SWLA Spoken Poets Society

SWLA Spoken Poets Society Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language. - Lucille Clifton

04/23/2026

SWLA SPS April meeting today!

5:45 at The Charmed Page - Bookstore

Final poets check in below.

04/10/2026

I am both
the strongest
and the weakest man
that I have ever known.

I can overcome storms,
weather tragedy,
and surmount pain.

But this sickness in my soul
is something I can't shake,

it follows me like a shadow,
it haunts me like a memory.

And yet
who would I even be
without it?

- tales and ink

04/06/2026

The April meeting of the SWLA SPS is coming.

April 23rd at The Charmed Page

Stay tuned for more news soon.

Final poets check in in the comments.TONIGHT! 3-12-26The SWLA Spoken Poets Society meets.Where souls come to be unburden...
03/12/2026

Final poets check in in the comments.

TONIGHT! 3-12-26

The SWLA Spoken Poets Society meets.
Where souls come to be unburdened.
Where words aren’t judged but are set free, and felt.

5:45pm at The Charmed Page

Bring a poem, bring a friend.

"you ask what I have done with my life. why I am 22 with so many unfinished selves. so many futures I could not commit t...
03/11/2026

"you ask what I have done with my life. why I am 22 with so many unfinished selves. so many futures I could not commit to. but you don't know how much of my time has been spent keeping myself alive.”
- Lora Mathis

March Meeting of the SWLA SPS
tomorrow March 12th 5:45
At The Charmed Page

03/07/2026

Welp. File this under “things I shouldn’t do at 2AM”: I made the March calendar late at night like a gremlin with a laptop… and somehow my brain fully skipped over the fact that I have family obligations the week of the 16th. 😅🫠

Which means I can’t stay late after the shop closes that week —which means I had to shuffle a couple things around like I’m playing calendar Tetris on hard mode.

What changed:
📌 Children’s Author Meeting ➜ moved to Friday, March 27
❌ Teen Writers Group ➜ canceled this month (I know. 😕)
✨ BUT teens are absolutely welcome at the Bayou Writers Meeting on March 21 — come hang and meet other writers!

Updated March lineup:
🗓️ March 12 — Poetry Open Mic Night | Share Your Original Poetry in Lake Charles with SWLA Spoken Poets Society
🗓️ March 14 — Indie Ink Market (local authors + makers!)
🗓️ March 21 — Bayou Writers Meeting (teens welcome!)
🗓️ March 25 — Everybody Scream Horror Book Club with Everybody Scream Horror Book Club
🗓️ March 26 — FIRST EVER Local Author Book Club 🎉
Wolf March Meeting: Hometown Pages Local Author Book Club | SWLA
🗓️ March 27 — Children & Young Adult Authors & Aspiring Writers Meetup at The Charmed Page Bookstore
🗓️ March 28 — Booked & Crafty: TBR Knockout Boards
✨ Plus: our other writers meetings still happen Monday evenings.

Save this post so the updated dates don’t jump-scare you later 👀 and comment what you’re coming to: 🖤 Horror / 🐺 WOLF / ✍️ Writers / 🎨 Booked & Crafty. Need details? DM us “MARCH” and we’ll get you sorted.
•
•
•
•

03/03/2026

“Rich Man”

I woke up this morning
The richest man alive
I poured me some black coffee
And I kissed my lovely wife
I walked out of the door
Yelling I would be home soon
And darling don't you worry
I'll be poor again by noon

First I bought some breakfast
For a woman on the street
And I told her to buy breakfast
For each person that she sees
Went to the supermarket
And bought every grocery
Then I bought the store itself
And made each item in it free

I went to the doctors
Then asked to foot thе bill
The receipt had lots of zеroes
But it wasn't a big deal
Cause then I bought the hospital
When the doctors asked me why
I told them no one on this planet
Should pay to stay alive

Then I bought the banks
And gave dollars out like candy
Cause lord knows when a dollar bill
Could really come in handy
You might need something to write on
Or something dry to burn
But a dollar isn't something
We should all be forced to earn

I'd buy my wife some flowers
From the local corner store
Pay each customer's tuition
Before I walked out the door
Then I'd write a check to buy
Each university
And give out cats at graduation
In lieu of a degree

I'd walk through the door
With flowers in my hand
And my wife would ask me how it felt
To be a wealthy man
It didn't last me long I'd say
And it's not even noon
But I spent my last few dollars
Buying the two of us the moon

- Emily anne

03/02/2026

“Silence”

Silence

Silence

I hate.. silence

Because silence doesn’t really mean silence.

Silence means thoughts.
Silence means pain.
Silence means fear.
Silence means truth.

So I become noise.
I hum.
I talk.
I sing.
I tap.
I read.
I listen.

But never to the silence.

Silence.

I hate silence..
Because silence doesn’t mean silence.

People say you need to learn to sit alone with your own thoughts. Learn to hear God. But how do you do that when the thoughts arent yours at all. And he won’t answer you?

I sit in silence. Meditating, silently begging him for something anything. A word. A nudge. A proof.

But all I get is silence…

So I sit and I listen. But without music or sound it’s all comes rushing in as if it’s been waiting in the foyer all year leaning against the door waiting for the slightest chance at silence.

Silence.

I hate silence..
Because silence doesn’t mean silence.

Silence means hearing the screams from the other room. While you’re sitting in your closet crying unable to understand why we keep coming back.

Silence means the sounds of doors slamming, feet stomping, fists…

Silence.

Silence means hearing him under his breath using words we were told not to say.

Silence means the sound of laying in bed hearing her cry on the other end of the hall.

Silence means the sound of mom please don’t go.

Silence means the sound of “what was my dad really like?”

Silence means the sound of years I can’t remember.

Silence doesnt mean silence.

And i hate silence.

- anonymous SWLA SPS member

03/01/2026

For as long as I can remember
And as far back as I can recall

My role has always been the guardian,
the shepherd, the protector,
The place for you to land
If ever you should fall.

The Spine that is always upright,
And in place to keep things in order—
To always ensure that you are loved in full
Never in 5ths 3rds or quarters

For you there are no boundaries
No line that I will not cross
No feat that Im unable conquer
For you there is nothing I won't do
regardless of the cost

I will always be one to do the hard things
That you feel unable to face,

The one you can run to
When you’ve been abused,
Exploited, taken advantage of
And ultimately effaced.

Fret not for I can handle the weight.
I will carry that heavy load.
I will shoulder your burdens and worries
Without recompense or a sense of being owed

I can see the pain in your heart
hear the struggle between your words
I will always stand in the gap for you
For 'i love you' isn't just something you say
Even John Mayer knows that love is a verb

When I come running to alleviate your worries
And eliminate the threat...
Why do you flee the fray.
Forsaking my fealty and fervor,
Leaving me fraught with futility,
Frustrated and forlorned.

For I would have followed,
Fended, or fought for you
To the death and Evermore.

A reality I've been unable to face
I now stand nose to nose
As painful as it may be
I can clearly see the choice
that you regrettably/unforgettably chose

If a picture is worth a thousand words
Then each word alike,
a piece of my heart, now possesses
A picture and a memory
and 1000 years
Worth of unforgetting

I can't help but focus on the fractures
In a picture that has only ever been viewed
Through lenses of a rose-colored hue.
Standing face to face
With a history
That has drastically been distorted.
Finally awakened to the fact
That the grace, protection, and love
That has always been freely given,
For me, it was never afforded.
My reverence is not reciprocal
Unless I want to face the fact
I have no one to stand in my stead
No one to fill the gap

All that has been revealed
Lets me know right where I stand
As long as I live I now know
It's best that I should never fall.

- anonymous member SWLA SPS

Address

Lake Charles, LA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when SWLA Spoken Poets Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category