#oratory
The bus was a blessing, six hours of snacks and pride,
Four to a room in Des Moines, tucked in side-by-side.
We watched DI, and POI, the clever and the loud,
Small-town debaters lost within a twenty-thousand crowd.
Then came the dark room—one hundred fifty thousand feet,
Where the top ten stood on stage for the whole world to meet.
I was tired of the Interp, the Addams Family, the hum,
So I put my headphones on, waiting for the end to come.
But the worst happened.
Allie stood in red, her microphone clipped tight,
When a man’s voice cut the air and killed the light.
"Knock, knock," he yelled—a joke that turned to lead,
As the camera panned to a bag, all the humor fled.
"Run away!?" she asked in panic, and the stage became a ghost,
As a sea of bodies surged against the exit post.
Chairs shrieked like victims, shoes left on the floor,
A frantic, crushing gravity pulling for the door.
Pushed forward, shoved back, the bangs began to roll,
Reverberating off the walls, vibrating in my soul.
I felt the weight of hundreds, the trample and the fear,
My coach’s hand beneath my arm, keeping me here.
I waited by the exit, white-knuckled, frozen still,
I couldn’t leave my team behind against my frantic will.
But a girl I barely knew took my hand and led the way,
Through the barricades and bathrooms where the hiding students lay.
Outside, the air was light, but the world was heavy-gray,
Watching flashing sirens wash the "blessing" all away.
Later, the news called it a "scare," but the body doesn't lie.
Now, when I sit in rounds, I watch the hallway with my eye.
My coach puts us by the door, a tactical retreat,
In case the silence breaks again and we have to find the street.
And yet—
I stood in my suit, I spoke the words, I played the part.
I qualified. I made the cut. I finished what I’d start.
But when they called my name, the "magic" felt like stone;
I felt absolutely nothing standing there alone.
No spark of joy, no rush of pride, just the ringing in my ears,
The hollow, cold vibration of the previous year's fears.
But I am going back.
I’ll board that bus, I’ll face the room, I’ll stand upon the floor,
Even if I have to do it right beside the exit door.
The memory is tainted, and the shaking hasn't ceased,
But I’m reclaiming territory from the center of the beast.
Mar 25
Mar 25, 2026 at 6:39 AM UTC
There are moments
when words become more than sound,
more than air shaped by thought.
They become a call to arms
for the weary soul,
a rising drumbeat
in the chest of humankind.
In the mouth of a true orator,
words rise like music,
then fall like thunder
moving hearts,
igniting wills,
reshaping destiny itself.
Spoken with the precision of art
and the fire of belief,
a single sentence
can lift the broken,
summon the silent,
and awaken a city from sleep.
No weapon forged by man
has ever rivaled
the right words,
fueled by conviction,
spoken at the right time.
May 12, 2025
May 12, 2025 at 10:21 PM UTC
Bite not the tongue,
But latch the cheek.
Lash not the mule,
But strike the ***
Ignore not the statistics,
But silence the opinions.
Waste not the seed,
But peel the onion.
Wantonly not dump,
But dispose of the garbage.
Carelessly not to jump,
But to gracefully land.
Rip them not off,
But open the lids.
Cause not interference,
But adjust your receivers.
Lose not the vision,
But get the picture.
Trade not for fidelity,
But increase your resolution.
Become not hidden,
But show the elusive.
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM UTC
To argue your perspective in a concise and eloquent manner in court.
Those who lob false accusations must continue to lie and try to tear down the truth.
Yet, the beauty of trails of paper and properly kept records, when the evidence is not against, but in favor of you:
Why harbor the heavy conscience?
When the burden of proof is truly no weight for you,
For the innocent bare no responsibly to prove that they are such and feel nothing but indignant for facing trumped-up allegations.
Who would not feel anger?
Rather, those who bring forth the issue must beyond a reasonable doubt prove the accused's culpability and convince others of their guilt resolute.
Especially in those cases of collectives versus individuals,
As in cases brought against or by the many state & federal apparatuses around the globe,
Or as in the cases of employer versus labor.
In natures both competitive & cooperative,
Romantic & platonic;
By many chandeliers & candelabra
Do we each tend to different flames,
But the fires burn the same.
In innumerable different ways,
The things we say are indistinguishable
Even if they are misinterpreted or mistaken.
The things we say are often the same,
But either wrongly said or poorly received.
How much is simply the cause
Of grave miscommunication?
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025 at 11:56 AM UTC
Hostile & aggressive speech
On the behalf of any individual/party,
By any speaker.
That a man is presumed innocent
And with that he is given
The benefit of doubt,
The burden of evidence
Lies on the accuser.
But first the case
Must make it before the courtroom
And stand trial under judge and possibly jurors.
Wherein if things were perfect
And this were some utopia;
Honest & fair judicial proceedings
Without differentiatons or distinctions,
But a base which takes into ruling
Merit of the content of character
And possibility & potential.
Less rushing, greater depth of dialogue, and fitter tailored.
Asking, "What would I have done?"
Saying, "What should I do?"
Feb 9, 2025
Feb 9, 2025 at 8:24 AM UTC
It's easy to talk like you know it,
To portray that you have good insight
And possess an informed perspective.
To pretend that you're knowledgeable,
Considerate, introspective.
At least, it sounded smart in your head.
Something was lost in translation
When it was finally written or said.
I assure you I really do care
And I can explain why I don't.
You must have misheard me
Or not have understood me,
I was the one speaking
So I think I'm the authority on the conversation.
Despite you having me dead to rights,
Clearly in quotes,
I demand for denial & the presumption of it
As I maintain my innocence.
That is fake news, misinformation,
And a misrepresentation of the situation.
Totally baseless claims & pure speculation.
Whatever lies at the root,
Regardless truth.
I'm sorry you feel that way but,
Despite any piece of evidence,
That's just your opinion.
These are politically scientific opiums,
These noxious feral serums
Poison the whole of living,
Whether local or national
As collective or individual.
Hostile & aggressive speech
On the behalf of any party/individual,
By any speaker.
Feb 9, 2025
Feb 9, 2025 at 2:24 AM UTC