Poetry events aren’t all they are cracked up to be

they call it poetry like it’s something rare.
like it belongs to professors or dead men.

it’s not.

it’s a few people in a room
holding paper, or a phone, or nothing at all
saying the thing they couldn’t say earlier
without choking on it.

no heroes.
no saviors.
nothing polished enough to impress your high school english teacher.

just people
a little cracked, a little tired, a little too honest
telling the truth in a way that doesn’t quite behave.

that’s poetry.

“we are here to laugh at the odds
and live our lives so well
that death will tremble to take us.”
bukowski

april’s national poetry month, which is a fancy way of saying
someone finally gave the quiet ones a microphone.

lake charles has two shots at it this month.

first, charmed page on thursday 4/23.
a bookstore, an open mic, a good place to test your voice without it biting back too hard.

then a week later, project trey on thursday 4/30.
6:30 to 8:30pm.
doors open, lights on, no real script.

and that one matters a little different.

project trey isn’t trying to be a poetry night.
poetry is just the excuse.

it’s a room we’re opening slowly, imperfectly
for people who don’t quite fit anywhere else
but still want to sit somewhere.

today it’s poetry.
tomorrow it might be music.
a chess board.
a magic the gathering table.
a group of parents trying to figure out their kids.
a group of teens trying to survive their parents.

eventually, yeah, there will be more structure.
maybe even something that looks like therapy.
but right now

it’s just a door.
and we’re leaving it open.

“what matters most is
how well you walk through the fire.”
bukowski

we’re not trying to compete with anyone.
that’s not the point.

charmed page does its thing.
fourth thursday has its rhythm.

so project trey will settle into the second thursday of each month
give the words some breathing room.
let the people find their way between spaces.

because this isn’t about building an audience.
it’s about building something that doesn’t feel fake.

i’ve already invited a handful of musicians, poets
and a few people who just looked like they needed somewhere to exist for a couple hours.

truth is, half of us don’t even like crowds.
some of us barely like talking.

so if you show up, don’t worry
nobody’s going to put a spotlight on you unless you walk into it.

you can sit.
listen.
leave early.
stay too long.

that counts.

“find what you love and let it kill you.”
bukowski

poetry is just the start.

project trey is opening its doors this summer.
this is the first of many nights where we try to figure out
what a real community feels like again.

awkward.
honest.
a little uneven.
but real.

come by.
or don’t.

we’ll be there either way.

• sr wright