FROM THE 3B1 the notebook was titled getting our feet wet I took it from a NZYWF21 event named getting our feet wet getting our feet wet is what we do when we try something new the venue is called Te Whare o Rukutia now the notebook and I have returned Open Mic with Ōtepoti Poetics and Claire uses sound to paint scenes and mirrors with the surfaces of the tongue an internal monologue with a record with a bird with tongue vs tongue here I remember Jasper Becca’s carrot-eating grey and white cat we were birds we were birds we are birds we were Pāora we are Pāora what is young? I was IDd at the Lotto stand was it because I have pink hair now? is youth anything? I cough blow my nose forever it’s never enough post-nasal drip dripping dropping down my throat it's Open Mic with Ōtepoti Poetics today I finally got my roots re-bleached so my hair is purple / lilac / lavender I might be the only person eating the sushi and Jessica Hinerangi is the feature she beams I’ve got four pieces tonight I’ve got four pieces tonight the high schoolers’ are here again and the little huddle makes me smile I’m wearing my beautiful hat let's think on Āria; water reveals reconnection taniwha reclamation identity karakia jasmine scent climbing spreading little stars I’ve got four pieces tonight family the young people are so smart and fun and honest how did they get like this? I might be 24 years older but damn, parents still do the same tired cruel shit It’s funny because I read a shit parent poem too parents are the worst except my dad the chocolate cough I can’t stop eating I won’t stop a glacier with lavender hair remember when Dad made you love the eels? grandmother tuna you offered horse-meat-mince on a bamboo stick their mouths tasted our toes their skins slid against our skins I was the only one who used paper again I ask the air nothing nobody what is poetry? what isn’t poetry? the eel’s eyes are as deep as the universe and they see into my heart the eel lives in memory forever the eel is in my heart forever It's never enough with a bird she beams an internal monologue we share tongue to tongue
Ōtepoti Poetics (fka Ōtepoti Slam Collective) has hosted a series of workshops and open mics this year. I attended 4 workshops and 3 open mics organised by them in 2023 (so far). I always bring my 3B1 and I had written a few tidbits during two open mic nights, so for the final open mic on 27 July 2023 I took those lil notes and smushed into this poem. Love you, Ōtepoti x