Children in Theatre

O the hoard of tiny people running!

Frozen in stopped formations

holding on to parachute strings

and hiding from the ground below. 

"Go go go!" is my cry as I hope

these wandering pilgrims know. 

The air pressure shifts

and the wings pulse in the air. 

They want to be right so bad 

they are afraid to be wrong. 

They knock socks in shivering shoes

and try to remember their lessons

but the butterflies they stomach

have forgotten how to fly. 

None move an inch for fear of the miles. 

The small farmlands and distant lakes

ache their minds at the dropping

and until push comes to shove

they hold tight to the metal poles

that fight the gravity of the situation. 

Soon they are yanked out by the vacuum

and tossed to the fearful pull. 

Then, suddenly, they breathe

the air swirls between their fingers

and the remember everything. 

A broken idea fixes its pieces

and utterances long rehearsed revive. 

One by one they soar and sing.

All songs form the mesmerization

at their forgotten memorizations

and they dance an air of joy

through all the clouds and fog. 

The brief flight fills lungs and sighs. 

A string pulled looses the curtain,

a smile beams from each faller;

each flyer as they slow descend;

as they come down from high

to their parents praise.





Thanks to Tommy for this Saturday's inspiration of working with kids in children's theatre (Super paraphrased).