Day 29 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2019

Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “Today, I’d like to challenge you to . . . produc[e] a poem that meditates, from a position of tranquility, on an emotion you have felt powerfully.” Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “For today’s prompt, take the phrase ‘(blank) Again,’ replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then write your poem. Possible titles include: ‘Here We Go Again,’ ‘On the Road Again,’ ‘Stumped on What to Write Again,’ and ‘Doing the Wrong Thing Again.’ ” Tonight, I’m doing a solo show, called “The Groove and the Cool,” at the Octopus on College Hill (a Cedar Falls bar), 8-10pm. This will be a poetry reading from my new book, The Coolest Month, and a music show, with me singing classic rock covers and playing guitar. Although I’ve played in bands and duos for decades, I’ve never done a solo show before, especially singing.         Flyer by Jim O'Loughlin, publisher of Final Thursday Press Today’s poem is connected to tonight’s show, about the long gap in time between when, as a teenager, I was a frontman in rock bands, lead singer and lead guitar, and now, feeling like a rookie again. I'm reminded of the ’70s song by Bob Seger, “Turn the Page” . . . or at least the feeling of that song, the loneliness and wistfulness of being a rock & roll musician. Not that I’ve experienced that exact emotion, not having been a touring musician, but I’ve certainly had that feeling of not being sure how authentic one really is, “playing star again,” as Seder’s lyric goes. And looking ahead to tonight’s show, I’m feeling that emotion strongly. Playing Star Again I think back to playing guitar and singing covers in dance bands, some 50 years ago, teenage dancers and hangers-on crowding the stage. Bob Seger sang, “Out there in the spotlight you’re a million miles away,” and I recall that feeling precisely, the slight buzz of the amplifiers an undertone to the band’s groove, booming bass guitar below the shimmer and snap of cymbals and snare, and you riding that glimmering wave of sound, your voice surfing like a silver alien toward some horizon inside the mind, somewhere deep within. That’s why we do this, for those brief moments when you lose yourself in that deep wave that’s both outside you and inside you. Everyone in the place can feel it, locking into the wave, all swept together somewhere else, to some distant star, all riding together like a whole city in a spaceship, in the invisible metallic vessel of a lone guitar chord. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] See you at the show tonight? Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. To comment, look for a red line below that starts Posted by, then click once on the word comments in that line. If you don’t find the word “comments” in that line, then look for a blue link below that says Post a comment and click it once. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

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