Low-Key Musician Poem by John Carter Brown

I'm a low-key kind of musician
working best from the back of the stage;
I don't want, or need, any spotlight,
must be something to do with my age.

It's just that I hate being stared at
(which sounds pretty silly I guess)
but I cannot produce to my utmost
if out at the front, under stress.

It's a thing that annoys me most greatly
for music means so much to me;
but performance is not in my nature, and
if you saw me, I think you'd agree.

I just need to be lost in the moment,
and at one with my trusty guitar;
in the zone at the back of proceedings
letting somebody else be the star.

(Written Sept 2016)