It's still April

And it is still National Poetry Month.

I attended a Spoken Word Slam sponsored by Verbal Blend at Syracuse University and was witness to several rounds of an open mic and University kids spitting their words. The talent was great and the impression left on me was enormous.

And in the audience was Omanii Abdullah, whose poetry I used to teach to students back at Brown and who took me to lunch when I first came to Syracuse - I didn't know he was from Central, New York. One of the judges at the slam was Giles Li who brought his poetic karma (a piece featured above) to represent Boston and his marvelous ability with words.

The energy brought to the Sheraton was an energy that can't be harnesses by wind turbines or nuclear plants. It was the energy of youth and their power of words. It reminded me of what I believe in most...