outdoor stage
this space so empty in the wind
a silence this evening where it seems
only the silence itself has meaning
until one night in a thousand
this nondescript shred of humanity
creeps into a surprise of light
an apology coming forward on the stage
a man trembling with uncertainty
that no one has ever heard of
and then he lifts up the mask
so clearly visible and yet so unseen
and adjusts it to his face
and there he stands and he is seven feet tall
and his words turn the dark night to stone
I am oedipus and I am the king of thebes
and from out of nowhere an audience
responds from a bruised heart
with revulsion and the shock of pity
© John Knoepfle 2004
