Balticon, day 3: Panels, Pazo, and "Pepper"

Panels filled my day today, three of them to be exact. I conducted, with great help from Jennie and Dave, the Baen Books slide show to a packed room and gave away many goodies. I later joined Dave and others on a panel on how writers began writing, and at 11:00 p.m. I participated in a panel on SF and alternative lifestyles. The panels went reasonably well and had modest but active audiences, which is as much as one can hope for.

Before the evening panels, we went to dinner at Pazo, another of Chef Cindy Wolf's restaurants. This one accents tapas and Spanish cuisine, and it was marvelous. If you have two nights in Baltimore and are seeking good meals, hit Charleston and Pazo, and you won't be sorry.

Today's special feature is a poem from a guest poet, my daughter, Sarah. This piece appeared in her school literary magazine.

---------------------------------------------------

Pepper

that day, I combed June through my hair like water
once and for all listening to far-off magnolia song
and walkie-talkie spun-shimmer buzz.
the browning grass clutched at pretty
with our footprints through it. muddled modern dinosaurs.
sabertooth boys and girls.

when we first heard the bombs in the distance,
we plundered the sidewalks like Aztec gold.
the collective you poured pepper into my veins
to sunburn me from the inside out.

that day, I combed you through my hair like water.
every unlit fuse in my body is waiting to burst
with the cumulative constant
of hot summer Saturdays
spent playing games with my shadow.

---------------------------------------------------

I'd say I was unreasonably proud of her and my son, Scott, but then they do things like this and I consider my pride completely reasonable.