~Sunday~ Tongue & Groove Open Mic came out of hiatus tonight in its new digs at VAE in downtown Raleigh.
About Tongue & Groove:
Cohosts Anna Weaver and Ben Molini welcome poets, musicians, jugglers, mimes, whatever… anything but comedy (which is not say you can’t be funny, just that comics have their own open mic nights).
Covers welcome. Originals encouraged!
Second Sundays at the VAE Gallery (309 W Martin St) in our beloved downtown Raleigh. List opens at 7, show starts at 7:30. Slots are 6 minutes (2 songs max, musicians).
In addition to the opportunity to share my writing (which, arguably, is poetry), I was excited to be there, because I helped connect my poet friend Anna Weaver (one of the co-organizers and co-hosts) with Brandon Cordrey (the husband of a friend of mine and executive director of VAE) to negotiate this venue for tonight’s—and future—synergistic Tongue & Groove events.
Now to tonight’s performance. I introduced myself:
“Hi, I’m John.
If you’re a veteran of Tongue & Groove, you might remember me as “The Haiku Guy.”
Or, for a little while, I was the “Punku Guy,” after several of my haiku employed puns.
With a kicked-up-a-notch Tongue & Groove—in this great new venue—I felt compelled to step up my own game.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to become a part of the world premier of, either the: Haikiddle® or the Riddlku®.
I haven’t yet decided which portmanteau best describes what I have for you tonight, which is four 8-haiku sets, each of which comprises a riddle.
So, sit back and just enjoy the cadence of haiku. Or, listen to connect the group of 8 to identify the object of its discourse.” (Note: The “answers” are at the bottom of this entry, behind the cut.)
For the past 26 years
My how the time flies
Although it’s unique
It is not the only thing
Doing what it does
Shape does play a part
In the thing and where it goes
Both oval and square
It’s larger than life
By 250 times
A regular one
Composed of copper
David Benson saw to it
All twelve-hundred pounds
HOGS have brought it in
And a 7-foot squirrel
To its place downtown
A city not far
Uses a 3-foot pickle
To do the same thing
Glasses and hopes raised
As it does its thing marking
Days of Auld Lang Syne
My friend, (thank you for being there) Matt, recorded my reading of this one. Apparently, I’m a “swayer.” Ugh. I loved how the person in the audience who guessed what this Haikiddle® or Riddlku® was about answered in the form of a question, as if we were playing Jeopardy®.
1000 B.C.
Made from honey flavored with
Citrus, herbs, and spice
19th century
Morphine and heroin ones
Worked upon the brain
Risk of addiction
Opioid dependence fears
Changed them once again
A form of rhombus
Was their original shape
Now they’re called this, too
At the opera
Or a play or symphony
Also a concert
Help suppress the urge
Pop one in before it starts
Avoid crinkling
Lubricates and soothes
Irritated throat tissues
Slowly it dissolves
Small and often sweet
Menthol or eucalyptus
Silencing hacking
I’m an editor
More than just a word-smith-er
I live and breathe words
I am a purist
So I don’t participate
Just on principle
Both two-twenty-five (225)
Most are not; but others are
Multiplicatives
This one has four more
When you’ve got it “in the bag”:
One-hundred and four
This one has 16
While the one I like has 12
Three times face value
Now to frequency:
One more D, E, S, & T
Two times more Hs.
When you use them all
35 vs. 50
Added to your score
This one’s name’s three words
The one I like, just one word
And is a classic
Anniversary
Seven years ago today
Now you know the time
Named the premiere one
By a famous magazine
Now you know the place
Unfettered and free
Like Mae West and Jane Austen
Now you know the thing
Ebony diva
Fulfilling her destiny
Now you know the source
Partying alone
A female protagonist
Now you know the plot
Don’t be angry please
Lips, hips, and Dereon jeans
All that got away
Encircle digit
If you were that fond of it
You really should have
Every one of them
They’re divorced or unmarried
Noble-titled girls
- The (Raleigh) Acorn
- Throat lozenges
- Words with Friends
- (All the) Single Ladies, which was #1 on the Billboard charts on January 8, 2010 (7 years to the date I wrote this piece).