Hushed: The Words of an Introvert [LiteratureCollection]

I Remember, You Remember

I remember gawking at a broad stage,

a tall microphone stand, and a plump hostess

with more freckles than there are existing comprehensible terms.

She announced my name and, for an awful instant,

my heart was unbeating.

Ruby-colored curtains pulled asunder in avid welcome,

yet I grew stiff to the nub.

The other contestants, dazzling in their feathery, glittery garments,

did not notice, too concerned for themselves.

My sandal soles are a slip-and-slide of perspiration.

Stepping into the blinding lights, irises ablaze,

just a chasm of irregular dimness was beheld;

"Sing your heart out," mother cheered from within.

An invisible force must have pressed fast-forward on time's remote

because I exit wondering if

I had ever opened my mouth. 

You remember wriggling around

in an antiqued, velvet chair and the delicate dwindle of applause.

Before you, a curly-haired woman practically swallows down

the microphone as she babbles.

Evidently, someone had excess caffeine that morning.

From the sidelines, a petite gal,

whose pale skin was depicted as even paler

due to the radiance of the lights, stumbled on stage.

Or had all the blood effused from those chubby cheeks?

Instruments commenced. She quivered head to toe.

"Sing your heart out!" You acclaimed, yearning to quench her nerves.

She opened her mouth and, in an inhale,

the entrancement of the theater engulfs her being.

Embracing the music, she swam like a Little Mermaid.

Her gown is her tail, the stage—her sea,

her voice—her treasure.

In an auditorium chock-full of foreign faces,

everyone and everything was inconspicuous.

Except for a single ray of lustrous spotlight

that granted any one with engrossment.

A beaming face was replaced by a face of sheer timidity.

Speakers pounded sightlessly,

like a gorilla's hands against its black breasts.

The young girl fidgeted, seemingly ready to faint.

Her glossy lips parted.

A mother sat on the cliff of her seat promptly,

anticipating the lullaby that hadn't been played for so long.

"Sing your heart out!" She cried,

fatigued eyes cleansed and freshened with lukewarm tears.

Mother and daughter,

eternally bonded through the theater.

It's their secret; no one will ever know but them.