Image by Maria Grujicic (Malena)

It was long ago
I froze
Like a picture
I froze
Stage fright
In the middle of the night
A stage
Free for one
The dancer
No where in sight
I froze
And I didn’t bow
My head held high
In case
I was too late
To see my face
As the curtains died
And my dance walked away
In hope of another day

By Maria Grujicic
(Malena)

This poem is about stage fright, and timely for the theme of Carnival coming up in February. Watch the video and listen to the music along with the poem.

In different phases of my life I’ve had to get up and perform in one way or another. There were times when I wasn’t ready and I failed and this led the way for other days of triumphs! When I was 19 I went in a dance competition. I had the routine in my head and I practiced and practiced. As it turned out I wasn’t mentally prepared, and full of self-doubt I stood on the stage.

The music had started, and it was playing, but I froze. The music stopped, I look out at the audience, and at the people, and like a gentle appeal my eyes pleaded for mercy. And I simply walked away. After a few months there was another dance competition on.

Again I practiced and practiced, and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to get up there, do exactly what I’d planned.’ And the music played once more, and I did all the dance steps, resulting a win! It was the most amazing experience of my life, and unknown to me, a kind of life metaphor for more  ups and downs to come!

MALENA IMAGE by Sonja Sofia Yakovleva

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