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From Wikipedia: A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read or recite original work. The performances at a poetry slam are judged by a panel of judges, or sometimes judged by audience response. The judges usually give each poem a score on a scale of 0–10 (zero being the worst and ten being the best).
I recently said yes to participating in my first poetry slam (!) which takes place in a couple of days, and would like to share a poem I wrote a while back (for my sister’s birthday), which I memorised this morning. It’s the one I intend to use for the first round (!) Enjoy 🙂 And wish me luck!
Sisters are doing it
for each other right
building their might
behind not you or me
but us, together, we
can face the world
without a scowl or a smirk
just the willingness to work
at the compassion that says
I know your pain
I’ve been there
I know your joy
I’ve flown there
with wings so strong and free
I was sure I could take the whole world with me,
but they stayed behind, why, I cry
I don’t want this just for me
It’s nothing if not shared, so frankly
what’s the point if you’re not in the sky too
refusing to look down and
racing at the clouds
until they part like a floating white sea
you, me, free
laughing our way over the mountain peeks
until we reach the other side
and fall clinging to each other
through the pain of a landing
that doesn’t break us but sows
the seed of something new
in a soft soil that takes our tears
as invitations to try again
bigger, brighter, lighter, taller
reaching up with the grace of
tender topmost branches
that dance and sway
and leave the flying to the birds
preferring to stay rooted in the earth
because this time it’s not just about the highs
but earth and sky
and everything in between
I mean, love is the trunk
that thickens in circles, expands
with the breath of the years that roughen
the bark and keep the insides wildly tenderly
alive, so thank you sister
for rooting me in the earth
whose darkness I was afraid of
for I never know what I’m made of
until you need me, see me
feed me your belief in the me I can’t
yet see myself but catch a glimpse of
in the light of your love but it’s not enough
to thank you I want to grow you too,
shine so you can see
the best in you.