Playwright's Song, by Maddison Willigar

New York Movie, by Edward Hopper (USA) 1939

Playwright’s Song

I do my best writing
in the New York matinee: 
standing far
from the crowd, huddled deep
in the corner
of a spotlight-stained wall.
Between the conversations
that drift 
out of the mouths of strangers, 
I can create a life
worthy of a curtain call: 

The first act would start
beneath a green, fluorescent, glow
where the smooth hum
of saxophones
lulls us in from the sidewalk.
I’d sit in the corner, 
a glass of red swirling
in my palm, until I’d see you
reposition your tie, walk over, 
and let a joke fall 
from your lips as if 
it had been hanging on by a thread. 

A laugh would coat my throat
like the sweetest remedy
to this bitter wine
and our hands would hang heavy
in electrifying air
until we were pulled by something
into the streets,
like two young kids being pulled
into love by earths gravitational leash.

The starlight would
point out your face
like recognizing an old friend
and for one more moment I could
pretend--

But even a writer can only bend
the waiting reality so long, 
forcing the most beautiful fiction
to memorize the words
to her playwright’s song.

Maddison Willigar

Maddison Willigar is a college student living in Massachusetts who plans to attend Keene State University in the fall to obtain her bachelor’s degree in English. She spends her free time learning Greek mythology, American Sign Language, and escaping into the many books on her bookshelf.