It's a Beautiful Night for Mad Swirl Open Mic

It's a beautiful night in this neighborhood,
A beautiful night for some madness.
Will you be coming?
Could you be coming?...

It's the 1st Wednesday of this month,
A swirling day for some madness and fun.
Will you be coming?
Could you be coming?...

We've always wanted to have mad ones just like you.
We've always wanted to swirl in this open mic madness with you.

So...

Let's make the most of this 1st Wednesday.
And when we're together we might as well say
Will you be coming?
Could you be coming?
Won't you be at Mad Swirl?
Won't you please,
Won't you please?
Please won't you be at Mad Swirl?

On 08:01:07 we are inviting all the neighbors and poets, musicians, actors, singers and performers to come and strut your stuff. Come one, come all...to participate, to appreciate and to support the local DFW mad ones.

We open things up around 8:30 and the mic closes when there's no one left standing.

Where you ask? At Absinthe Lounge...1409 South Lamar...Dallas

For more information about Mad Swirl go to...MadSwirl.com

For more information about Absinthe Lounge go to...AbsintheLounge.net

A Taste of Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum

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is this a poem, then? - lisa olson

words piled
in a stack
pancakes of the mind,
scattered thoughts
in a neat pile.
sensibilities misdirected,
theme uncertain,
eyes on fire
with ideas, allergies.
hungering for food
or love.
coffee untouched
waiting for a
reasonable temp
before i kiss the mug.
is this a poem, then?
is this all that creativity
asks of me? that i
pile words,
arrange chaos
with clickety-clack
finger rhythms,
stack my thoughts
and call myself
a poet?

- lisa olson

view more of lisa's poetry at MadSwirl.com

You Asked Me Why - Johnny Olson

A fellow mad one
once asked me,
Why do you do it?
Sometimes it seems
the efforts you need
in planting this seed
leave you tired and dry.

I didn't answer him.
I knew the answer deep inside
but never put into words
the what's, when's, where's and why's.

This is what I should'a said:

I do it for the payoff.
I do it for this glorious jackpot
that fills me and spills me.
I do it for this giving and taking.
I do it for this showing and growing and flowing
to bounds unknowing
which keeps me going and going and going.

It came in one phrase
during a very fertile phase
read in the pages
of the Beatnik’s bible...

The whole mad swirl
of everything to come
began then.

...it was that recognition
in Jack’s premonition
that the moment was
electrified and synchronized.
In our one collective push
in the right direction
we knew that
the whole mad swirling world
can be changed forever
if only we opened that door,
if only we gave birth to this swirl.

Our creative love child
has never had a house
but has countless homes.

It is this lifeline
which connects us
back to our primal source
and leads us
back into the knowing arms
of our kindred spirits
and carries us
back to our original aboriginal tribe.

I just happened to be the last one
holding the opened door -
to the stage we’re sharing...
to the mic we’re opening...
to the page we’re writing...
to the web we’re weaving...
- and I must keep holding it
‘cos we’re not even close
to closin’ it yet.

It’s the torch
we must keep burning.
It’s the words
we must keep hearing.
It’s the cross
we must keep bearing.
It’s this crown
we must keep wearing.
It’s this moment
we must keep creating.
It’s this love
we must keep making.

We gotta keep moving
every mad day
and we gotta keep building
in every mad way
and we gotta keep preaching
all these things that we say
‘cos we gotta keep being
a piece of this something
because the whole mad swirl of everything
to come is now!

You asked me why do I do it?
I do what I do
because someone has to.
It’s my duty.
It’s my responsibility.
It’s my way of giving back.

Now let me ask you a question -
Wouldn’t you do it too,
if this was handed to you?

- johnny olson

view more of johnny's poetry at MadSwirl.com

who, what and where is mad swirl?

mad swirl is a platform, a showcase, a stage to place as many artists in this mad, mad world of ours. mad swirl is the collection of as many artists, writers, illustrators, photographers, psychos, and poets that we could gather. mad swirl is taking the many sides of art and showcasing it between a front and back cover, a www and a dot com and on stage at poetry/spoken word venues around Dallas. mad swirl is recognizing the madness of creation, the madness of life, the madness of art and trying to get the swirl of it all into as many heads as possible. basically, mad swirl is an outlet. an electronic, print and live-wired creative outlet. got'ya interested? wanna see your ideas, words, art, photos, rants, cartoons, scribblings, etc...come to life? then visit MadSwirl.com already!