Ten minutes before it happened
we were walking towards the theatre where all the actors
smoke outside curtains, reeking of cloves
I didn't see it coming
Did you – did you suspect?
Five minutes and I still didn't know.
I was taken in by the red velvet of the seats.
The wood stage floor smells like sweat,
Dialogue is caught in the cracks
I need something urgent.
I bet you did, you knew and – and
Didn't tell me?
One minute, seconds.
The lights all dim and it's me, it's me,
I am the show,
I am the show!
“Ten Minutes Before It Happened” was printed in Crossroads, No. 8 of Inwood Indiana. Pick up the paperback from Prolific Press; the stories and poems published online are free to read here.
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