Energy
My favorite time to get tattooed
is late Tuesday morning.
At first, it’s just Mike and I.
The quiet hum of his machine
fills the calm space.
The other artists and their clients
trickle into the shop around noon.
The humming is overtaken
by a buzz of new energies.
We all talk and laugh
and the owner inevitably
turns up the volume when his and my
favorite band plays over the stereo.
A friend planted an image
in my thoughts the other day
of him, alone in his rehearsal space,
quietly replacing his guitar strings,
sitting in the calm energy
until his band mates arrive.
They talk expressively in Swedish
(which I imagine to be faster
and way cooler sounding than English).
The band starts rehearsing,
transforming calm energy into power.
In college I loved to sit
onstage in our theater
writing, doing homework, memorizing lines,
enjoying the quiet and calm.
My friends would trickle in
striking up conversation, hanging out, waiting for
rehearsal,
until the space was filled
with voices, laughter, and electricity.
nice...i like the repetition of the potential energy becoming something much more active...life is a balance between the two...and when you can be content to sit in that calm until it is realized...that is a good thing....
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good read. High in energy and straight forward language. >KB
ReplyDeletewell crafted parallels of anticipating, creativity brewing ~ M
ReplyDeleteNice word painting of scenes. I especially liked the set up ... Tattoos on Tuesdays ... and look into and buzz of the parlor.
ReplyDeletevery nice...how the energy can shift in a space... I very much enjoyed your observations,
ReplyDeletelove the repetitive theme of calm moving to energy. Great poem!
ReplyDeleteKeen observations, thoughtful and very well expressed. I liked the build up of energy during three different stances.
ReplyDeleteGreat! :-)
-HA
There is nothing like the buzz of a good college background to fuel the extremist and force her to write it out and down and you did and I loved the look of your life from the inside :)
ReplyDelete"My favorite time to get tattooed
ReplyDeleteis late Tuesday morning...."
You write that as one like myself might write
"My fav chocolate is HERSHEYS!"
When I was young tatt parlours were quite unsanitary, infections qute normal for customers--most of whom were Marines having "MOM" tatted onto their upper arms or chests.
I realize that is NOT your topic of energy, power and transformation...Maybe next time I'll stay on topic, OK? You just made me remember when tatt parlours were housed in back of small, dirty barber shops, in a dingy, smoky room.
PEACE!
Good old days:)
ReplyDeletewonderful imagery and anticipation katie, it felt like a sneak peek backstage before a performance, the tats, the guitar string replacement, sitting on the stage. ihang with a lot of musicians, my partner is a singer among other talents and this was just so comfortably familiar.
ReplyDeleteNice one:)
ReplyDeleteNicely done, love how you've emphasied the energies with different senarios, you've definately captured the atmosphere, I felt part of each scene. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat you have captured is the true American Dream. Not the dream illuminated in "Death of a salesman" but the Christian dream. The dream of Number One. Nicely done. I love your words, and I would have been ecstatic if the "poem" had rhythm and rhyme.
ReplyDeleteI sense a lot of camaraderie between people in this poem. I can hear the buzz of conversations AND feel the energy! I enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, full of energy. (I could use a little if you would send some my way!) Even in the reading I find myself propelling through it.
ReplyDeleteI like that in each of the stanza, there is a change from silence to sounds of music & conversations ~ The energy reverberates all through out ~ Enjoyed this one ~
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed the repeated movement from calm to bursting with energy in each stanza. And that first line is outstanding ... I won't forget it in a hurry.
ReplyDeletea cool way to energize.. cool and young and energetic.. and your reference to your friends speaking Swedish is of course fun to read... being Swedish it's hard to see that as more energetic :-)
ReplyDeleteyou've expressed the transformation of space and energy beautifully!
ReplyDeleteI like this. A lot. Very cool write from start to finish!
ReplyDeleteThe opening, those first two verses are pure gold.
ReplyDeleteA cool write!
ReplyDelete