Last night was my first time as a featured reader. Although I was late in selecting which poems I might read, I showed up prepared.

To my surprise, although I had read at this venue before (during the open-mic sections), I was increasingly nervous as the hour approached. My digestive system tried to stage a mini-revolt, briefly causing me to wonder if I would ever make it up to the podium.

Then my turn finally arrived, and all that went away. I avoided an awkward opening statement, uncomfortable pauses, and major stumbling over words, reading a selection of poems in a loud, (mostly) clear voice. I saw no signs of boredom or impatience in the audience, and the lines that should have gotten laughs got laughs. The two-minute warning I set on my phone (a ringtone made from ‘Moments in Love’, by The Art of Noise) even went off between poems, so I was able to get to my closing poem without incident.

The only real misfire—as such—was that I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I completely forgot about one of the poems I wanted to read. Even then, I did not realize that until afterwards, while I was in my car on the way home, so it’s really a moot point.

I do this again at the Green Lake branch of the Seattle Public Library on March 12. In the meantime, I am one of 58 poets (at last count) participating in Poets Against Hate at SPL’s Central Library this Saturday.

(12 February 2016)