Breathe In, Breathe Out

Going to the Nuyorican is something I do every time I come to New York. Most people can only bear it once with me; slam poetry tends to be the same after a few visits. This time around it was almost exactly the same as any other time, with the themes and styles being similar to anything you'd hear on an average episode of Def Poetry Slam. Usually I go to the Nuyorican in the hopes that one poet will really capture my attention. Despite it being the semi-finals, there wasn't any poets of particular interest. One performer, a student from NYU, was incredible though. She was offered to the crowd as a sacrificial lamb but her piece was the only one that drew deep sighs and oooohs from the crowd. It was a poem about love and it was original and brilliant. Never got her name though.

Afterward we had a grand time talking about what sorts of poems we'd like to perform. It's rather rare that I get to hang out with more than one writer friend at a time. Two would be a luxury, three an unprecedented experience. In fact, if I had wanted to assemble a hang out team for a literary Friday night, I don't think I could have done any better.

When people talk about interpersonal chemistry, I wonder what it is they mean. Some people, who I think we would have every interest and topic in common, are impossible to talk to. Some people, after meeting them for ten minutes, immediately are elevated to instant friend status. There are people I've hung out with twice in my life and I feel like we're besties already. Perhaps this is more a function of having all that newness and exploration ahead, but I'd like to think that it's just a sign that when you get along you get along, even inexplicably.

Maybe it comes down to banter. If you can talk about something, we can at least start somewhere. As I get around to meeting people, I should really pay attention to the things that make people connect or feel at ease. There has to be something more scientific aside from just "We get along."

Let's hope I never say "besties" again.