16th & Mission Open Mic - Poetry in San Francisco

Posted on 04/25/09 by

Elia Vargas

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Mission & 16th - poetry in San Francisco, oh, there is poetry in San Francisco. Pigeon wings, and chalk exhaust. Poetry in the streets, poetry in the night, poetry in the faces of the passer-by. Neon lime, and short red skirts. There is poetry at the 16th and Mission Bart station. Ukuleles, and little piano players. Ordinary people stop on Thursday nights after Food Not Bombs to shout and sing, to read and recite. There are common smells, recognizable odors, and inflamed olfactory systems. Homeless people, drunk people, old and young people neutralized by the shadow and grime. Standing united by the great equalizer, the grand leveler of night and sidewalk and street-side-stench. 16th and Mission Open Mic is alive and beautiful on Thursday nights.

Upon arriving for the first time, I approached the circled mass of hobgoblins and beautiful people discovered in thrift stores and free boxes, to the intoxicating cadence of Charlie. Charlie Getter- the man who might be your mechanic, or plumber, or Madoff in disguise. Whose rough features unmatched by the young aspiring female poets that are his mercenaries or private bodyguards, delivered by god or the restless spirit of Kerouac to protect him from the sharp edge of unnecessary or unintended words. Those dirty, difficult words of the world, hurled across space like obsidian arrows, or warheads. Charlie spoke, rather he danced in words, and I listened. And the creative conspiring or embarrassing debacle that an open performance space is, was neither dark nor dirty like the space outside our bubble (or maybe it was in jus the right way), but rather it shined, and ever more so when Charlie took stage. This man, a poet, an ordinary and exceptional person, soothed my being by the pitch of his voice and the stories that fell out of him.

Come see poetry in San Francisco - 16th and Mission Poetry meets every Thursday night from 10pm-12am @ 16th and Mission Bart Station. Visit http://16thmission.com/ for more information.

This blog post was written by

Elia Vargas

16th & Mission Open Mic - Poetry in San Francisco

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