~ Janet Reid ~

The Audition

With heart beating faster than the pelting rain
and breath threatening to flee,
she sat crumpled on the floor.
All her life had been focused on this,
built around this moment;
this one hope for a chance.

Every muscle ached in reminiscence
of the mind numbing fury of the dance.
The music still rang in her ears,
the rhythmic beat of each step after step
still pulsed through the soles of her feet,
she sat silent as the room spun around her.

The strength needed to stand,
to make the next dignified step in her life,
had been depleted in a few short moments
ignited and extinguished,
like a match whose flame is snuffed
by one quick and calculated blow.

She shed no tears
for the energy to do so was spent,
but for several seconds of eternity
she huddled oblivious of her surroundings,
while failure threatened to rear its ugly head
and flatten her with its deafening laugh.

But as the room ceased to swirl around her
and she began to catch her breath,
her will surged up inside her once again;
hope reclaimed its hold, and she knew,
one fleeting setback would not crush her
but merely offer her a foothold to the future.


Copyright 2002 Janet Reid


Jan's Website: Poems for the Heart and Soul

Jan's poetry forum: The Poetry Factory