Street poetry

Poems are almost always read to people who already agreed to listen. Here you have to ask a stranger, and sit through the pause before the answer.

Learn a short poem by heart or print it out — eight to twelve lines, no more. Go where people are not in a hurry: a park, a waterfront, benches by the library. Pick someone sitting alone who does not look busy, walk up and say it straight: I have a poem, it takes a minute, may I read it? If they say no, thank them and move on — a refusal says nothing about you. Read slowly and look at the person, not at the page. After the last line explain nothing — say thanks and leave.

What did you feel in the second before you spoke, and what were you actually afraid of?