Stage Fright
It was Orwell’s year of ‘84
when I made my debut
on the stage
of a converted
warehouse
called “The Copa”.
This was no place
for Hayworth or Astaire--
Au contraire!
This, was a dark place
of denizens
eking out weekends
before “Manic Monday”
came round again.
It was a contest--
Karaoke before it
landed from Tokyo.
I was wigged-out
with black tresses;
swathed in layers of
black dresses,
Cleopatra’s eyes and
claret lips--
Post-punk in
a mainstream milieu.
I stepped up
to the standing mike
on the stage.
The night’s deejay
stuck the needle
in the groove
and I was on:
mouthing and moving
whining and whirling
to a pop-punk-goddess.
The bridge:
I swirled and swayed,
away from the microphone,
lost in my reverie
and the eyes of the crowd,
but Siouxsie’s song
moved along
without me.
Lips, losing sync,
hips, pushing forward
to reach that mike--
too late!
Dubbing disaster!
Kathleen Mortensen©2009Big-boobed, Appolonia
won the prize
(no surprise).
So I went home
to the rehearsal space
by the bed
in my rented room,
swiped off the hair
that was fake
stripped off the cake
of makeup
and fell back
into obscurity.
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46 of Kat's friends had this to say::
wow. fast pacing to the piece when read...the sudden rise and fall from teh 15 minutes of fame. nicely played kat!
This is so funny -- but I want to know whether or not it is true!?
Thanks, Brian! I know. Warhol would be proud.
Karen - It's ALL true!
Kat
Falling back into obscurity....but at least you had a few minutes of fame...that's more than most of us! :) I think I could do most anything in a wig and thick makeup! ha!
Betsy - That's the ticket! Incognito all the way, baby!
Kat
Oh how I LOATHE that big-boobed, Appolonia!!!!!! GGGgggrrrrr!
Love the energy of this poem. I'm smiling. Really loving it. You had more guts in those minutes than I ever will.
It looks like Eric Carr.
Loved this, adore Siouxsie and thanks for the technical guidance. You are a star!
Your poetry is wonderful! You are truly talented.;))
I would hate being on stage, any kind of attention from a large crowd doesn't please me at all.;))
xo
Great! Your writing is so honest...
Thanks for sharing and happy TT!
xoxo
Hello Kat,
What a great poem. It really brings me back to 1984, when punk was very big! I graduated that year!
I love the pic!
I saw your "save the wildcats" banner and placed it on my blog too, in hopes of helping out some.
Have a great day!
Lydia
Jill - Not as much as I do.
steviewren - It's easy to do when you're hiding behind a mask of makeup.
Kris - I've no idea who that is.
Titus - I love her too! I saw her in concert 3 times.
Protege - Thank you! I get that from my father, but I can be very shy and retiring too.
Marianna - I try to be; I think it inspires others to be so.
Gypsy - I graduated high school in '80 and college in '85. I was on the heels of the punk era, but entrenched in post-punk and new wave.
Thanks for snagging the wildcats banner. It's a good cause.
Kat
This is fast, this is funny! Keep writing!!!
Whee - what a great whirl of images at rollercoaster speed!!
Okay, Kat, what I want to know is if there's pictures of this event.
Brosreview - Glad you liked it! I will.
Deb - Yes. Funny how it reads that way. (It seemed to be in slo-mo when it was happening).
Willow - Do you doubt me? I'm sorry, there are no photos.
Kat
Kat well done lass, well done! I went along with your pod-cast this time, as I tend to read fast. Nice to get slowed down a bit. Your tempo is spot on :)
I love it when you read your own poetry seriously! Did you do it? Poor thing, if you'd had big boobs nobody would have noticed. I live with the drummer of an obscure band. They don't lip synch but they well know obscurity bless them! (Oh and I'm not a great fan of poetic verse but do love yours.)
Kit Kat
Patty Wack
give the dog a bone,
This little kitty
really brought TT home
Lots of fun
Cool post. Been on the stage a lot myself,lol
That pic is of you? And the little piece is true? Who knew!
Great post!
Only to be brought back for a bow!!
..time to sing it out again! Never obscurity!!
Great images. I could see you on stage with your red lips.
Subby - Thanks for that! Are you Scottish?
Baino - No big boobs here. You live with a musician - you must read my Blast From the Past post: The Music Men!
Oh, and Baino - always the highest compliment when someone who doesn't ordinarily like poetry, enjoys my work. Ta!
dreamhaven - Ha ha! Good one!
Wings - The tale is true; the photo is not me, but Siouxsie Sioux.
Lyn - Not any more!
Carolyn - That's good; my words worked then.
Kat
Oh Kat, like you could ever fall back into obscurity!
Kat, Scottish is but a part of my ancestral make-up( ach! I said "make-up"--here comes the guy with the hook-lol! ). I've a bad habit of gloming languages to-gether!
Amazing, Poetikat, brilliant poem and most enjoyable! You'll have to come over here via the portal and sing with Necky Becky and The Stiffnex!
Fun take on the stage theme-- love the ryhme of "au contraire" with "Astaire."
It's all true?! I love it! What a great memory put down as a poem.
Happy TT Kat!
Looks very coooooool :)
Lovely words written !!
You write from the heart Kat. Great stuff and very funny.
I have often wondered what it's like from the point of view of that side of the stage.
I love it! Kat, this might be my favorite one of yours so far. That's saying something, because I've loved all of them.
First of all, starting with Orwell is perfect. And I love all those excellent details. Big boobed Appolonia made me laugh so hard I snorted. But I want to know...how did you get that picture of me? Tee hee. That is awesome. You should dress up when you do this poem at a reading:D
My first visit to your site and I'm glad I came! Really enjoyed reading that.
Kat I love the look.
This was great.
Awww. The ending seemed rather harsh.
A friend of mine who is very well-read but rather socially inexperienced had seen but never heard the name "Siouxsie" pronounced. One day in conversation, he made a reference to "Sy-OOX-ee" and the Banshees...!
Hi Kat, Great piece. I was with you all the way.
There were a lot of Cyndi Lauper wannabees when I was at the Copa.
I had a friend who made-up like Souixie until the last minute.
wow,I love that one very much!Happy the connection's working well today cause your blog alond with Eileen's one are the two I cannot access as I want.Have a nice day!
Kat! I musta missed you at the Copa that night!!!
Who could forget the Copa. I like the sound of your get up. Yeah, I knew a few people who dresed like that and wore make up like that....waaaayyy back when.
Sorry you didn't win that night!
I love the pace when reading this and the ending is a 'killer'. Well done, you.
Wow, what a great poem and images! Been missing coming here, just keeping too busy (or not) I guess... blahsville I think..ha.
I'll have to do some catching up.
That is fantastic! The descriptions are so energizing. This is a lively poem, just delightful. And, of course Big-boobed Appolonia won, don't they always!?
Oh, and I finally posted on the award you gave me if you want to check it out.
Have a great weekend!
Jane
nice take on the transformation involved in performance! i always liked siouxsie
Very funny memory ... brilliant writing ... loved listening to you!
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