Izzy Botos

Grade: 12

Hathaway Brown School

Instructor: Elizabeth Armstrong

A Night At the Theatre

Poetry

A Night At the Theatre

My heart beats with the rhythm of anticipation
Anticipation as I sit in a velvet chair gripping the program
the program filled with fictional names and unfamiliar faces
Unfamiliar faces that will fill the theater with voices
Voices that I long to hear underneath the bright lights

The bright lights that start to dim
The orchestra begins to play
The curtains open
My heart stops…

And it begins again

As my ears fill with the texture of harmonies and melodies
My heart fills with the need for more
As my eyes fill with colors of lights, costumes, and sets
My heart is transported to the world on the stage

Song after song, Act after Act
My mind tries to process
As my heart becomes connected to a place I cannot go

And just as abruptly as it started
The world fades marking the end
Instead of the characters, actors emerge
Causing the house to roar with applause

My mind forces my shaking hands together
The audience whistles and cheers for the marvel they witnessed
But my heart cannot wrap around the end

I am stunned and all at once it hits
My heart forces my eyes to spill
No sound escapes only the emotional waterfall
Sorrow has no role in the tears that form
It seems to be the work of a hundred tiny butterflies
Trying to escape the millions of emotions in my heart
My mind cannot comprehend

I leave with my heart and mind in agreement
A transformation has occurred
What a wonderful night at the theater