LAST MEETING

by Angela Cerrito

Your eyes
green stowaways upon
a familiar face
how they have changed
along the course
of your existence
curiosity and defiance
tossed overboard
bit by bit
acceptance and quiet comfort
filled the void

the void between us
was two years

your eyes spoke
the ancient language
of our past
mine could
not
detect the subtle tones

So your shinning stowaways
screamed
and I was purposefully deaf
to their clatter

Meanwhile
the words from our lips
floated to the sky
unable to transverse
the void
between us

Why am I even posting this?
I wrote this poem when I was a teenager. It still makes me smile. Not because I think it is actually a wonderful or happy poem. But because I tried so hard to write about something universal in a unique way... and ended up with something very common. But mostly I smile because of the story and the fact that this poem became my first "published" work.

The story:
I was discovered. Somehow a national poetry organization learned that I was an up and coming poet. The organization had well known poets, teachers, classes, conferences and they were having a special contest and wanted me to enter. How could my teenage self refuse? Best of all (better even than the prize money) if my poem was selected in the top five I would have a chance to read it to a live audience at one of their workshops. I wanted to win. I wanted to read my poem. I was a student sitting in class all day. The idea of being in front of a silent crowd was thrilling. So I sent in this poem. And I practiced reading it, just in case! And my poem... did not win, but it was selected for publication!!!! Wooo-hooo. Publication. I was on my way to becoming... rich? No. Famous? Double no. I was on my way to becoming published!!!!
Three months later I received an order form. If I wanted to see my poem in print, I had only to send around $50 to the poetry organization for the book of selected poems. I turned down that fabulous offer. Yet I know LAST MEETING is out there published in a collection of poetry!!!

Poetry Out Loud

200,000 US High School Students competed in the 2008 Poetry Out Loud competition.

Congratulations to every single student who participated, the 12 finalists, and the winner Shawntay Henry a tenth grader from St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands.

Read about Shawntay and the Poetry Out Loud competition here

But even better. Listen to Shawntay's moving reading of the poem Fredrick Douglas by Robert E. Hayden here . The reading was so beautiful, I wished for a video. Instead I just closed my eyes and felt Shawtay's voice. I'd encourage you to do the same. An amazing reading.

Thanks to Bish for the heads up!