AFTER

THE PERFORMANCE

Three moments:

before and after the performance
and the performance itself.

The performance: a party,
a wedding, a picnic, an anniversary,
a funeral, the hard work

in putting and pulling
it all together, the invitations,
the food, the phone calls,
the double checking,
the letting everyone know,
so nobody will feel forgotten, left out,
yet knowing old family fights,
those still burning below

on the bottom of what look

like cold coals,
might burst into flames again.
I guess it’s part of the party,
part of the play. It's family.
Some people like being on stage.
Some people are repeat performances.
Too bad for them: I rather

concentrate on the laughter
the reconnecting, the celebration.

Three moments….
Some like the before.
Some like the performance.
I like the exhausted feeling
after a performance.
It’s finally over.
People have headed home.

We're off stage.
We are all alone again,
tired, but with shoes off ,
bread and wine or coffee and cookies in hand.

Exits can lead to Resurrection. Restoration.
We sit in soft chairs and taste

some of what we didn't taste at the banquet
and “Wow! The stories....”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2008