Stage Frieght

Terror of being called to the front

to recite/present a project

or required piece of dialect.

I feel so cold at the crossroads.

When an eye is upon me,

I couldn't make a sound.

Instead, I begin to giggle

like a child on a swing

& each face melts into one another.

Confusing, tongue-tied.

The story is told backward.

Invisible, unspeakable, meaningless.

The crowd beyond with only

one thought in their tiny heads:

"Dummy."

One of these days,

topic of 'public speaking'

I promise to make sense of you.

Author's Note

My experience whenever it came to any type of public speaking in school