As night falls, they gather
From all corners, donating alms
To a secret communion
In the realms,
the great dominion
Of the entertaining halls

From the front of the stalls
The countless bobbing heads
Seem an undetermined crowd
All came in by number
Minds still on the day
But faces already less grey

Hostess gives a shout
‘Ladies and gentlemen!’
The rest is tuned out
Just like the day
A seat situation unfolds
Bit of fuss created
As the ticket holds
A rightful place debated

Meanwhile program is sold
The essence of commerce
Accepted as part of play
At only four quid
There’s no reason to deny it
And we want this communion to stay

Then some are told
To not trip up the plot
While Helen sorts the seated lot
And Liam’s quite the organiser
The wave moves one up
And Ann is happy to snuggle in

Discussion still goes on
Concluded with ‘what a mess,
but my oh my, Helen, well done’
Chitter chatter diminishes, then is gone.
Finally. Let it begin.
Oh, first two laggards are ushered in…

Now all is really set
Lights go down, lights go up
The crowd is met
And in silence it lets
The magic happen

This secret crowd communion,
In the realms, this dominion
Brings tears, roars and sniggers
Moves the individual
Has world outside forgotten

At least until the interval

© 2014, Myriam Heffels