i first started coming to open mics to get some kind of feedback about my work. more than applause or slam scores, it would be the approval of a select few that i would be wanting.

if i nailed the poem- then some nice commentary would come my way.

if i didnt- then i expected polite silence.

sometimes, i’ve pushed the envelope and tried to get some negative commentary by delving into non-PC topics.

i know the above is some shallow shit and the immediate response is ‘dont worry what others think’/’be on stage for you’/’answer only to your heart’… i know it all cuz its the advice i give to others.

last night- i read ‘Getting Ronald Reagan to Visit the South Bronx’ (the greatest title i have yet to dream up for any of my pieces) and when i got off stage- i could care less what ‘my select few’ thought. it was a great moment of being really free of my own constraints and, as things turn out in life, one of the select few made it a point to comlpiment me on the new work. others gave me the polite silence and some the ‘not bad’ and they all felt the same.

‘Ronald Reagan’ is a short piece and i am going to have to REALLY look at it soon and see what else i can do to make it more impactful while NOT trying to turn it into a three-mintue job.

things- they’re a changing