Landslide
On a steamy July night in 1976
Boz Scaggs, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles
electrified Schaefer Stadium,
thrilling sixty thousand screaming fans.
A rock concert newbie, I was overwhelmed
by the crowd, the roar, the strong skunky smell,
all overlooked by elation at sharing the day
with the boy who had known my heart for four years.
A day-long party, by the time the Mac
crooned “Landslide,” nature was telling me
Find a rest room. How would I navigate
this crowd, I asked my boyfriend.
Taking my arm, he guided me up the stairs
down the ramp (so many ramps),
past the hundreds of stoned concertgoers,
to the entrance of my destination.
Patiently explaining how to maneuver back
to my seat, through the swarms of stoners,
up the ramp – oh God, they all looked the same,
down the steps, he took off for the Men’s Room.
I prayed I could follow his directions back
but I exited the Ladies Room, and there he was, my smiling GPS;
relief flooded my body as I grinned,
gazed into his eyes and said I knew you’d be here,
which in teenage boy-speak
means I have trained you like a dog.
Smile vanished, he disappeared into the crowd
leaving me to find my own way back.
Stage Fright
I’m a solo act
balancing on the edge
laying bare my courage
eyes shut, I teeter
on the precipice
of dive in or chicken out
when a reassuring hand
touches my elbow,
They’re ready for you.
I unclench my eyes
prepared to dip my toe
into unexplored waters
as I step on stage
applause quiets my fears,
and I begin.
Elaine Sorrentino has been published in Minerva Rising, Willawaw Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Ekphrastic Review, Writing in a Women’s Voice, Global Poemic, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, Agape Review, Haiku Universe, Sparks of Calliope, Muddy River Poetry Review, Gyroscope Review, Your Daily Poem, Panoplyzine, Etched Onyx Magazine, and at wildamorris.blogspot.com. She was also featured on a poetry podcast at Onyx Publications.
Sparks of Calliope 