Stone Soup Croutons, 9-7-15, Dismissed

Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions picked up from poems overheard from Stone Soup's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title the next morning.  Sometimes I'll change the graphic. Particularly if it's to get rid of a stock photo I took from someone's website.

Last night was the third Stone Soup Poetry Slam. Congratulations to Rudy Rudacious for taking first place last night. And thanks to the Societry of Urban Poets for making this happen. I was running around in the beginning, so some open mic poets were missed. However, I was able to borrow from all the slam competitors. Because of a birthday cake cutting and other factors, we went over by an hour and a half(!) and chose not to read my poem last night. 

This is a weird one to write given that school starts this week.


Dismissed

I write graffiti in my salad 
with my dressing.

This is not the act
of a person at peace,

more of a single man
going nuclear family.

Stalin had his tanks.
All I have is a collasped bookshelf
of fallen beats and scattered lines.

God is a long-distance relationship
from the start.

We start seeing other people from birth.

We leave our homes
once we learn to stereotype
at 70 words-per-minute,

learn to love
every extended summer,
thank autumn leaves
as last year's coat,
a skin in need of tea tree oil.

You grow to know
the only poem for the city
is a passive aggressive  verse
thankful that you don't live there.

You fail in language
only if you fall in love with it.

Learn that America
can only be addressed
by academics
and the scariest thing ever
is a blank page that
someone else knows
they can write on.

Replace words like white wash
with meritocracy,
Bob Marley
with classic rock,

Warning shots and tear gas
with fireworks,

#circleyourwagons
with #alllivesmatter,

contract
with love poem,

orders
with lessons,

hatred of learning
for wisdom.

We had the slammers go on the open mic in the second half. Never again.

A salute to the slammers.

Props to the winners.

Thanks to the judges.

Special thanks to  Strategos (Arthur Williams), Tsung, Chris Fitzgerald, Navah The Buddaphliii, Joseph Mosby, Sir C., Tim Hall, Kayn, Rudy Rudacious Hannah Brown, Jonathan J. Jospeh, Quentin, Angelica Aguilera, and Jason Wright and D. Ruff.