Back in the 1970’s, on a whim I memorized a somewhat lengthy bit of verse (Shel Silverstein’s The Smoke Off). For many years, I’d find an excuse to dust it off every year or two and recite it. People always seemed to be greatly amused, mostly by the work itself but also that somebody would memorize the whole thing.
When our friends S&J visited were visiting, HA coaxed me into reciting The Smoke Off for them. Doing so reminded me that there is another such verse that I’ve long aspired to memorize, Robert W. Service’s The Cremation of Sam McGee. I just finished committing it all to memory.
I don’t usually think of myself as audience-seeking. I quit performing decades ago. I don’t do anything to promote twoprops.net or to try to build audience. I don’t even look at access logs or otherwise try to judge engagement. (Remember the ‘90’s web when most pages had hit counters?)
But I do find that, having done the work, I’m anxious to find an audience and an excuse to perform it.
Patience, twoprops, your five minutes in the spotlight will come.
—2p