THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

  

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?"

SO WE WERE WHERE RUTA MAYA OPEN MIC BEGAN

25 years ago.Fourth&Lavaca.Now called HALYCON

Stephanie Morrissey (Host of Buzzmill,Kick Butt etc)

convened this gathering for the protection of her tribe.

In TRUMP Texas,with white patriachal violence the norm,

she had experienced abuse at the hands of sexist/racist males..

So she convened this Round Robin survival reading-

and i mentioned the previous pre-history of Paperbacks Plus-

a basement bookstore initiated by Dr Charles"Chuck" Taylor..

This was long before Ruta Maya opened her mic to us..

Long before high rents drove her to 3601 South Congress

Thence to the coffee van at Bouldin Creek Food Court

Finally to a small outlet at Austin-Bergstrom Airport-

and Ruta Maya coffee sold and served in a plethora of outlets..

We were small in numbers,but accepted by the Halycon tribe,

several of whom sang and spoke and declaimed among us.One drag queen asked

"Who among you were at the Texas State Capitol last Tuesday?"

This was where Texas DPS assaulted peaceful demonstrators..

Now our Open Mic was seen as useful by the Halycon crew

They cheered us on for three hours.To re-convene June 1..

The Bright Spirits of Happy Jack and Julian Waldon were among us

We were the Best of Paperbacks Plus,Ruta Maya,Halycon

and every tiny open mic freedom of speech and gathering

where we celebrated the First Amendment over the Second..