Tuesday Night at Emile's: an un-operatic shoe

well
this is hardly the opera

still
the seats are quite fair
even if a little distant from the stage
to allow ideal vision

he has been told the show
is entertaining
and not just the loud thrashing
so common now
the main act has been imported
with a reputation for performance
of depth
music and lyrics
style
not bad for popular music
although
obviously
unlikely to reach the heights
gershwin owns the genre
but one can never tell
there may be something contemporary
that appeals
and after all he has been invited
by good friends
people whose taste in such matters
is generally impeccable

~

there is something familiar
about the support act
not so much
what she is singing
standard fare really
but something about her
has begun to nag at him

she moves well on the stage
a girlish freedom for some numbers
moments of mature stillness for others
where she allows her voice do the work
without the distraction
of a lot of jiggling around

he is almost certain
that he has seen and heard her before
but has been led to understand
she has released no recordings
so it could not be that

frankly
she is not quite to the standard
that would compel him to buy her work
and yet he cannot stop looking at her
peering to get the best view

there is something

~

the main act was a disappointment
nothing special about them at all
or perhaps that isn’t doing them justice
for if he is honest
there were long passages when he simply wasn’t listening
caught himself deeply preoccupied
embarrassed when a companion whispered
about the quality of a phrase
he hadn’t registered

he is thinking of that girl
the support act

trying to identify the source
of his disquiet over her

it is deeply troubling
to be unable to pinpoint the problem
he is disturbed

she was wearing something in blue
but he has an image in his head
that he can’t seem to dispel
of a high-heeled red shoe
moving to and fro

frustrating
that he can’t quite place it

it will come to him

~