The Late Late Show (Poetry)

Night is a stage set for fantasy
the moment the house lights go down
a hush that is full of expectancy
falls soft as a charm on the town

The sky’s an immense auditorium
the overture’s one wind-torn note
wheezed from some far nickelodean
and caught in an alleyway’s throat

Dark moves with its strict choreography
thin shadows observe their dance-play
exact in true slow-motion mastery
a deliberate homage to ballet

They are ghosts in the drama of history
their scenes living grey in each head
performing the same subtle mystery
to the music hall crowds of the dead

When dawn sheds its dreary reality
pale actors retire to the wings
to savour a passing celebrity
while some dream-spinning diva still sings