 Thank you so much for being here. This is the fourth Highline College national poetry month celebration and for those of you who have taken in all the broadsides you can see what an amazing celebration we have. That's not important but they call me brother to the night and right now I'm the blues and you're left by trying to become the bunk in your right and this sky nodding like a dark tie where a coffin is just another coffin until someone at a funeral calls it a wooden overcoat a social media storm of likes and dislikes you tag me and poke me yet there's no emoji that you cause me this is the city that saw the raw mass of me the quick and slow of it's thickest at night heart pounding feel something sweat runs with the salt and the blades that's what you think you know from textbooks and media don't meet my criteria no it is not going away it is just taking a seat in the back row for now emotion is what you feel desires in your heart the clouds are gone my kingdom lost i'm nobody at all my own rebirth music ain't about getting paid it's not about getting laid being delicate but also strong as mother's nature being poetry it's one of the best ways to express thoughts ideas and concepts and then you put your feelings into it and then when someone else is reading they're able to understand it and they're the best part actually as well poetry month here at Highline has been a great honor and it's been a great journey to just continue on this this great collaboration with Highline