dance in my perilous garden: the hip magnetic poetry slam

poetry night in a tiny north beach coffeehouse; dimly lit, choked with people, and thick with the smell of french roast and patchouli. the silhouetted crowd chatters and bustles quietly to itself, but falls silent when the house lights darken. all eyes drift to the speakers’ platform in the corner and the crowd snaps its fingers in applause as the stage lights come on. illuminated in the soft glow of the lights, commanding the rapt attention of everyone in the room, stands…a refrigerator.

and thus, the poetry slam begins…


vulgar friend,
i fall perilously in love.
from delicious fortune
grow wicked dreams.
dance in my garden of flesh.
be my sweet villain.
i promise i shall never tell your mother.


she said joy
as i cried quietly.
we started to leave
with the snake in my eyes.
when we dance,
i see something different.
time is not important,
and love seeks not to sanctify.


take a lover
for every colour;
so soft,
and our heat blooms.

so, what's on your fridge?

 

what, nobody here likes magnetic poetry? come on...

 

I love it.... I saw a slam poet not too long ago and was completely blown away, i'm suprised there isnt more enthusiasm about slam poetry..., lollll, that made me giggle. You have a true talent, such a preformance piece, I would love to be able to write slam poetry like that, what inspires you? where do you get the courage to share your soul with an audience of people u dont know? how long have you been writing for?...

my apologies for all the questions, i'm in awe...

 

hahahaha!!! oh, dear...i guess i wasn't too clear. the whole "poetry slam" bit in this post is totally tongue-in-cheek. the pieces above are poems i wrote with magnetic poetry, and i started this thread as a place for people to share all their magnetic poetry masterpieces. the coffee-shop poetry slam setting is just to make it funny. are you familiar with magnetic poetry? it's those sets of magnets printed with different words that you arrange to make poetry (or just a bunch of nonsense). it's a lot of fun, i'm thoroughly hooked on it. our fridge door hasn't been free of it for years. check out www.magneticpoetry.com and try the online magnetic poetry.

 

oh gosh, i LOVE magnetic poetry!!


i haven't done it in years though. making up nonsense as a kid and giggling...

the last time i did anything even remotely like it though, was when i was bored at school and took some scissors to a spare piece of printed text lying around. i made some funny sentences with the words i cut out something about singing songs for cows i think it was.....

ooohhhh i am SO gonna see if i can lay my hands on some of those metal hugging babies

 

we are the deep and maybe
catching fires
in dark smiling fields

you and little she
pretty green love
from woods and water,
lips and a quiet life
for every road.

 

*snaps fingers in applause* brava! brava!

here's a silly rambling poem i wrote last night, my first attempt at rhythm and rhyme in magnetic poetry:

truckin' to columbia
where every damn night
a thousand lush lipped maidens
get drunk and pick fights.
and relentless ocean storms
rain life and music on the shores
and father jack speaks softly to me
as we experience perfect light.
i drink cold coffee in my tent
and curse the evening wind;
but by day i surf with merry fish,
rolling onto sparkling sand.
these vacations come and go
just like the sun and moon.
so i wave farewell to summer,
but the coast knows i will be back soon.

oh, and one of my absolute favourite things about magnetic poetry is that everyone who comes to my house leaves some sort of poetic legacy on my fridge. i always find hilarious little verses after we've had company. one of my favourites, courtesy of my 14-year-old brother's best friend:

me by she
a chilly story
leave in car
and out-a-sight we are

one day i came home to find the figure of a man with a big, grimacing face arranged in words on my fridge. it was the same kid, too.

 

magnetic poetry is soo fun!


Observe some magneticness from the past:

By me and Jacki (alternating lines):

Our rain we hold here
Brilliant blossom galoshes
Tiny flood season
Cozy like us
Under full wet sky
Sun take your time with me
Summer star ricochet

2 more...just me this time:

Life
Celebrate the seasons
See the world
Believe with wonder
Blossom here in our purple garden
One thousand thoughts are gone


Shadowlands
Stormy here
Come day and reveal
Seasons change
Need the sun
Bring it please
And perish not