**In, out, in, out, **

**breath caught like a bird, **

**stage fright knots my stomach, **

**a spotlight blazing— **

**skin tingling, heart racing.**

****

**The curtain whispers secrets, **

**each heartbeat, a drumroll, **

**among faces, blurred, waiting, **

**my moment to shine. **

****

**Lights, camera, action—**

**I step into the glow, **

**feeling every eye **

**pierce through my mask, **

**and for a flicker, **

**I am not just me, **

**but a thousand dreams. **

****