Tonight was open mic night at a poetry lounge I attend regularly. It’s a great group of welcoming and accepting people, extremely gracious to every poet who takes the mic and speaks their truth.


The Mic

There is a power
in listening
as poets gather,
take their turns
to speak their truths
in words unguarded.

Some speak their words
like stars at night,
pulsing with light,
energy and rhythm combined,
motion elevating
listeners
as the final line lands
like a hammer.

Others quietly convey
with language whispered
like the vibration
of a buzzing bee,
a journey revealing
a memory, a lost love,
even the mundane
made extraordinary
through skillful crafting.

They read their poetry,
open the doors of their souls
bare their deepest desires,
their broken hearts,
their traumas and their joys,
and through their words
say, this is me,
take it or leave it,
it’s who I am.



Poetry by Melinda K Zarate The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 18 times
Written on 2026-04-24 at 05:10

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Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
My apology below is because I was signed in to my editorial function when I commented.

I think that this devil-may-care attitude your fine poems expresses, comes from ageing, don't you. When I was younger, I would have been extremely reticent to write something that I knew might upset... say, relatives, or acquaintances. Not nasty things, you understand, but things that you know a relative or acquaintance might find unpalatable. The thing is, we all have the right to our way of seeing things, and expressing them, but should have the 'brakes'/filters on so as not to be offensive, don't you think? Blessings, Allen
2026-04-24