Open Reading At The Hungry Mind Bookstore

Midsummer Night (I) Her name is Tracy, and she was very apologetic about her appearance, which was neither chic nor grunge, but something displaying her essence. She spoke at length about being nervous, but showed no trace of it - until she announced her first poem. She fumbled with several pages, two fell on the floor. I retrieved one but she waved it aside. Finally she looked straight into our eyes, and said resolutely, "The poems I once wrote had their origin in my cranium." She pointed her right index finger at the side of her head, as if it were a pointer, or a revolver. "I call such creations Poems of the Cranium, but now I write Poems of the Heart, that are born and and reside in my deepest Self." She deftly lifted a blue pamphlet so that we could all see it, and placed it next to her heart. "My first poem is an Aubade*, by a trobairitz** in love: Stars, fading fast behind the sun's morning sheen, shine a little extra light on us, before we part. In time, our love will burn up our lives, and return to you a tiny measure of the light we borrowed today. " The room was very quiet, Tracy was smiling, "I'll read it again, this time slower." And so she did, and so we responded with the fullness of our hearts. * AUBADE: the morning song of lovers who must soon separate in the daylight. **TROBAIRITZ: a female troubadour, singing of love and desire.