Ghosts Of The Theater
I bow to the invisible crowd.
Stretched out before me, filling every row.
Though all that is out there are shadows.
Cast across the seats of red velvet.
The ghosts of the theater.
I step back and the curtain falls at my feet.
In my head the crowd applauses, but reality is far more sour.
Silence is the ringing I hear in my ears.
Not the clapping of an awed crowd.
Not the appreciation of an entertained audience.
I step off the varnished wood of the stage.
I glance back and the spotlight fades.
All that is left is a dim puddle of light.
Soon to be a filled in by the hungry shadowy figures know as the ghosts of the theater.