A Foolishly Sentimental Ode To The Godforsaken High School Auditorium

It's raining and the lights are dim and I'm having Feelings of Nostalgia

My favorite place in the world is right at home,

All vandalized and unraveled and broken and familiar

Because it’s the first place I ever felt at home at

Sweltering under the burning hot lights,

Draped in heavy red velvet

Chipped away at with notes in pen and staples and splinters

A few to my name

It was here that I made my very first friends,

Gathered in the aisles and told stories,

Closed my eyes and discovered the most beautiful sounds in the world,

Danced ‘till I was breathless and laughed until I cried.

Fell asleep content in the arms of my friends and past loves

Conspired against the world outside the double doors

And slept in nearly every place within them.

Dared and whispered and broke a chair and a room divider

Wept for the ending and wept for the beginning,

Took shelter from a hundred storms,

Dreamed and wrote and sang and in that lifetime

Carved out a place that is my own

In this corner of the world.

Author's Note

just an Angsty Theatre Kid doing what Angsty Theatre Kids Do

Reviews

[barleygirl]

Your vignette turned out to be a surprise. Your title, which is irresistible to the clicking reader, sparked the vision of my own high school auditorium, which was an antique classic in the old baroque style with tall pillars & gargoyles. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to read of all your fun & camaraderie within, rather than the actual auditorium itself! You conjure up delicious imagery of any high school nerd who's found his/her niche! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[LazerRays]

Every poem I have read by you is so real. Honestly, you are the best writer on here in my opinion. Not kidding. Your writing is flawed to perfection. Vulnerable with no walls. I hate the dumb walls people put up! That's not poetry! That's a f*****g dictionary they're putting together!
Words by themselves are just words, words with feeling? Now that's poetry. Keep this up!

[Arriam]

Oh wow. THAT is very high praise and I'll try to live up to it. And yes, I hate walls- especially when you think they're broken down but they come back stronger and with more limericks.
Thanks again!
-Arriam

[LazerRays]

You sound like you're referring to someone in general lol

[Arriam]

Oh, no one in particular. It just turned into a rant about limericks and vulnerability, not that those two things should ever mingle

[Verse]

I wasn't a theatre kid, but I get weeping for the ending and the beginning! :):) Your words left me feeling dreamy and happy, with a split-screen image of your double doors and my own.

Loved the idea of school as a shelter from storms... by that age, it was a safe place for me as well.

V

[Arriam]

I'm glad that I was able to provide that imagery for you!
Arriam

[Verse]

Yes, all very clear. :):)

[θεά]

A heartfelt tribute to a place which is symbolic of a lost time, filled with years of nostalgia and merriment. Love the way you have placed your words and rhythm here, Arriam.

Best,
M.

[Stone]

It does bring back memories. The times when the worst catastrophe is not passing a test, the greatest gossip is whom is whose bf or gf....it was a much simpler time and when we still see things via rosy glasses.....