A Rejected Poet

She waited for her turn

to let the world hear her tune
Her well arranged notes
strung togather
The pieces of her emotions over
disappointments
fears
anger
dreams
struggles
also accomplishments

She wanted to share her story in words that danced
aloud

Perform
on open-mike
Let the world know that
she too had
talent
grace
reason to perform

She waited
endlessly
patiently
hopelessly
with closed fist
erect
alert
stretching her neck
above the crowd
The anchor too busy
floated on her own cloud
could not see the star

One by one
the poets came on dias
expressive
demading attention
with a song
with a prayer
with humor
with words
with actions
with expressions
Woo'ed the vibrant crowd

"Beautiful"
"Excellent"
"Fabulous!:
I heard her cheer every poet
snapping her fingers for every meaningful line
nodding her head with honest smile

But somewhere deep down
she hoped 

that she would be given chance 

to share her poem too

Once, the anchor did glance in her direction
"I will give you a chance if there is time"
Her hopes refreshed

Distracted by her enthusiasm

I felt her quiver
I too wished
She got her two minutes of fame
Even encouraged her
with a pat on her lap
"Your turn will come, you just wait"

As the evening wore on
disappointment veil her eyes
Her face dressed into with plastic smile

She discovered
that she was just an audience
invited to cheer the poets
A number to add to a crowd
to occupy a vacant chair
to buy expensive meals
to make the establishment rich
It was a business deal

The poets who performed
the actual acts
were truly the anchor's selected friends