beluga
JAY MARVIN
a night at the theater an older monied crowd
we sat in the back on purpose to stretch our legs
& the seating was better than the play
across the isle sat the understudy&for some
strange reason the name beluga came to mind
maye it was her large forehead or her wide eyes
so i watched the play&i watched “beluga” knowing
how bad she wanted to be up there under those lights
her ego exposed center stage for the crowd to see
practicing her craft living the moment
the very reason she chose theater
instead of dental school or having kids
born to act from her first tiny foot
out or the womb&tonight she had to sit&watch
she was a second banana&i derived a strange pleasure
from the thought
when the end came the crowd applauded i looked at beluga
& wanted to say the applause is not for you beluga
like they had never been for me
& beluga’s face looking on in envy
brought a smile to my face
long after we’d left the theater&forgotten
what the play was eeven about.
