36 eyes were upon me
Eighteen sets of two
Maybe some weren’t perfect...
Maybe they didn’t all work well...
But all 36 were pointed at me
And even if they didn’t see me well

They were all trying.

I was frozen in space
Terrified of the sound of:
MY OWN VOICE

While the eyes stared
Watching
Waiting
My heart pounded faster
And faster
And faster still

I chose at once to speak.

The silence was shattered
And the eyes still stared

I emptied my soul
Piece by piece
All over the floor at their feet
And the eyes still stared

I poured my thoughts
My own stream of consciousness
Into the air around them
And the eyes still stared

I handed each of them
A peace of my heart
To hold in their hands
And the eyes still stared

And as I spoke they held:
My heart in their hands
My soul lay at their feet
And they breathed the air of my own consciousness
And the eyes still stared

Then I stopped

And the silence returned
Only to be broken once more
By the sound of thunderous applause
And the eyes still stared

The line of life snakes all around
twixt the boney fingers of some fate
you find yourself decision bound
knife in hand as you stand at the gate

to go back now would risk condemnation
simply for a lack of a will to succeed
but to go forward is a different situation
you know you must have a will to bleed

they ask you if you would be so kind
as to offer up your hand in assistance
for "this life" they say "indeed is thine"
and now there's little point in resistance

still for a moment you hold your breath
terrified of a path that is wrong
how queer is the moment when faced with death
so unsure of where it is you belong