thin, small, brown boy

teased, always polite, did his best

managed to come alive and become open when upon this stage

it fueled him, gave him a reason every time he stood there

it hurt to not feel like that all the time

as the years went on, his confidence grew

and when the time came and the curtain came down one last time

he cried and thought that he would never feel the same way as he did on that stage

but he did in different ways, on different stages, on different plains

20 years later, that boy returned to the first stage of his life

and stood there and walked across

and felt the child that he was who loved every moment up there

he smiled and closed his eyes for half a second, to touch that memory

and then he left, turned one more time to look while at the exit

and walked away.