Poem of the Week: 12.14.23

"The Loft" by Ricky Novaes de Oliveira

THE LOFT

by Ricky Novaes de Oliveira

Wine & books. All of us 
getting drunk. There was a DJ
to warm us up to be read to, 
lullaby before milk, but really
the university hired them 
to drown out all the protestors. 
The DJ looked so bored, and we 
weren’t here to listen, we wanted 
to hear some truth 
from the lips 
of someone who made it. 
Art makes us sick, and we 
keep downing it. Another glass.
There was a beautiful speech
by a grad student presenter.
The poet started reading. 
	Downstairs, the Palestinians begged 
	to be heard. Police guarded the stairs
	to the weekly meeting of Israelis.
Artists in my room hushed and tried 
to hear the poet. Some even listened. 
I waited for the words to surprise me
to figure out what it all meant—out 
the window, I saw a shadow dancing 
in red-blue light, reaching over the wall, 
enveloping faces in a soft low, in & out. 
The poet led a rebel resistance 
	in line breaks, dismantled the present 
	with pages thrown, proclaimed the empire 
	of prose, gestured
and we snapped 
and we hummed 
and we felt 
through the dark for our seats.
Make sure we were still there. 
It was a really great reading.
After, we left 
our glasses to be picked up later 
by someone else, got in line 
for the book signing. Outside people 
were getting arrested 
and people were sleeping in classrooms 
and people were looking for life in the next few years
and people were sober wanting to be drunk 
and there were so many wars going on 
and it was probably best to just go home 
and get to bed. Tomorrow looms. 
We said our goodbyes, said see you 
again at the next reading, and we listened 
wanting it to be done already 
and we didn’t hear the yells, 
the cries, the burning 
a few doors down

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I will let this one speak for itself.

Also, I turned in this poem as part of one of my grad skool finals. “The Loft” serves as an “art event review” and I took a “creative” approach. Here’s the prompt, which you are welcome to do for yourself because it’s fun or because you have nothing better to do this weekend.

Write a one-page response (double space) for each literary/arts event you attended during the term. Your response should include a brief summary and reflect upon ideas that were explored and what you can take away as a writer. 

Back to my final paper about postmodern deconstructionist literary theory.

Loftily, Ricky