Emotions

Tom Conroy

As he waits by the stage,

The lights of humanity glare

And he suddenly sees how

Little he is… It is time. The lights fade and

Darkness erupts.

It chokes and suffocates.

He screams silently

As the darkness lives.

Its fingers explore his mind

As he prepares.

The beat begins and the light rises.
He is ready.

A melody, sweet and rich,

Resonates and begins to move within the beat.

He is wrapped in a cocoon of music,

Feeling the strength of movement.

Imitating the music,

He contorts and contracts to the music's thumping bass.

Squirming his way across the stage,

He looks like a snake shedding its skin.

Unaware of onlookers,

The boy becomes isolated.

Dancing within his own world,

For himself.

As the music reaches a climax,

He transforms into a tear

Of pain and sorrow.

As the music finishes with a bang,

The tear splashes onto the ground,

Forming a puddle.

Clapping and cheering erupt.

Spent, he drags himself offstage, And collapses into a heap. The boy weeps silently,

At a man of nothing.