Poetry Perk

[livingdeb]

On my lunch break,
I walked into the fabulous weather.
Sun brilliant, blinding, and for once not painful.
And there was shade and a breeze
At today's Poetry on the Plaza event.

Today's theme: Inspired by Summer.
I admit, I am attracted more to the cookies than to the poetry.
But I learn that these poets
Use poetry
To express ideas
That I seek in online journals.

One poet described a cave she visited.
Excavated by miners.
Then improved with added doors, beds, woodfire stoves.
Now (somewhere in Idaho, I didn't catch where)
You can stay in a hotel built in a cave.

One poet found
In her grandmother's journal
The tale of a road trip taken across the country.
And back.
In three weeks.
This summer, as best as she could,
Sixty years later to the day,
She took that very same trip
With different girlfriends joining her at different points along the way.

One poet likes to make her mother tell the tale
Of the time her grandmother was dancing with someone
In a juke joint.
Everyone looked away, trying not to notice.
Except Grandma's abusive boyfriend, who was not pleased
And who approached the couple.
Grandma pulled a gun out of her sister's purse and emptied it into the boyfriend.
Her sister took the rap to protect her.
But no one went to jail.
And the boyfriend recovered and was fine
And had words with the sister
And shot the sister.
He also did not go to jail.
She also recovered and was fine.