Still
The room is still,
Each ear and mind
Is ready for enlightenment.
Tomorrow, silence,
Or perhaps the storm and fury
Of some less refined engagement,
But today...
Today the room is still.
The answer here is obvious,
Or clear, at least, to anyone
Who spent those hours in research;
An ever-growing fish
In an ever-shrinking pond.
A single speck of clarity
Distilled through hours of poring
Precipitates some solid ground
From the inky waters.
Clarity.
This is the gift,
A gift that not all welcome,
But a gift that must be shared.
Some joy, perhaps,
Some fear, perhaps,
Some rush of stage-induced euphoria,
But clarity beneath it all,
And clarity throughout.
And after, any other room
Would tremor with applause,
But this room is no other room
And this room still is still.