The theatre is part of my soul
Just like a little box
And a world we worked to create
And we perform in front of darkness
Since we can’t see their eyes
Through the shine of the lights on us.
We’re on another level of sanity;
We can be insane if we want
And everything’s changing every once and a while
Cause we don’t live for the aftermath;
We don’t live for the cheers of the audience
Or for the “good job’s”.
We live for the moment,
For the family,
For the seconds where it’s just us
And we can be free
And we can jump and yell
And just be crazy
And we don’t feel judged because the people
Sitting on darkened seats
Only see what we want them to.
We are the ringmasters of this show.
We’re busy taming our lions
And walking too-thin tightropes
Kicking down doors
And destroying every single wall
That ever stood between us and
Who we were always going to be.
The theatre is my life
And the stage is my story
So that’s where you can find me
And that’s where I’m learning to speak
And I’m learning how to find a family
And that I’m not hated by everyone.
Watch me stand on my feet
Watch me slam open my door
And sit down on my bed
To write something to raise me from the dead
And to wake up those who are sleeping.
Watch me get up on a stage
With a ghost light brightening the paper in my hands
Cause a long time ago there was just me
And my words
And my mind
And not a single ghost light
No audience
Just me.
Somehow I found the lights shining onto me
As I’m standing in front of my peers
In front of people who know me as silent
Who think I’ve got nothing to say
When I’m instead a gurgling volcano
Ready to explode.
I’m going to destroy Pompeii
Bury it deep under ash.
I speak the first words I let them hear
“Go and fly”
Something written for my friends
And I chose to share for chance
The light shining
And I’m screaming a message
About how I’m not worthless
And they’re clapping in the audience
They’re calling for more
And they want more
They love it
They see me
And for once I wasn’t silent
For once I could speak
And I think I proved all of them wrong.
These words are the key
To walking on that stage
To living a life where I’m living for the moment
And the aftermath is a bittersweet sacrifice
For something I worked so hard to achieve
They say you’re crazy for dreaming about Broadway
But nothing I’ve ever dreamed has been crazy
Because here I am
I’ve got these stories being shared
And I’m speaking through poems
And to me
These are more than words on a page.
These are my breath
These are my life
My key to the stage
With the lights shining.
I’m ensemble.
Not many know who I am.
But I’m working my way up.
I’m getting to the front
And I can’t see the audience
But this is the moment
And it’s in my grasp
I can’t let this race past me
Grab it
I’m gonna audition
I’m gonna try
I’m not shying back yet.
I live on the stage
No matter how many lights shine on my soul
No matter how many words I speak
I’ll tell you a little secret:
I am made of shadows.
Copyright 2020 Shadow Wolf Studios