which is dedicated to Maddie Crease
The space where I used to perform each month, an Open Mic that Maddie ran at Leigh Community Centre with great success for some years, is now a memory. I had only up to that point performed a handful of times in the Real World: most of my experience was online, and I knew that needed to change.
The opportunities that I was given, including my first ever Real World Feature set, I will always be hugely grateful for. I think the biggest compliment however was the time I was asked to cover for her and found a confidence I had forgotten existed within me.
Maddie used to be a Foyle Young Poet, and as I’m typing this she’s part of the South Bank’s Poetry Cohort, about to come back to Southend and be a part of the Poet in Every Port initiative. Her ability as both an artist and a poet remain without question.
I hope we can continue to perform together for many years to come.
… and You are?
Sometimes it's a lucky draw, protagonist
first up, whilst everyone’s still sober. Someone
might pay some attention to your cause:
except, of course, the folk they’d like
to notice are still there, propping up the bar,
waiting for their mate, the headliner.
The silence in this Zoom room chat
becomes so deafening, it is time to check
making sure connection has not dropped:
perhaps it was stupendously amazing
that clearly is the reason no-one ‘spoke’,
a whole room summarily stunned into shock.
In time, every performance is a test
less about what they consider fine
and more around exhaling validation:
other poets smile, assure it’s coming
that moment soon to celebrate and shine;
as a protagonist waits, still, without a rhyme.
Poem copyright S. Reeson © 2026
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