Open Mic
Open Mic The names are pronounced, the applause rises And each prodigy, each genius, Each creator of worlds Steps, carefully, across the room And takes up position at the microphone The first presents us with puzzles Enigmatic sectioned images to jigsaw together Meanings of my own to create, discover, forget And I wish I could do that The next has us folded double Tears the breath from our lungs and the tears from our eyes With laughter uncontrollable And I wish I could do that The next tells it straight and righteous Gives us the facts, real and undeniable The anger, the injustice, the honesty, the wrongs And I wish I could do that The next blankets us with a smothering embrace A safe space, cozy, secure, and then rips it away Reveals our howling, empty loneliness And I wish I could do that The names are pronounced, the applause rises And in a twisting instant of panic, I realise The name I just heard was my own September 2024