My newest adventure is underway. It has lead me to take up residency in a new blog,
Like the Feathers of an Arrow (affectionately known as LFA).

...don't open...don't throw away... is not disappearing completely (not yet),
but postings here will be limited.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

9 waiting eternally

he hovers patiently--sword at the ready
off stage--waiting for his cue

it never comes

the lines are all wrong--no laughter echoes
in the aisles
the costumes are strange--bright brilliant colors lacking
on the racks--and his cue

it never comes

the backdrop doesn't fit--seascapes should coat
the curtains
the scenery changes--night in and night out
on stage--and his cue

in never comes

he hovers patiently--whispering his lines
in his head--waiting for his cue

tonight's the night

deep in his bones he can tell--though
the faces are different
the costumes seem a tad unfamiliar
the backdrop feels a bit off
but the lines
they definitely are a perfect fit

tonight's the night

he hovers patiently--his sword at the ready
off stage--waiting for his cue

tonight's the night

he takes two steps--his sword at the ready
impatience finally having set in--his feet fall out
beneath him--crashing into memories
pools of red--curtains fall like blood dripping
from him--he whispers his lines
into the air--they fade like his last breath
waiting for his cue

it never comes

he hovers patiently--sword at the ready
off stage--waiting for his cue



"The Show Must Go On"
(Photo by Jacob Lucas)
i felt compelled upon viewing this week's One Stop Poetry's One Shoot Sunday [interview with Jacob Lucas] to zoom in on the trees on the backdrop.  while zoomed in, i thought to take look around.  i made my way across the top and down the right side--that's when he jumped out at me--for but a split second he stood there sword in hand--he faded quickly back into the wall, but remnants of him lingered in the corrosion staining the wall.  so i chose to write his endless wait...

9 comments:

  1. That endless sense of waiting to take the stage, armed and ready, for a moment that just won't come. Sounds an awful lot like life and death to me. Excellent set up and various refrains.

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  2. Good piece, good use of repetition. Solid work.

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  3. Oh my what a take and all that waiting and finally and he trips ...gives to meaning to why we should live in the moment....bkm

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  4. ugh...the waiting, prepping build up only to be never called...i hear the desire and maybe despair...

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  5. "And here on this stage, ladies and gents, we have the theater ghost. Oh you can see him, can't you just there at the edge. Try not to stare directly at him; he is prepared, he awaits his cue..and waiting still, it's never come. Moving on.." I couldn't resist. It felt a play within a play and the words were everything. Well done. Gay

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  6. really dig your take on the prompt...really get a sense of the wait...the dark discomfort it stirs within..repetition is superb here

    wonderful piece

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  7. i love repetition and you've used it very effectively. when he finally gets impatient, he trips. funny if not so tragic. a great One Shoot.

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  8. Oh, what a nice depiction of what I call "spin". Not sure if you meant it in this way, but I noticed that internal chatter that awaits...and says if only...always planning and awaiting that perfect moment.

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  9. Talk about "drama, drama, drama"! Such a sensitive look at this photo. Well done.

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