PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

The night was young.

We had spent the drive out to LA teasing each other as young people are wont to do, and after driving around for a good 15 minutes looking for parking ("Oh, there's a parking structure over there!" "Damn! I missed it!" "Jesus! Do you always drive like this?" "It's that LA road rage. Be aggressive, be, be, aggressive." "... I'm driving next time."), we had finally located public parking and headed down to the street. 

Strolling through downtown Little Tokyo was a new experience for me, and one he was more than happy to introduce me to. Poking through the shops was an experience well. 

"Oh man. Look at this jacket! It would look great on you!"

"Is... is that real leather?" 

"This is a genuine vintage piece right here. Some wear and tear but nothing major."

"How much is it?"

"Let's see."

"Holy shit. It's $15?"

"I'm buying it for you, and you are going to wear it and love it."

"Yes' m."

We made our way to a diner, where I had my first experience with udon. 

Curry udon.

We ended up swapping dishes. 

"Are you sure?"

"Believe you me, I'd rather you have something you are able to eat and enjoy. Because let's be honest. You're kind of a wuss when it comes to spicy things."

"I.. Thank you."

"No problem."

After some delicious chicken katsu, we exited the diner stage right, and almost immediately ran into an older gentleman of color, who engaged us in conversation and sang for a few dollars and moments of our time. His voice was gravelly, but so full of soul. While my companion looked around for an atm, I returned the gift of music with one of my own. 

We eventually broke away from the affable man and found a karaoke bar where we spent the rest of the night. Later that evening, my compatriot spoke up. 

"One thing I admire about you a lot is that you've got an unfathomable amount of guts."

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier, when you sang to that man. You're so unafraid to put yourself out there."

"Thank you? It comes with the performing musician territory."

"Yea. It's something I have a hard time doing though."

"Don't worry about it too much. If it's something you enjoy doing, the more you do it, the easier it becomes."

That's something that I feel holds true with a lot of things.

So this one is for the lurkers, the people who feel they have little to offer or are nervous about posting.

Let us hear your voice. 

You are important. Your thoughts and words have meaning and weight.

And we want to hear them.

Write on.