For a moment,

All I can see are stars

Bright, hot, and burning

The rumble of the cheap stage below me,

Threatening to collapse with every boom of the mic.

Handprints sear my shoulders,

Ushering me forward for the inevitable piercing of eyes.

All on me.

All deliberating.

What I wouldn’t give for a warm fire,

The only light being a lamp in the corner.

But all I can feel is cold,

Curtains shifting under a dripping AC.

The crowd is silent,

My footsteps are loud,

The breath is stolen from my lungs,

And for a moment,

all I can see are stars.