What followed next is hard to explain. I have issues with things like \u201creading poems dramatically\u201d and \u201cbearing my heart and soul to anyone, let alone a bunch of classmates and my professor and some servers.\u201d My hands were literally shaking for most of the evening.<\/p>\n
But as I listened to my classmates read poems entitled \u201cGood Morning!\u201d and \u201cFireworks\u201d and \u201cHypnagogic\u201d and, my personal favorite, \u201cIs This What Growing Up Feels Like?\u201d\u2014which incidentally made me be like \u201cI feel that\u201d on every line\u2014something my professor said returned to haunt me. He said that our class had been one of the most enthusiastic and hard-working classes he had had the privilege of teaching.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>He also said “I’m in a silly mood tonight” and “Stop laughing at my grandmother” while reading his own poetry.<\/p><\/div>\n
I heard and saw that enthusiasm and work in each poem. There is something incredibly amazing that happens when words work together\u2014and I half-closed my eyes and listened.<\/p>\n
By the time it was my turn, I had lost track of the order of the evening. I munched on pizza\/flatbread Greek-inspired food and stared blankly at a doppio, <\/em>which, despite sounding like a normal double shot of espresso, is a coffee that really should come with an instruction manual.<\/p>\n \u201cOh,\u201d I said, \u201cIt\u2019s my turn.\u201d<\/p>\n I read two poems. One, \u201cthe butterfly effect,\u201d I will reprint in its entirety here. It\u2019s because I love you (and also because my other poem, \u201cLet Me Tell You What I Know of Love,\u201d is much much longer).<\/p>\n the butterfly effect<\/span><\/p>\n wings like an egg\u2019s yolk<\/p>\n tremble, and under the rain,<\/p>\n your skin melts.<\/p>\n i read once that when<\/p>\n you stroke the wing<\/p>\n of a butterfly,<\/p>\n the delicate crescents of<\/p>\n your fingers shivering,<\/p>\n it cannot fly again. i lean<\/p>\n close to your silver warmth.<\/p>\n my eyelashes brush<\/p>\n against your cheek, and i<\/p>\n wonder if this kiss,<\/p>\n like the rain clouds drowning<\/p>\n the sun, will ruin you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n [pause for raucous applause and\/or snaps]<\/p>\n When I got back to my seat, I was smiling. Flushed with success. Mostly, I was proud of myself. I had done something that I had never done before, something that scared me, and I had succeeded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I blinked. The lights, compared to the rest of the dimly lit caf\u00e9, were blinding. The microphone hovered a good seven-eight-maybe-nine inches above my head. I tugged it down, and it fell off the stand. \u201cOh boy,\u201d I said, into … Continue reading