Spotlight

• Emma Johnson, Grade 8, Mt Erin Secondary College
• Poetry
• 2014

Excellence Award in the 'The Text Generation 2014' competition

My stomach ransacks itself, turning my insides over and over.
I wait for the moment when nothing and everything matters.
Silence graces the room, my heart rate increasing slightly.
My loose body purposely walks past the pristine curtain.
Rows of faces stare intently at the shadows I am concealed in.
The warm feeling that I know all too well washes over me as the
spotlight highlights my being, all the while I lose myself.
Every thought in my mind melts like butter as I begin the piece.
Every aspect comes more naturally than the last,
as if meant to be, my body filled with adrenaline.
Before my mind catches up to me, I am finished.
Every soul and hand watching burst alive, rising to their feet.
I break my stillness and walk offstage, proud of who I am.
I am proud that I possess a passion that makes me feel so
happy, so alive. A passion that makes me, me.