POETRY Reading: Ode to the Steady Beat, by Gabrielle Munslow
POETRY READINGS
•
2m 5s
Voice Over by Val Cole
-----
POEM:
I loved the way you did that almost-smile —
One eyebrow cocked in pretend surprise, or scorn.
You didn’t just have come-to-bed eyes —
you had come-devour-me eyes.
Yet we could not.
Shackled by respect for responsibility,
the affair was just in my head —
Was it in yours too?
I saw the way your eyes traced
the contours of my body,
and lingered in places.
You took up space.
Inhabited it fully.
You were the steady beat of my heart —
a heart-shaped drum.
Your rhythm grounded me,
like djembe hands in ceremony,
like calabash and breath
in ancestral echoes.
I loved your fierce loyalty,
your kindness and your courage,
your honour and your humour —
And yes, your sin too.
I saw I tempted you.
You were strong in your faith,
your moral compass true north.
I was magnetic south,
pulling the tide toward longing,
but we held fast.
You cooked with joy,
you walked like an elder of your own tribe —
rooted and present.
You laughed like home.
You listened like a griot
guarding stories in the bones of your soul.
We danced in silence,
burned in restraint,
and never kissed —
but oh, how my spirit did.
Now when I hear the beat,
steady and soft —
like quiet drums in a village far away —
I know you are still here,
keeping time.
Up Next in POETRY READINGS
-
POETRY Reading: Garden, by Garrett De...
Voice over by Val Cole
POEM:
Cut the sleeves of my shirt,
Cut the petals off the branches.
Gardening six whiskeys deep
I accidentally sheared the tops off all the roses.A dark excuse within the brambles,
Leftover thorns along the roots.
Truth elixirs and million dollar venoms.
Smoke rises ro... -
POETRY Reading: Yep, I’m Emetophobic...
Performed by Val Cole
-----
POEM:Ugh, I don’t know. Maybe the reason I’m scared of throwing up is the same reason I don’t say
what’s really on my mind, you know? You have an idea of what’s coming out, but you’re still not
ready for what it is. Maybe, it’s because I would be sharing an ugly pa... -
POETRY Reading: DTQ, by Hector Quinones
Performed by Val Cole
POEM:
It has been destined for you to be with me, all through eternity!
You will be the one to kiss my buns, there’s no doubt; that we will have lots and lots of fun!
It wíll be my pleasure to wine and dine you, but first; I must find you!
Yesterday, the Holy Spirit put...
