Seattle is a place to blossom as we turn the pages of our lives,
an ideal place to grow into crone-hood.
an ideal place to grow into crone-hood.
- Faye Reitman
Eighteen cross-genre writers
reading five minutes each
take turns lavishing
personal idiosyncrasies
and tone
on a packed house
of language lovers.
I ask the woman sitting next to me,
tears streaming down her face.
why she's crying
and she says:
They're so good,
They've worked hard
and I'm proud of them.
I squeeze her hand
and the two of us hug
as if we knew
each other
long before
today.
My friend Faye
up from California
says:
I heard Seattle
was a reading town
But I didn't know
it was a place to blossom
in the basement of a book store
or on someone else's unseen page.
I think I'll move here.
And she did.
-Esther Altshul Helfgott4/19/13
5 comments:
i know that program, and one of the readers. Awesome. thanks!
I love this poem and will cherish it along with my memories of this amazing reading. What a treat this was to be a listener at this event. Esther, you were and are a wonderful discovery for this poet in training. I hope to hear more of your readings in the near future.
Patrick and Pamela,
I treasure your comments and your presence in Seattle's poetry community. Thank you for being here, Esther
What a beautiful, tender poem.
Thank you, Wordchaser!
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