Daydreams

by Michelle Holgate Lord

Strange,

I was walking home

from school, but now

I’m walking onto

an empty stage

where houselights dim

and a spotlight

shines down on me?

Or someone who resembles

me, thinner somehow and

more confident than I—

A dancer in satin white,

her sinewy silhouette

posed in perfect elegance.

The music starts,

slowly gathering strength,

and she leaps and pirouettes

into space and time.

Homeward bound,

I climb the stairs

to the porch

but just before entering,

I pause to address

the applauding audience

and take a bow.