A Lyrical Poetic Social

“Oh thank you, maybe I’ll take us all out after this if everybody up for it.” Jackie said to Henry. Henry just gave her an extra five hundred dollars. He figured she be the main attraction for tonight. Plus, her just getting out of prison a couple months ago. He knew out of all of them she needed it the most.

“That be cool let me gat-“

“Oh”. Henry and Jackie said at same time. Henry knew what she was going to say but he said it first as she nodded her head in agreement. “Wait til the rest get here and I’ll let them know you want to treat us. But I’ll pay for it you keep that ok. On me sis.” Henry said to her.

“But can do me a favor?” Henry said.

“Yeah.” Jackie said.

“Have the others check in with me when they get here. I need to go and make sure the sign up for open mic is set up right. But have them come check in with me so I can give them this money.” Henry said.

“Ok will do Hen dog.” She smiled.

He smiled. He started to walk away and she stopped him.

“Hey, Cole is here. He got here when I got here.” Jackie said.

“Oh yeah.” Henry looked around and seen him. “There he is. Ima go talk to him real quick.” Henry started walking toward him.

Cole was speaking with Senses and Manny. They was talking about the food and the drink.

“Ah man I don’t drink.” Cole said.

Henry came up and put his arm around him and said, “How about a blunt and a g?”

Cole looked at him as Henry put the blunt and money up to his face. Cole looked at it and grabbed it.

“Oh shit hell yeah. I’ll take that. Haha.” Cole said as he grabbed the money and the blunt.

Henry smiled. “I thought you would like that.”

“Man I never been paid this much for a poetry event besides winning contest.” Cole replied.

Nice huh. But hey I got to go get this open mic sign up going. So you, Jackie, Phil, and Keith will go next here in like 20 minutes.” Henry said.

“Alright cool.” Cole said.

“Go get a free drink and a plate of food.” Henry said to Cole.

“I’ll eat afterwards. I’ll go get the drink though.”

“Right on.” Henry said. They both went their own direction.

Henry went over to help with the sign up. He seen the line and realized, lot of people wanted to sign up. He smiled and felt his heart become warm. He realized he might need to rush the last four poets and introduce them all at once or have them do it. He thought no that would be kind of rude. Still it was an idea.

“Everything good over here?” Henry asked Brittany, who he hired and was a friend of Henry.

“Yeah everything’s good. About ten people already signed up.” With a hundred fifty people max event, and a ticket admission was a hundred dollars, it would cover the dinner plate pay out $1,500 and the beverage at 1,200 pay out. $12,000 to the poets. That left him with $300 dollars which he would give Tiffany for helping with the event. Henry was thankful for the favors owed to him from a couple friends to find the space. The space would have cost $2400 for six hours. The security crew was some friend of his and they didn’t charge him for their service. The one thing he didn’t do was charge people for the open mic and he paid the camera crew $1,000 dollars. Plus he gave Jackie an extra $500 so a total of $1500 in the negative. He also paid for the advertisement which was $2,500. So all together as of now he was $4,000 in the hole. He wasn’t worried since the capacity maxed out. He would later explain to the audience and also the poets and the vendors on the next one as well. As this was considered a social and with that comes investment. To be transparent, is a big risk because some can take advantage and not want you to prevail. But those that do appreciate show that they do value transparency.

Henry was calculating while people were signing up. He eventually made it over to the bar area where Phil and Keith were visiting.

Keith seen Henry walk up.

“Yo Hen dog what up bro?” Keith went and gave Henry a hand shake.

“Yo glad you could make it fam. Here you go take this, it a thou-wow.” Henry said.

“Oh what, hey I owe you too so keep it.” Keith said.

“Naw man it’s yours you earned it. Next time do the event for free. Maybe because this one was such a good turn out I’ll be making the money back hopefully if not in the next couple events. But I need you guys to come with it.” Henry said to Keith but looked at Phil too.

“You recording this and got it on your channel?” Phil asked. He took a sip of his orange juice.

“Yeah I should be hopefully making something off that but I’m not counting on it. I’m counting on you guys to deliver. We going to meet up after this and discuss some shit.” Henry said.

“Ok sounds good bro, hey if you say we can get this money like this I’m with it.” Phil said.

Henry eventually got the sign up done for open mic. A total of 15 people with a five minute slot. After the open mic, then the featured poets will perform 5 to 7 minutes a piece. Then after that it social time and networking will occur.

It was that time to get it going.

“Alright everyone we back at it. So what I want to do is get this going quicker cause we didn’t anticipate how many wanted to do open mic so we want to get to them as well. So with that said, I want to introduce the next four poets right now. So Phil, Keith, Cole, and Jackie. Please come to the stage.” The four of them were already waiting in the hallway to come out after he finished speaking. They lined up by Henry.

“Alright, first off we got Phil! Say what up.” Henry put the mic in front of him.

“What up.” Phil said.

What the poem name you performing called?” Henry asked.

“Poverty.” Phil said.

“Poverty, good topic.” Henry said, “Next we got Keith.” Henry put the mic in front of him.

“Yo.” Keith said.

“What’s up Keith, what is the short poem called you about to perform?” Henry asked.

“It’s called business as usual.” Keith replied.

“Alright we got poverty and business as usual so far.” Henry said. He stepped over by Cole.

Cole grinned a little bit because he felt like Henry might try to crack a joke on him.

“And my brotha, my road dawg. Cole. What you got for us?” Henry asked then put the mic by his face.

“Metaphors.” Cole said.

“Alright. He stepped over to Jackie. And for our last poet. You know what they say they save the best for last. This person is a really really good friend of mine. She helped inspire this whole thing. Jackie.”

“Hello.” Jackie sad. She had her hands behind her back. Turning back and forth slowly.

“Hello. Jackie. And what is the poem called you are about to share with us?”

“It is called. I am I ain’t.” She said.

“Alright, well folks. Let’s give these guys our undivided attention. Once again.” Henry put the mic back up on the stand.

“Hey guys just stay up here go after each other and give props to each other real quick. Thank you guys.”

“Alright.”

“Ok.”

Cole and Jackie said after he spoke.

Phil stepped to the mic.

“Here we go.” He said in a deep voice.

When you see your brother or sister out there struggling…. Help them.

Ask them, how are they doing. If you have it give it. Admit it you too would appreciate if you was in them shoes.

Give some inspiring words thoughts never go unheard.

I can hear your thoughts now. Judgement about where I dwell.

I’m surrounded by the unseen the unclean

A recovering dope fiend

I wouldn’t hesitate to rob ya

Spit in your face and rock ya jaw

You see I used to hate my existence

Ha who am I kiddin

Lot of the greats had a drug addiction

Some of the best of musicians

Exploited on television

Peer pressure our parents we never listen

Only to what puts us in line for prison

Ties to financial system

Maaaan it’s a business

Poverty!

The crowd clapped.

“Thank you.” Phil said and nodded his head at the other poets as he passed them by to walk off the stage.

Keith walked up to the mic.

“Hi.” Keith waved his right hand. “I’m Keith. And after this some of you owe me a drink.”

Some laughter left the crowd. Then it fell silent.

Penny for my thoughts

paid for my words

Intellectual property

Trademark my last name that all I got

a portfolio diverse

this is business done properly

You see I come from a concept of the only thing I own is my mind soul and body

Where I’m from human beings with the earth were in harmony

We trying to get back to it.

It’s what chief sealth taught me

John trudell just be a human being

A shift back to the paradigm with some rediscovered technology

The codes are cracked we entering quantum and meta reality

The conscious exposed the things I’m mentioning who taught em bet a little bit of telepathy

From the cosmos to the dreams the Catcher caught em then sent ya the memory

Yes give me pennies for my thoughts

So many so many my mind don’t stop.

“Thank you. Oh and let’s give Phil another cheer. I loved that it was deep!”

Keith clapped with the crowd.

“Next is Cole.” Keith said and then back away from the mic and Cole approached it.

“Meta. Phors.” Cole said and stepped back and waited for the silence the stepped forward once it got quiet.

I’m the topic of thought

The season of recipe

The bleeding of the flesh of me

I’m more hurtful than truth

Sweeter than lies

One hundred percent proof

I’m a mystery in creation

History in the makin

Dead or alive

True definition of manifest destination

Only the fittest can survive

The illness that cripples the mind

I can you give a glimpse of light at the same time

Iktomi trickster told me to get the things that hold me down flip them around

Wiping my hands clean living for the people was always a dream

But now my being understands it’s purpose

I got to let the people know about this spiritual war we go through daily driving us crazy.

I’m the event of obstacles

The drive that any thing is possible

That constant high breaking through your lows

That grip when you about to lose control

That tick when things begin to move slow

Ready to roll any given minute like stone

We set on this mission until complete

Lyrics hitting did they listening cause they can’t see what they can’t defeat…

The soul.

This my message to you for when my time comes.

Never forget who we are and where we come from.

The crowd clapped Cole stepped beside the mic and did a bow. He then went back to the mic and said, “I would like to bring you the one and only Jackie.”

Cole gave Jackie a slight hug. Jackie then grabbed the mic.

“Hello everybody. Glad you all came out this evening. Heard there going to be a little after party. Can’t wait. Before I begin I just want to thank Henry and I speak for all is poetics who were featured here to perform and I can’t wait to hear the open mic session. Oh my bad maybe I shouldn’t rant.” She seen Henry given motions to cut it off. He stood up and shook his hand and then put his hand by his throat and waved his hand to cut it off.

“Ok.”

The crowd got quiet.

I am not going to tell you what I am but I will tell you what I ain’t

I ain’t no saint quick to snatch you plate

Look I got littles who need to eat

No man in the middle when it come to the agree

A master mind spittin riddles unmatchable skill when it comes to this poetry

The shine trickles into the darkness just enough so I can see.

The hate I feel it Ice cold like a popsicle they heartless stay the fuck away from me.

They didn’t so I left them crippled by breakin their knees.

The sound of the bones break rippled through the streets so now they know me.

Yeah they say it not lady like the cute dimple when she smile looks so innocent and sweet.

Violent short fuse a piece of paper and a pencil give a sense of relief.

So please please let me giggle love and find peace.