The Dine in the Dark Poem

Last week I had the pleasure of performing a couple of times. Most notably I performed at Dine in the Dark for the third time. They hosted an event for World Environment Day and had representatives from the UN and pretty much every green industry around Thailand at their tables, and even had em up giving speeches in the dark. Imagine that.

Benjamin, one of the owners, knows I write about such things as world affairs --environmental, social, and otherwise -- and invited me to contribute to the night. I was happy to accept, of course; this topic is much more my element than the last time, and it had been a while since I last worked with them.

Well, in addition to doing an environmentally friendly poem (which I will post in another blog HERE), they asked me to do this poem which I wrote for them a couple months ago now. It is THE Dine in the Dark poem! Possibly the ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND!! Lol. It was just somethin fun I decided to TRY and do after experiencing Dine in the Dark myself. I thought the experience was hella unique and I dig the social awareness aspects of it, so I thought I would try and capture all that in a poem, one that they would hopefully like and be able to USE. Contribute to the cause. At the time I thought it would turn out to just be a cheesy poem that wouldn't hold much water outside of this context, and I was okay with that, just thought it would be cool to do so I DID. But it turned out or turned into a pretty nice poem. Much to my own surprise. And everybody seems to like it, so...yay for me! ;)

I posted it on their facebook page once I finished it and designed it to look all snazzy and cool, which is not something I'm really good at, but I guess I'll...I'm not sure what I'll do. I thought I'd post that version of it here, but blogspot kind of shrinks it and it's hard to read, so...I think I'll just post both, text and picture, so you can see what I mean AND read it with ease. :)

OH, so I performed this for the first time at the restaurant to a roomful of people (30-40) IN THE DARK, and it went down really well! It was fun, it was cool, I was happy. The people seemed to really click with it, they got the jokes, so the piece definitely works. And I'm already lookin forward to do it again the next time they call me in. Here it is. If you haven't seen it, lemme know what you think. And if you haven't dined in the dark yet, I suggest you get on that too! ;)

The Dine in the Dark Poem

Be led into the darkness until your mind is full of light
Follow a man with four senses as he turns you left and right
Consider what life would be like if you really had no sight
Let go of your old fears of what is hiding in the night

Step forward, take your seat, feel what is in front of you
Sit in anticipation and give welcome to the new
Every movement you make is a thought you follow through
and soon you’ll cut your food up just like you did when you were two

You have made a reservation to turn off your reservations
and open up your senses to a sense of exploration
Taste and smell will lead the way on this rarest of occasions
as your mouth secretly indulges in the rush of information

Cease your eyes from searching for the momentary spark
Take comfort in your company and the humorous remarks
Even if the mess you made is the only way you leave your mark
that is just another part & joy of Dining in the Dark

Enjoy this memorable dinner until the final savory bite
New perspectives on old things often give us new insights
so notice when you walk out you'll be feeling VERY bright
Tonight is the night on which the blind will lead the blind to light

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