Audition

Standing at the foot of the stage staring into the spotlight
Fearful of the steps that may make me slip
The peephole of the cyclorama they must mend
Staring back at me, the audience, the view one way
One more lieko drops a tinted blue shine
A washed out facial habit

I step away from the edge a bit
Flight or fear mechanism, fear of flight
To get a grip I wish there was a sip of moonshine
A cough, a squint, and puckered lips
I think of the six train on the subway
The one that got me here to this end

Their pious air, their fashion trends
Their over critical tidbits
I just need to get away
But this cigarette will do. “Do you have a light?”
He smiles as his lighter he flips
In the shadows, it creates a metallic shine

All the passengers commented on the absence of sunshine
But in this car every splinter bends
Like a prism, creating the colors of my paper clips
Which reminds me, my resumè can’t show I played a rabbit
Or that for three years I stepped out of the limelight
So, now upon the stage, before the auditors, I sway

And again, I just want to get away
I don’t know if these others I could outshine
So bright a star above the rest, a brilliant starlight
In this business, one has no friends
Although their constant presence becomes expected habit
And they mark your sarcastic tones up to the Freudian slip

I swear for them, I’d do back flips
Eat fire, climb every mountain, drive every highway
I sit with the other hopefuls who haven’t the slightest tidbit
But, it’s no longer my time to shine
I just have to hold my tongue and make amends
And search for another light

This time from a casting director, I get the slip
I put the cigarette away
Finally I can breathe a bit