Poetry Reading
(at the Cape Cod Cultural Center)

In the midst of a mixed media exhibit
A large bank vault door hung heavily
Next to oils, acrylics, collages and watercolors,
Across from banners and posters
At a raised dais in front of the door
A diminutive woman, winner of the Center’s
Annual poetry contest, read, sipped water
From the small table beside the mic,

To the delight of the audience Next a bear of a man, Martin Espada,
Was introduced as “one of our political poets
Born in Brooklyn, poet or renown.”

Hands delineated his words as he raged
Against Latino despots, spoke softly
Of his father and his native land
Held the listeners enthralled
A break for wine and cheese and grapes
At this annual fund raiser was to be followed
By a second prize winner and Robert Pinsky,
Poet laureate and originator of the Poetry Project
An amateur poet, white haired and stoped
Walked over to view the weird hanging
And overheard “Isn’t it wonderful what
The Center has done to this old bank building?

Eureka! Not an art hanging, but a real door
With an opening revealing a room
Where fine photographs were displayed She stepped outside the room, smiling

And promptly stubbed her toe, tripped
And fell over the dais floor A loud thump,
A splash of water, and then silence
As a group jumped to her aid
Robert Pinsky followed with a dramatic narrative.