Poetry Slam
A vivid narrative poem capturing the tension of a live poetry performance, where an unexpected disruption collides with the intensity of the stage.
Fingers fire on the saxophone keys,
Broody shoes tap to moody strings,
Low amber spotlights glare from the ceiling
As the audience listen with attention.
But a tall man bowls through the mesmerization,
Stepping clumsily on different coloured toes.
The art of concentration breaks
As fixed stares follow – watching.
He rolled in this smoky joint midway through,
Brushing up those around candlelit tables,
A flame in a beer bottle leaps to the floor
His black puffer jacket is the culprit.
Some folk are aghast, incensed by his crime,
Still, he blanks out all eyes in his focus –
Who lined the crimson walls are also disregarded;
Standing inches before this New Orleans performer.
The crowd start to bicker, he’s ruffling the picture,
Like a dark shadow set on the screen
During an intensely gripping scene
“Once Upon A Time In America.”
Salaam has no cares for the storm in the foreground,
Busy kicking vowels and cons on stage –
Ominous bellows, sweat pours profusely as
‘A Man Who Rapes His Wife,’ he enacts.
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