Kia ora koutou

Pain
(A Play in Two Acts)

Stagehands whisk, flick, smooth all serene
open doors to a milky sun — hold hands in corners
know that this moment you’ll stir and stretch
your eyes spark as Prompt calls for your entrance
the end of quiet — beginning of Act Two

and on cue, my familiar, my black cat, my lover
one of those road signs from the past
not quite placed until
this bright instant, when —
oh yes —
the zigzag of your touch along expectant flesh —
your pace as slow as dust motes
falling towards the exact spot now I remember

this is Act Two
the lines go aah and aah and aah

Renée