He knew he had prepared
The worn out carpet
Was evidence enough
Rehearsing the words
Wanting his voice to be heard
Not planning for slip ups
He went over it
Time and time again
Sometimes feeling confident
Sometimes not
Sometimes he forgot
To breath, to stop
In the relevant places
To raise his voice
To intonate correctly
To not speak too quickly
To avoid feeling sickly
And then the moment
The nerve wracking moment
The terrifying moment
Arrived far too soon
Up he stepped
Gingerly onto the platform
Desperately trying
Not to trip
Nervously biting his bottom lip
Throat dry as sandpaper
Up to the lectern
He gazed towards the eyes
The hundreds of eyes
Staring expectantly
Waiting for the first utterance
Conscious that his legs
Have taken on a life
Of their own
Shaking in rhythm
To a mysterious beat
Silence surrounds him
Anticipation increases
The eyes now piercing
Commands action
Or some signal
That he was to begin
And then the immortal words
Uttered tentatively, cautiously almost automatically
Ladies and gentlemen
Unaccustomed as I am....