On The Red Light
 
The consummate professional :
Chatting, to put me at my ease.
Gently he helps me to prepare :
Attentive - then deftly prompting,
Questioning - polishing my speech.
 
And I feel fine : with thoughts marshalled,
My favourite phrases practised , checked,
I’m eloquent and in control.
 
“I think we’re ready now,” he says,
“We’re rolling when the red light shows.”
 
And on the red light thoughts escape,
Eloquence evaporates as
I become a stuttering wreck -
Tongue almost tied….
 
                                   Always on the
Red light it’s the same : confidence
Withers, lines are fluffed, the simplest
Truth stays lodged in my dry throat.
Always at these times I need my best -
Instead, thick tongued, I croak, whisper
All of life’s most important lines
Like….”I love you, love you, love you.”