ONSTAGE (Writer's Island prompt)

UNTIL YOU’VE BEEN ONSTAGE

Blistering hot spotlight captures you
setting boundaries you cannot cross, even with your eyes
Just beyond, people seated in rows shift impatiently
waiting to hear if you’re worth their time
and their ticket

Below, the stage surface reveals
every heel print of every actor whose feet touched it
(since its last cleaning)
Above, an aurora borealis of gelled hues
dancing on the black ceiling

You step up to the invisible line
It’s your moment to show them what you’re made of
Until you’ve been onstage
You can’t understand the peril, the rush, the beauty
the bliss
(c) 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil