Curtain Down (Poetry)

i.m. Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers

I don’t grieve for them all
as they flicker and fall
just a sigh as each old star goes out
for the dream with them dies
in these empty night skies
leaving nothing but darkness and doubt

Yet faint hope lingers on
in a quaint sixties song
like a marginal note set to fade
or the glint of a thought
on a mental thorn caught
even while life limps by in the shade

I remember their song
though the singer’s since gone
how the beat of the band filled my head
when youth had its brief fling
and believed everything
that the love-preaching prophet once said

As they queue for the grave
their soft voices can’t save
now that melody struggles to breathe
while the concerts were fun
all the best music’s done
echoes die ... curtain down as they leave