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Week 53 – Poem for Gordon Lightfoot by Arthur Cheeseman
December 31, 2015in Celebration of Canadian Poetry
Stage Craft
There is an energy that mere mortals cannot begin to fathom.
An aloneness that is breathtakingly real
As you step from the darkness of the wings
Into the light, in view, on view, on stage.
The words are all there. Committed to memory,
Organized. Enough mouthsful to fill an eternity.
They take up no space at all.
They wait for you, for release on cue,
summoned to the tip of your tongue,
breathed out, expelled as song.
Your eyes dart round the visible scape
One place the same as the next, yet different.
You lock your focus on a light at the back
Disconnecting yourself from the faces, so many faces.
Hoping not to be derailed by any one of them.
Their power to strike a familiar note
Pushes against your will to stay in the groove,
in the moment. Resolved.
In the end you take their hopes, their fragile dreams,
and too often their love, carried on your back, vicariously.
And for a small few, the willing weight of their costly affirmation.
They see themselves in the mirror you hold.
Some deny the selves they see.
Your words an unwitting roadmap.
Every line a possibility. Recognition.
In a moment, you blink and they’re gone.
You roil your lips and pull more words from the vault
Words that may never tell of your risk,
your loss and the pieces you leave behind,
invisible now as the ticket stubs that litter the floor.
by Arthur Cheeseman
Permission to use this poem has been given by the author and by the publisher.
50+ Poems for Gordon Lightfoot: Anthology – Over 50 poets from across Canada and some from the United States pay tribute in verse to world-renowned folksinger and songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. This handsome new volume from The Old Brewery Bay Press includes poems by Poets Laureate, Griffin Poetry Prize winners, Governor Generals Award winners and numerous others. All speak to the richness and depth of his immense cultural legacy here in Canada and abroad.
Publication is possible through the generous support of The Scott Griffin Foundation and the Mariposa Folk Foundation
This book officially launched at Hugh’s Room in Toronto on Gordon Lightfoot’s birthday, Monday, November 17, 2014.
To buy a copy of 50+ Poems for Gordon Lightfoot: Anthology, please visit the Gift Shop of the Stephen Leacock Museum (scroll down).
Tagged: Arthur Cheeseman, Gordon Lightfoot
Re: Hugh's Room Birthday and Book event for Gordon Lightfoot
