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Grounded- A Spoken Word Poem

Written by Rochelle Reynolds, April 2020

I read the news today

Oh boy

The dreamers have won

The world is now one

United in a terrifying Petri dish

Russian Roulette with invisible guns

While I'm firing blanks at the same old targets

So what have you lost this decade?

I had spent so long feeling stuck at the station

Limiting communication

Highly impatient, waiting

For validation

And commiseration

Trapped in humiliation

And alienation

Hiding behind my education, racing against hesitation, waiting

For a sign that I shouldn't quit

Getting sick of it

Saw my exit so I split

Yes I booked it

I landed in darkness yet was blinded by lights

Spent the trip feeling nauseous, but never lost sight 

Of what I wanted to do

I learned fast and I grew

Sure at times I might have stumbled but I never fell through

And it worked, or was working

Was finding some peace

I earned my seat at the table just in time for the feast

And now?

Hopes and dreams, aspirations hanging on by a thread

Mind's fraying, soul's tattered

And heart's nearly shred

Spilled guts laying tangled like yarn in a basket

Tapestry being wove but the world went and trashed it

This change is drastic.

So I've been exorcising daemons with exercise

Go on, add another mile

One more set

They don't have your stamina, never forget

Lungs burning, heart pounding in your chest like a drum

Now don't you ever stop to think about what you're running from

Like the pressure that you're under now to just stay afloat

Doing anything you can to not go down as a joke

As somebody who couldn't cut it, didn't have what it took

To turn over a new leaf and start rewriting the book

Keep reinventing, redefining, inspiring

When it's taking all I have to keep myself from expiring

And convincing myself it's somehow all meant to be

Ooh, lucky me

A universal decree

To slow down, take a breath, use the time to relax

Remind myself the whole world has gone a little off-track

The fact is I'm just not there yet; I'm trying but

It's hard to have your wings clipped when you just started flying

"Animal Instinct"- An Improvised Monologue

Created & Performed by Rochelle Reynolds, March 2020

This piece was loosely inspired by the now legendary 

Carole Baskin from the Netflix documentary Tiger King. It is also one of my submissions to the 2020 World Monologue Games.

Crimes of the Heart- Monologue

Written by Beth Henley, Performed by Rochelle Reynolds

Crimes of the Heart is a wonderful Canadian play with three fabulous lead female roles--a great choice for female identifying performers looking for material. This was another one of my submissions to the 2020 World Monologue Games.

"Getaway"- An Improvised Monologue

Created and Performed by Rochelle Reynolds

This piece was shot in one take out on Georgian Bay one evening in July. It's my third and final submission to the 2020 World Monologue Games.

The Cat Dream

Written by Rochelle Reynolds, June 2020

In my dreams I killed a cat;

Imagine that.

He looked a lot like mine

But thinner

And older

And mangy

And rough

But more than that, he was friendly

He curled in my arms like he trusted me

And I chopped off his head

To make sure he was dead

A semblance of mercy...

The thing is, I botched it.

The knife didn't cut clean

So I pressed down on his body

As it wriggled and spazzed

And sawed in a panic

Right down to the bone

He didn't stop fighting 'til then.

When it was over, I felt heavy and numb

A cat's life is over, and I'm dead inside

I found out later it was all for not

The crisis for which murder became the only solution was averted

Hallelujah, Praise Be.

Too bad about the cat, but c'est la vie.

So dream time carried on as it does

Fragmented, askew, and  entirely odd

But when the cat died, so did a facade

For when I awoke, it was plain to see

That the cat was a symbol, and I'd really killed me.

Haiku- Various

Written by Rochelle Reynolds, May-July 2020

Funny how your worth

Is of infinite value

Until you ask for pay

Office life drama

Mutiny on horizon

Stop clicking your pen

Swear it was right here

I am starting to lose faith

Squirrels finding nuts

It has been three days

And choppers are still circling

Missing man in Beach

Making future plans

Will we ever see them through

Improv over Zoom

Brain tied in knots

Synapses are not firing

Record on repeat

You reap what you sow

Somehow rings untrue right now

2020 vibes

What if thunder storms

Are God ripping the sky up

Turning a new leaf

Emilia- Othello

Performed by Rochelle Reynolds, February 2021

© 2023 by QUARTER CENTURY THEATRE
 

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