By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
GLEN 'LA Pluma Negra' Laughton ended the guest poet performances at Weekenz Bar and Bistro, 80 Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew, on Tuesday night. As is customary, however, the open mic presentations followed, with a mixed bag of poets stepping up to the microphone before a smaller than usual audience.
First up was a gently smiling Sonia Ray, who was celebrating her birthday that night. Her present to herself of a reading began with Ashes To Ashes, in which she marvelled at the ability to 'find beauty in sin', concluding that "in retrospect I have no regrets/my soul is open/my mind is free."
The second piece was an introspective look at the woman raging inside the rather mild looking young lady, who described herself in the poem as 'a poet, a dancer, a lover and a friend,' saying, "I am a tigress on the prowl for her next meal."
In the end, though, it was a poem of deep self-affirmation, in which she concluded that "I am a beauty for myself and not you."
Craig was next and started off with Nature, in which he asked "yu eva stop to observe nature?" However, his thought turned to another kind of nature, the human one, in which "ghetto yute a fret/cause no money naa mek/cause politician tek all de money an' a bet."
MEMORY LAPSE
However, Craig, who was reciting from memory with an eager grin, hit another part of human nature memory lapse at a critical moment, just after he hit the line 'yu future a go dark'.
He stopped and the audience, realising what was happening, cheered him on, not derisively, but with genuine encouragement. He tried again, but failed to clear the hurdle and said, "Me jus' write it de odda day."
"Mek me start anodda one. Hol' on one second. Nerminous," he grinned, describing his state.
Craig started on a poem about perception of another person, but after he said the line "there is so much of me for you to investigate" his memory took a quick trip off a long cliff and he stopped again. "Lord have mercy," Craig said, scratching his head and grinning. Again the understanding audience applauded. He stared again, but after observing that 'some girls tend to be weak and fickle', he went blank again.
"Yu a hear me, next time yu hear," Craig said, still smiling, the audience applauding his effort and human foibles - as well as good nature.
Falcon opened with Judge and Be Judged, which seemed to put him on the religious path, as he said, "We are of the same faith, Christianity/I have not slipped over to idolatry," continuing that "so I will please God who is not like man/for if he was I would lose my salvation."
ROLLICKING AND RAUNCHY
He then went into his mental state with Traffic Light, then into another state with Sounds From My Window which he had written the day before, with the person who inspired it in the audience.
"Please do not call 119," the latter poem began, and launched into a rollicking, rhyming, raunchy tale of "Me exercising my animalistic right/and I am not talking about any dog and cat fight." Other animals, such as a rooster and a kitten, may have been more appropriate, as Falcon spoke about banging headboards at 2:00 a.m., adding that "if you happen to be passing my window one night/please do not call 119."
The audience loved it and expressed its appreciation.
The open mic ended with singing from Left Side, who said he did not get to perform in this way at many of the events he went to. He did an a capella rendition of an R&B song Let Me Be, which he sang to the lady he saw dancing in the rain. The ladies especially showed their delight in the song.
With that the night of performances was over and Mutabaruka went Latin from the control tower, and couples made sensuous steps and delicate moves as the infectious beats took over to usher in yet another day on creation.
