SLAM!

Let's SLAM!


"November 9, 1989" 

We were at Mike's
early on a Thursday evening,
eating in the bar
because the dining room
wasn't open yet.
The television was on,
but we barely noticed
its babbling white noise
because of our own static --

then Peter Jennings voice
broke through to tell us about
the Berlin Wall coming down
and we stared at him,
at each other,
at the others in the bar,
as if it were some kind of a joke
because it couldn't just happen
like that, out of nowhere,
while we were sitting there
eating bleu-cheese burgers,
drinking Coronas with lime,
talking about whether or not
to keep trying ...

but in that moment
the barrier between us
didn't matter so much,
because people were cheering
and chipping away pieces of concrete
that had held them captive
for so long, as if it were nothing,
and that giant wall
was finally tumbling down.

Anything seemed possible.



READ THE PROMPT CAREFULLY!

PRELIM Round 1 Prompt:
FREE VERSE POEM (no rhyme, no form) - 35 lines or less.
Select an historic event as the foundation of your poem. Do not write about the event itself (though you should reference it somewhere in your poem). Instead focus on a person, perhaps yourself, who reacts to the historic event. Or perhaps there is an event that triggers a personal history because of when it occurred. The history lesson here is personal... Please keep your poem to 35 lines or less.

INSTRUCTIONS TO ENTER THIS ROUND:
To enter, click REPLY to THIS POST and paste your entire poem in your post.

If you want other SLAMMERS to r/r/r your entry, include a link to a static item of your poem. A static item link is NOT required - what IS required is the entire poem pasted in your post. If you only post a link to your poem, and not the poem itself, your entry won't be considered. Only those poems entered correctly (by replying to the original post) will be in the running for that SLAM! round.

After you enter, you are free to edit your post as many times as you'd like, up until midnight Friday. Any poems edited after the midnight entry deadline will be disqualified - but you may edit/change your poem as often as you wish before the deadline. We will be looking at correct spelling, proper grammar, etc. so make sure your poem is as perfect as you can make it.



Sophy