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brianna
the judges liked brianna, a tiny girl from
texas with the janis joplin rasp in her voice
...the headstrong sixteen-year-old had been
on the road forever to get to the "american
idol" audition site in dallas. the judges
really liked her sunny girl-next-door looks,
her honey blonde ponytail tied with a bright
yellow ribbon, her sweet, innocent smile...
and then she went on to wow them with her soulful
rendition of a joplin favorite, "me and bobby
magee." she thanked the judges for giving her the
green light to go on to hollywood for the next big
step in the competition. she could not believe
her good fortune and told them everything was
truly possible and how her family and jesus
had brought her to this magic moment.
...just seconds before she was called into the
audition room, she'd been daydreaming about the
fourteen-year-old virgin boy she deflowered in a
ford focus the weekend before. it happened in a
mall parking lot just a mile from her home. she
was trying to remember the boy's name: justin?
jason? joshua? something with a "j" and then -
just like that - someone was summoning her
into the judging area and she suddenly forgot
about the boy. she had so many other things to
contemplate now. stardom was within her grasp
and, besides that, what's in a name anyway?
Vernon Waring is a four-time winner of international poetry competitions sponsored by Tom Howard Books; three of the winning poems - "the death of memory," "juror number twelve," and "Not A Poem" - originally appeared in Ascent Aspirations Magazine. His work has also been featured in Nerve Cowboy, First Literary Review - East, WestWard Quarterly, and The Great American Poetry Show. Mr. Waring's short fiction has been singled out for commendation in the Glimmer Train, New Millennium Writings Awards, and Soul-Making Literary Competitions. He lives in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Email: Vernon Waring
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