-- In the Spotlight –-

John Herlihy

All the world is a stage, radiating,

Countless people there ready and waiting.

The darkness of closed eyes fills me,

The silence in my open ears scares me.

A ray of spotlight now shines upon my head,

A silhouette in the smoke where dreams are fed.

The “all quiet” sign blinks as the world sits in hush,

I look to the audience but feel an uneasy rush.

The pause between beats of the heart and breath,

An interlude to briefly inhabit the two sides of death.

Flower petals sing of beauty, but they have no voice,

The poet’s search for truth a duty, with no other choice.

The moment has come to free the bird into release,

The poem to fly into eager ears with its lilting peace.

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy 14 December 2018