Albany Poets Present!, September 7

We were kicked back upstairs to the hot room (a head-banger band downstairs), Ed, Keith, Thom & I hung out talking trash until "Screamer" showed up & she joined in too. The tour bus never arrived, nor any of the poets who read Friday night at the Fuze Box, so we went on with the open mic without a sign-up sheet, starting with

Ed Rinaldi reading from his Blackberry (or whatever is the generic equivalent). His short poems were "Dutch Mechanics Prostituted," then one about working the night shift at a convenience store (just like Elvis), & one he introduced as a "psychedelically inspired idea that Dan Wilcox likes to play the horses" -- I try to get to the track at Saratoga once a season, but I missed this year & generally do not play the ponies, but, hey, it's poetry, it's all made up.

Since she was the token female the consensus was that "Screamer" (Amy Fortin) should go next & she read from a good old-fashioned hand-written journal "A Short Reminder to Myself," containing good advice to believe in herself, then "Six" about a young neighbor girl without Amy's advantages asking her lots of questions, a gentle & touching poem.



I followed with the recent (typed, laser-printed) "United Flight 302," then a poem in hand-written draft in my poetry workbook just burst forth today on my porch based on reports of coyote-sightings in some of the affluent suburbs, "Coyote."

As I finished Bless wandered in "just to listen" but there was not much to listen to except the thundering from downstairs. I must say Keith's new sound system is very crisp & I look forward to pushing poems through it in a more congenial setting. Check AlbanyPoets.com for a calendar of events.