We Come To Bare Our Souls Poem by Alexandre Nodopaka

And hear the applause.
We sit incognito
In rows of lovingly lined
Uncomfortable chairs.

We deafen to the mumbling
Issuing from the course of the
Lectern while we gyrate words
In our craniums.

We wait patiently our turn.
Approach the stage.
We know we will be applauded.
One thing we don't know

Is whether the applause shall be
For the unctuous way
Our speech is delivered
Or for the essence of its content.

We know all this before
Landing on the platform. Yes,
For a flash of time we come to wear
The august crown of Olympus.

So why should we write or read
Something we will not hear
Yet publicly felicitate or be praised for.
Let me tell you.

It is to see our hands slowly move
Together and for our eyes and ears
To slow down our senses
And arrest time for a split second

And record the crowning moment
To remain forever ours.
Our pulse honorably clapping
The manifestation of our souls.