note: earlier this month i travelled to new york for work, and took a spare evening to find a poetry café with an open mic. i settled on Nuyorican Poets Café in lower east side manhattan. i performed a short poem i’d recently written called ‘receding here’. you can listen to a recording of the performance below.

for some artistic self-criticism: i rate my performance a 5.9 out of 10. you’ll hear how i try to balance patience with gravitas, but am probably a little too ponderous in my delivery in parts. also think i did an okay job of holding the audience’s attention through the long pauses, but then again, it’s a poetry audience; they are usually forgiving with performers. it’s partly why i love poetry open mics. i might work a little more on the wording if i revisit it (see below audio player). open to suggestions (as long as they are improvements, lol). enjoy!

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receding here

i

miss you

by my side

when you are gone

the house grows too big

the noise sounds too silent

cobwebs bring little comfort

shivers in the winter moonlight

art longer, colder, and more biting

when compared to that summer’s day

collapsing all sensations

friendly, and more friendly

shining revelries

here, receding

together

belong

we

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