometown poetry read
On my way home
I will smile and breathe
Because
You have influenced me.
Tracy Townsend
2008 Southwest Shootout
Team Let’s Have some Mutherfucking Fun!
