"F.O.E."
By My Sisyphean Journey
F.O.E.
That’s what you said
As I shifted uncomfortably
Family
Over
Everything
You wouldn’t take my vague answer of mine
So I guess I have to kill the mood
And make the room extra quiet
How do I lightly tell you of a single mother
Who buried her nose in the powder
And between the legs of men?
How do I gently say that I only call home because I “should”
Just to make sure they know I’m still alive?
Is there an easy way to say I’m so skittish at another’s touch because of years in my youth?
Seeing a family’s embrace still perplexes me
Even if I know that’s how it should be
You say FOE
but I must politely shift the topic
We’re not having this conversation here and now in the company of so many friends
I don’t think there’s a soft way to put it
There’s no happy ending to that story
So I simply don’t think or speak of it at all
My Sisyphean Journey is both photography and written works by an active duty Marine. You can follow him here.
What’s happening at VetRep…
Catch our interview with Logan Vath this week on the Savage Wonder Podcast.
Savage WonderGround is coming back to Alexandria, VA on April 13th. This unique performance will feature original music by Logan Vath, live art by Kris Battles, while Charles McCaffrey and Dex will lead the audience with a narrative told in spoken word and poetry. Get all the details and snag your tickets here. Special thanks to Wegman’s Carlyle for sponsoring this event!
Get your tickets to our first staged reading of the 2023 Parlor season, Speed-The-Plow, by David Mamet here.
Our first full-length playwriting contest winner, Brat by Jason Pizzarello is now going to be our first co-production workshop reading with Rockland County’s Penguin Rep Theatre. Directed by Bob Balaban (The Exonerated, Gosford Park, The French Dispatch), the readings will star Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, Avatar: The Way of Water). Workshop readings are scheduled Friday, April 14 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 15 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 16 at 2 p.m. Seating is limited. Tickets are $30 ($25 for veterans) and can be purchased online at penguinrep.org or by calling the Penguin box office at (845) 786-2873. Tickets can be purchased here.
We are currently offering multiple dates for our online and in-person Playwriting for Veterans classes, and our Acting for Beginners class is now being offered weekly every Saturday from 10am-12pm. Registration details can be found here.