i'm sitting now alone
in this big auditorium
just thinking to myself
and smiling
about this concert
this endless performance that
has been playing around
in my brain
all the music
all these instruments
so big bold brassy
and the colors...
they dazzled
and the set design?
spot on!
and the singing?
oh those beautiful voices
they fell like pearldrops
upon my tender ears
and i've been looking around!
so much to see
and tapping my toes!
so much to hear!
and breathing it all in
ahhhhh!
it's exhausting
and sometimes
i just need to rest
and sit alone
in the big dark room
before a huge and empty stage
and just listen to nothing
but the sound of my own echoes for just a little while
i hear the door creak
and the cleaning man comes in
with his big old broom
and he starts to sweep
he sees me and says a cheery
hello
hello
hello
echoes you know
and i nod
and i sit back
and i listen as he whistles
the sweetest song that i think
i have ever ever heard
and he pushes that broom
and he coughs a little
"cigarettes," he says
"bad bad habit!"
he comes over to me
and shows me pictures of his wife
the family the kids
cute kids
and he tells me how his little life
has brought him so much joy
and how happy he is...
and yes...a grandson is even
on the way
i smile and i wish him well
and he moves out of the arena
and out of my life
and i sit alone once more
with only my thoughts to amuse me
the curtains here are so pretty
lush, velvetty yellow and red
i like the way they swoop
when they draw open to present the next act
which will undoubtedly feature
some lovely little person
made up in heavy pancake batter
lamenting about his or he life
and his or her many perils
for my own amusement
and perhaps even to gain some insight
into the life that is their own
when they sit in the dark
and think alone
and admire curtains and such
if they do such crazy things
i know i do
and here i am!
doing it again
waiting for the next show
waiting for that orchestra to warm up once more
and sweep me off my feet
into yet another extravaganza
perfectly cast perfectly pitched
the reviews, you know,
they're gonna be terrific
and if they're not?
oh well!
there's always yet even another spectacular show
just waiting in the wings
(we just have to endure the rest of this one first
we must...it's the theatre!)
and now i'm gazing up at the beautiful high ceiling
the enormous chandelier there
that someone has taken great pains to keep sparkling
it doesn't sparkle much in the dark
but it still impresses
and i sigh
and i look at my watch
and i stand up
and make my way to the stage
and i sing
a little note that his been banging around
in my head for 20 or so years
and i listen
as it bounces off the walls
and right back at me
it sounds so different now

i look around at all the empty blue chairs
i smile and i take a bow
(because that is what we do
in polite society...
we take bows)
and i return to my seat.