A Performance Piece--inspired by a graduating senior's slam poetry
go back to spring days
where children played
and boys and girls went to high school plays
eyes on the stage
velvet curtains sway
red and deep, like Chardonnay
open Act I.
the players played,
they made gestures.
over the top, dramatic
they acted out the story
shouting their lines and
singing their hearts out and
falling in love.
the curtains came down for the end of Act I
casting shadows on the stage and
the players froze.
the children rushed out to buy snacks at the bake sale
change clanging,
that metallic ring,
in their pockets.
the intermission came
a fifteen minute dose of reality
the boy and the girl they stood in a courtyard
outside the school.
they talked--
no, they didn't.
they stood and they looked
at one another
like two dogs in the park
or two babies crawling on the ground for the first time!
dragging their legs behind them.
the air crisp and clear
a light breeze
like a movie!
a Sound of Music moment
Rolf and Liesel
although we all know how that ends
with Liesel escaping
scaling
those mossy green hills.
wind whistling, leaves whirling, branches rustling
everything comes alive
with color and clarity.
a Wizard of Oz moment.
then slowly, or quickly,
because that's not the point
the rain came
with a smash of lightning.
or maybe it fell
gently, in slow motion.
isn't it amazing how it can rain so hard, you can't even see it?
the lights dimmed
time for Act II
they came crashing
through the door
and took their seats.
the real stars shone again,
with makeup, and wit, savvy, and glamor
talent and youth like a Hollywood legend.
legends, who never die,
they take root like a flower
or a weed
and shoot upward forever.
those actors they almost always hit the perfect note-
the show came to a close
a miraculous ending! fantastic!
you'd never believe!
the bad guy came back in the end
and he wasn't caught either
what d'you know?
that thing was magic, like a broadway show
my mom took me to when I was little,
except for she didn't
I'd never been to New York.
but it only cost- five dollars!
after the show
they lined up to give their friends flowers;
because it was spring!
tulips and daisies and peonies
great big globes of velvet, oh!
how wonderful
some of the soft petals dropped to the floor
drifting and landing like those propeller things
that come off trees.
but it was alright because it was spring
where brooks bubble
and liquid sunshine works magic
and vines stretch up
breaking through the good earth
winding up the lattice in my mother's tomato garden
mother kneels down
in the deep, rich earth
and digs, like a worm.
in spring, you could dig down forever
pulling out magic like a magician pulls scarves from a hat
and in spring
you could see magicians and fantastical things at the circus
and the colorful lights play up the drama.
elephants tumble across the stage
like girls in ballets
with ribbons in their hair.
after the recital daddy took the girls for ice cream
and the girl pressed her nose to the glass
plump finger outstretched, pointing.
and the girl behind the counter plucks up the scoop
fingering it like a precious ornament
and plunges it into the cool, sweet cream
on a cone it is like a high tower,
a sandcastle
or the forts children make before dinnertime
out of blankets, forts for princesses-
in some worlds they're real.
and the sweet air, honeysuckle dew drops
as sweet as her dreams or her favorite teacher's perfume.
she dug her hand into the rusty bucket
the grubby hand emerges
this time with a small, silver fish she caught in the stream
oh! the hem of her dress is damp
but it is springtime so her mother laughs it off.
she looks at the fish and says to the girl
that it has to go back to where it came from.
so the girl skips back down the street and dumps the bucket over
the water floods the edge of the streambank
and the silver skimmer edges its way back into the water
disappearing under the surface.
the girl who rode her bike
fearlessly, and skinned her knee
and went to the farmers' market on Saturday morning
only to be stung by bees, dismisses this
and goes running into spring.
She runs down the hall
and buys two tickets to the spring musical.
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