Support Role

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SUPPORT ROLE


Mostly to applaud. That, and dance 

beneath the stage, dark faces 

indefinable. Put another way, 

we’re here to make the play 

on the off chance the ball rolls 

to us, but mainly to play defense

and get it in the scorer’s hands. 


By all means, aspire to be in the band

or draw the scouts—that’s not 

what I’m on about. It’s just that

even the big lights flicker and turn out 

to be pretty small to scale when

it’s dark enough to see the stars again. 


And then, never underestimate 

how nice it is to slip out 

on the porch and have a smoke 

while nobody cares, how your breath

floats up to join something equally invisible,

or at least far beyond your sight.

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