The Runaway

The Runaway

She stood in the wings of the nightclub stage,
A guitar clutched in her hand.
She watched the smoke in the spotlight beam
As it fell on the current band.

They played a familiar number
But the crowd seemed ill at ease
And she wondered what kind of reception she’d get
For tonight, they’d been hard to please.

It was getting on for two AM
But she didn’t think about sleep.
Her mouth was dry and she needed a drink
But that would have to keep.

She wondered what had happened
When they’d found her empty bed.
How much she had hated to hurt them but
She’d a different path to tread.

She’d listened to all the warnings
And some of them had to be true
But they just didn’t seem to understand
It was something she had to do.

To sing was a need inside her
And she knew she’d have to choose,
Since the music sprang from her fingertips
And poured through the soles of her shoes.

She wrote the note in the light of dawn
And left with an aching heart.
For all of her sweet sixteen years
They’d never been apart.

Now she silently stood in the shadows.
In a moment she’d know the stakes
For she’d know in one moment before this crowd
If she really did have what it takes.

The playing band fell silent
To the crowd’s desultory clap
And she felt as if there was no escape –
Like a rabbit caught in a trap.

She stepped out into the spotlight
So aware of her stringy hair.
Her jeans had seen much better days
And her tee-shirt sported a tear.

She’d been on the road for a few days
With nothing much to eat
But the light in her eyes was defiant
Like an eagle that’s faced with defeat.

She sat on the stool provided
In front of the baying crowd
But the first few chords from her guitar
Didn’t even come out loud.

She started over once again
Determined they would hear.
The song she’d written wasn’t meant
To fall upon deaf ear.

The sound she made got through to them,
Their attention on the stage
For the song and the voice were beautiful
And would calm a tempest’s rage.

They drank it in, enraptured
Until the very last note
Tailed off into the silence
Of a crowd completely smote.

Then through the rapturous applause,
The cries and shouts of ‘MORE!’
She saw the familiar figure of
Her mother, by the door,

Her mother’s voice called out to her…
“Wakey, wakey Jule…
You’d better get up right now my love
Or you’re gonna be late for school! “

30.08.2009