Who Holds the Stage?

Photo by Gaurang Alat on Unsplash

The Harmonium,
the Tabla, and the Flute
played in the shadow of the singer,
the two Veenas
gave a meek chorus when
the singer couldn’t hold his
breath,
the stage sound system
drowned the ending note
taken a little too high
on a broken voice,
then the singer puffed
his heart, gave
the flute
a moment to show its skill,
but impatiently
dived right back into a mid-note
sending the Flute awry,
the able Flute adjusted
to give the voice a beat,

the music continued
without a pause
when the singer took
a sip
from the tonic water
that had his name
engraved in its drops

now tell me-
do you see the singer, or
the shadows without which
the singer is a ghost of the night?