Last Friday started out as any other poetry night at the bridge cafe. I walked into the into the small restaurant expecting to sign up for the open mic and enjoy the poetry slam. I never considered myself a slam poet. I was just a regular poet, whatever that was. This isn't to say that I never aspired to be one. I simply felt like I wasn't ready for such a feat.

As I approached the desk and searched for the open mic sign up sheet. Much to my surprise and dismay, the list was already full. Disappointed, I decided to make a return trip to the area that I was planning on enjoying the evening's activities. Before I could take a step in any direction, Steve, the cashier, and a few poets that I knew approached me. Steve, Roller Girl and Unseen(the poets), wanted me to sign up for the slam. In addition, my uncle who had become my poetry buddy over the last 6 months or so, wanted me to compete in the slam also. I resisted all of their attempts to get me to sign up, but ended up getting a spot in the open mic.

I waited for my turn on the open mic. I went up and read a piece of mine called "Night Owl" followed by another poem called "Bebop Blues". The crowd loved it and applauded me as I left the stage and returned to my original post. The poet that read after me concluded the open mic, which initiated the 10 minute break between the open mic and slam.

During the break, Unseen, Roller Girl, and Steve approached me about signing up for the slam again. Once again, I refused, but began to warm up to the idea when The Colonel, the host of poetry night and a slam poet gave me some words of encouragement. I thought about the pros and cons of the whole situation for a good minute before I looked at the list, said "**** it", and signed up. Everyone was happy that I signed up. I was happy too, but mostly nervous because the slam would be starting in less than 10 minutes.

Initially, I felt unprepared for the slam, but then I remembered that I was wearing my poetry backpack. I quickly looked through my writing books and ended up having to choose between two pieces. One of them was called "Labels" and the other was untitled. "Labels" felt like a slightly risky piece to recite, but it was a long poem by my standards. The other piece was short, sweet, and had wordplay that I favored. I ended up doing "Labels" because I felt like it was a stronger piece.

The slam was two rounds long. I had decided, before my little second round poem dilemma, that I would do a poem called "Parenthood" first. I went up the microphone with the sound of the crowd's applause following me. I was nervous, but I knew what I had to do. I had to let the lion out of the cage...and so I did. It was as if the switch called apathy turned off in my brain. It felt like my congnisence had been lessoned and replaced with a slightly euphoric feeling; possibly a n adrenaline rush. I received another applause after finishing Parenthood. The judges put their score cards up and I received a 27.6/30

The first round ended after all of the poets were judged. I was in 4th place, but that didn't bother me. I didn't think I had a chance of winning anyway. Victory may not have been in my expectations, but I wanted to put 100% into it nonetheless. While awaiting my turn for the second round, the nerves seemed to be present, although not as powerful as they were before. Moreover, my mind seemed to be feigning fatigue. I quickly brushed off these illusions when my name was called. I approached the mic once more and recited "Labels". Although it wasn't memorized like Parenthood, the crowed loved it nonetheless. I received a 28/30 for the poem with a high score of 9.9/10. I was dumbfounded by my scores at this point(even though, I should have been earlier).

The scores were added up and divided. Not thinking I was going to win, I started thinking of the other poets that had a chance of winning. After a wait that seemed to take an eternity, the winners were announced. I was in first place followed by Adam, another a poet. We congratulated each other and all of the other participants. I was proud of myself and what I had accomplished. It would take a few hours for this to sink in though. I was a finalist for the NH slam poetry team. After leaving the bridge, I knew that I had to bring my A, no, my A+ game to land a spot on the slam team. That's what I'm doing right now.