Awaiting Ballad Poem by Angel Ruiz

The greatest solo performance is supposed to be played by me
A ballad of two lost ones forming anew
But this shake, this shake in my leg
The loss of my hair; my short, jagged nails; my scars:
Those are the ballad of me and the audience
Each finger that hits a key, bleeds more and more as the silent crowd's piercing daggers watch me closely
With every stroke of a note my vision gets foggy and the old oak floorboards fall from underneath me
And I'm in an empty room hitting keys I can't hear with tremors I can't place and noises I'm not making with fear I can taste and air I can't breathe and no one's around but everyone is here
Waiting for me to start my ballad
But I've been playing my ballad for years