Ode to the Stage-Frightened

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In the wings, a heart’s drumming, a silent, frantic beat,
A moment’s pause, a breath drawn, a swift and hasty retreat.
The mind’s a whirlwind, thoughts scatter, a tempest unconfined,
A step forward, a journey fraught, with fears of every kind.

The spotlight beckons, a siren’s call, to the stage, I’m drawn near,
Each step an echo in the void, each breath laced with fear.
Time’s cruel trick, it slows, it stalls, a languid, viscous flow,
My body’s heat, a furnace blast, a nervous, fiery glow.

Words once known, now strangers seem, elusive, taunting sprites,
My tongue a weight within my mouth, the script takes on new heights.
Eyes upon me, a sea of stares, a judgment harsh and keen,
Imaginations wild and fierce, of failures unforeseen.

The silence stretches, a chasm wide, a void of expectant air,
A beat, a pause, a hush descends, a stillness hard to bear.
The inner critic, loud and shrill, a voice that’s all too real,
It speaks of doubt, of looming shame, of all that I might feel.

Yet, within the storm, a whisper soft, a flicker of the light,
A call to arms, to brave the stage, to stand and face the fright.
For in the act of facing fear, a strength begins to rise,
A courage found, a voice that’s clear, beneath the open skies.

The words take flight, a melody, a rhythm found anew,
The stage, once foe, now ally true, a path I dare pursue.
The crowd, a blur, the lights, a haze, a world of just the now,
I speak, I breathe, I claim the space, to the fear, I will not bow.

In the dance of light and shadow, where time resumes its pace,
I find my footing, sure and strong, in this performative space.
The heat, a glow, no longer fierce, but a warmth that spurs me on,
The stage fright’s plight, a conquered fear, a battle fought and won.

So let the curtains rise and fall, let the applause ring sweet,
For every soul that braves the stage, knows stage fright’s bitter-sweet.
It’s the fire that tests, the forge that molds, in the theater’s grand design,
And every act, a victory, in this artful, human line.

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