Interview with Bobby Paramo, from First Friday Open Mic at Dagny’s on October 4, 2024
By: Carla Joy Martin
There was a stalwart crew of poets and friends who attended this month’s Open Mic in the backroom of Dagny’s Coffee Shop. Participants were encouraged to share original verse as well as poems in the public domain that may have inspired them. Those who shared were Portia Choi, Tim Chang, Gabriel Desado, Carla Joy Martin, Christopher Robert Craddock, Alan McAfee, Bobby Paramo, Miss Reaction, and Saxon Cross-Peavler.
We asked Bobby to share the four original vibrant poems he read that night:
Unseen, Unheard
To be amongst friends & still not right.
What is this lingering loneliness???
Why wont you please, PLEEAAASE just pass???
A want to belong an unseen hurdle.
Loneliness riding BITCH
Loneliness riding Shotgun.
The want to, Ride on your own.
To feel unseen, unheard, unwanted.
The dagger digs deep coursing its way through your very being.
Viewing one you love tied in unsound choices & not a damn thing, you can do,
Left powerless.
My Heart Desires More.
No more corners, shut doors, shadows, or crumbs.
I declare….demand.
DEMAAAND, whats mine.
My Heart Desires More
No more corners, shut doors, shadows, or crumbs.
I declare….demand.
DEMAAAND, whats mine.
Q. What inspired you to write Unseen, Unheard? What is its back story?
A. My inspiration spiraled from on going feelings of feeling different and wanting to belong
From seeing one you love get by with crumbs of emotional love. Realizing my worth, setting boundaries, and demanding whats mine.
Love, respect, and grace.
Dream Time Chatter
My heart screams a million beautiful things.
My mind screams SHUT THE “F” UP.
SHH, SHH, SHHHHHH.
“We” my mind speaking to heart.
We have not received any confirmation of your
“OH WOW’S!!! ×3
We dont even know if is mutual or even exist.
We weren’t even looking for any of the emotions you say your feeling.
So STOP & Shoosh already.
We agreed none of that anymore.
We’re content single self reliant.
Easier not to expect anything & avoid disappointment!!
So shit up heart, with all your
“who is this”?
“oh wow”×3
I know them,
neeeeeed to be around, near
& Looooove them with all…..
Alllll of me.
Brain speaking to heart….
If I could, for the simplest of 10 seconds separate myself,
I’d go over & kick your ass & shut you up myself.
Heart to brain in a teasing manner.
” Nah,nah,nah,nah, naaaah”
Brain…..FUCK.
Here we go again, another shit ride to disappointment.
Don’t say i didn’t tell ya so.
Me: Stupid Chatter
My body- I just wanna sleep, can both of you shut up ????
Q. What inspired you to write Dream Time Chatter? What is its back story?
A. This is inspired by an actual inner conversation I had one evening. Annoyed with all the noise, I thought it’d be entertaining to scribble it down.
Something Simple
The sound of silence.
Is it really silent???
Mental thoughts, heart beats pulsing, sweet sweat forming on a brow.
No outside influence, then why is it so loud?
Think, think, think.
Is silence real?
Q. What inspired you to write Something Simple? What is its back story?
A. One morning my coworker and I were headed to a job site in silence. I heard the wind whistling through the windows, the vrooms of passing cars, the thoughts in my mind. I pulled out my phone and scribbled this one away
The Weed
We’re all familiar, its widely known.
Quite popular because of its familiarity.
Like the saying goes, negative attention is better than none, we all know.
With the effort & willingness to hide & blend in the beauty of a tailored lawn or colorfulness of an annual bloom.
Camouflaged until all is gone, alone for all to see what they truly are.
Great for false fullness & luster, at the end unwanted.
Water you’ll grow.
But truly wanted…..you’ll never know.
Q. What inspired you to write The Weed? What is its back story?
A. Experiencing and witnessing the deceptive facade of genuineness
Q. Do you like to read poetry? If you do, what poets have influenced you? Who have messages you connect with, or styles you admire? What other things inspire you – Music? Art? Movies? News? Family?
A. I enjoy reading the likes of Jack Kerouac, John Fonte, Henry Miller, and Charles Bukowski. They’re gritty and off the beaten path.
I have a variety of ways to tap into my creative flow
My top go to is music. Recently my brother Paul has gifted some of his instrumental work and its been outstandingly inspirational along with his encouragement to write again.
A good cigar and a tasty drink .From beer, wine, or rum help stir and bring a creative flow
Q. What advice would you give to other folks wanting to create poems? How do you make a poem? Do you have a special place you go to, or music you listen to, etc.? Give us a glimpse into your creative process
A. My advice to anyone who’d like to write. Write!
Break walls, don’t restrain your creativity with limitations of you don’t know how.
Yes you do. You have feelings right?
Not to long ago I had a stranger at a local reading express to me “since you’re a poet” those words hit me like train.
All i could think is no I’m not.
Just be real, be you, be authentic, express, share, let it out.