Thanks to Jenn [MySpace] who guestwrote April 5th’s recap. Also, props to Ruthy who took great pictures! 

Right at the start of the night DS got our minds bubbling with “Unspoken Words”, a commentary on politics and the state of America, freedom fries and all.

The Reverend White Chocolate did the night’s only freestyle, putting together something coherent and funny out of “McDonalds” and “monkey”. And you thought it couldn’t be done! I had the pleasure of talking with him at the end of the evening about freestyling and why he recommends it to people. He told me that any time we write, it is off the “top of our heads” but that most of us are too scared to try such a thing live in front of an audience. He said the best thing to do is start somewhere private (like your shower!) until you can work yourself up to “just not caring”, not being afraid to embarass yourself on the mic. His words really hit home with me - how many times do we find ourselves holding back because of fear? - and I promised myself that next month I will get up there and conquer that fear.

That very concept of holding back because of fear was addressed by Andrew “The Mandrew” whose poem had a dialogue flow, inspired by “How much time wasted inside my head, wishing of the things I could have said?” Speaking of fear, and getting over it, we had three first-time readers, whose poems covered relationships and the cleaving of two souls (”how many secrets made and kept to the grave?” wondered Vitali), racism and first impressions (Joe), and “A Child in Need”, written by Dorcus’ son when he was 16 and wondering if the other teens knew something he didn’t, before deciding that they were “just another fool like me” and he needed to call on the Lord for *his* guidance.

The relationship of someone with God was brought up in many poems. David got into why “Christians aren’t boring”, while Debbie read an old piece called “Deserve It” all about being overwhelmed by the vast love of the Lord she feels all the time - even when she doesn’t “deserve it” it is always there because “He loves you more than you will ever know.” Steven and Rob gave us a tag team effort on fighting to stay with the Lord when you’re caught up in the streets, and Steven blew us all away with an unfinished piece on a young woman struggling to get her life together and her child back - and with *no ending yet* I am hoping she finds peace (hint hint!!)

Trying to relate personal experience was also a popular theme. Melanie read two pieces directly related to her experiences as a soldier in Iraq, one before deployment (”I am Only a Soldier”) and one after (”Brace Yourself”). The process of being “not allowed to feel” and then trying to get back to normal when you have been “beyond the comfort zone”, feeling that sadness lurking never far from you, is a difficult path, and makes me hope there is a happy ending to that one as well. Jack read “Stigma Busters”, a poem that not only relates personal experience but also is an encapsulated education on mental “illness” and being a functioning member of society. Where would we be without some of our “crazy people” Jack asks, and after hearing even some of his list (Robin Williams, Vincent Van Gogh, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln) you find yourself starting to wonder as well. The Jen with One N read to us “March 2000″, revisiting a time when her lover sent her broken promises “never regret, never resent, such big words for such small lives”. I myself (The Jenn with Two Ns!) opened the night with a poem I wrote to capture one moment standing on the ferry, that expansive feeling - Limitless.

Our lovely host, Lauren, graced us with a fable to express her experiences in Guatemala, the little girl whose eyes got wider, and as she carried stones around her neck to remind her of the strength where pain grew, returned home only to find her wide eyes were too big for her home. I find that fable returning to me in quiet moments where I wonder, where are the stones around my neck?

 Lauren’s poem led us into our Featured Artist of the night, Demetrius, aka Just Words (did I mention yet you can check out his art portfolio here?) - or as he was rechristened at the end of the night by Lauren, More Than Just Words. He gave us a vision of the future (”the year is 2030″) that was both terrifying and edifying. You mean technology can’t solve all our problems? Deme underlined that point by doing away with the microphone almost immediately. With a message that strong, it’s no surprise his voice carries so well. He read a total of 5 poems, interlacing them with the bridge “I can hear it clear in my ear, like the voice of the abyss’ metronome. The end is near and it won’t be long, the storm of progression is coming on…EXPAND”. From “It Rains Without Start”, to “smooth and divine, instant message straight to the back of my mind”, to the story of how killing Hope (”and the irony did not escape me, that the very thing I was being prosecuted for, was being born in the world, more and more…”) to give it some play, made sense in some strange way, to being schooled in physics with The Theory of Relativity (”it’s relatively easy see…”) and closing with “Chicken Little Clairvoyancy”, Deme gave everyone present something to take home and think about. What kind of future are you making?

 Which brings me to the James Baldwin quote Deme shared at the start: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”