Before the Show

I slip in late, the air thick with expectation,

a comforting dark that swallows me whole,

voices hush, a world in suspension,

as flickering light reveals the weight on my soul.

Shadows entwine, an embrace of the night,

the flicker of faces, all caught in a dream,

for a moment I’m lost, the worries take flight,

as the screen flickers to life, breaking the seam.