didn't know what to expect.
Amazed by the talent.
Amazed by the power and expression
of people so young.
Act after act, these dancers put on displays
of subtlety and grace.
But this was still a high school audience.
We weren't at the Kennedy Center
and I saw no tuxedos.
So who attends such a recital?
Parents, for sure, some proud and eager,
others reluctant, thinking they had better things to do.
Would they always have better things to do
than to raise their kids?
I saw other family members in attendance too, and friends of the dancers.
The friends of high school dancers are themselves teens.
The school apparently knew they are given to rowdiness,
as the written program declared
"Appropriate audience behavior is expected at all times"
Largely those expectations were met but there was still
the occasional catcall, the random spontaneous outburst.
Male teens are full of testosterone
and it spills out in messy splashes.
They will need it all later in their lives
and will lament its loss,
but they don't know that now,
and squander it recklessly.
When the lights were low during one interlude
a young man, anonymous in the crowd,
bellowed
"Fuck youuuuuuuuuuuuu"
The crowd tittered and stirred.
This audience was the type of group
that would have tittered
at the mere mention of the word titter.
A young lady spoke on the microphone.
She sounded, despite her young age,
entirely like the disapproving school marm.
"You are kindly reminded that there is no cursing in the audience
or you WILL be removed."
More laughter and mooing sounds.
I wondered if I would be removed if the young fool behind me
chose to bellow again.
In her challenge she had not specified.
I also wondered about the word cursing.
We often confuse profanities with obscenities,
and I wondered if "curse" really applied here.
Something to check later.
Then I began to think about her words.
Shouldn't she have really said
"you will be removed if we can hear you and if we can locate you and
if we can overpower you"?
I considered a test but had all but pushed it from my mind
when one of the demons made eye contact with me.
Above the stage is suspended a long row of lighting
and earlier in the evening I had noticed two demons idly lounging atop them,
their dangling tails twitching and slowly swinging back and forth
as they scanned the crowd for prospects.
I think they are invisible to most people
and vice versa.
But I have always been able to see them.
With my advanced years now though
I easily resist their temptations
and they have learned to ignore me.
But this time he caught my eye
just as I was contemplating my mischief.
His face slowly broadened into a toothy evil grin
and I couldn’t help smiling back.
In the darkness I uttered a curse,
so low that even the people neighboring me could not hear.
I waited to see what happened.
Would rough hands suddenly yank me from my seat and toss me from the building?
How would the enforcers get to me
past the rows of settled grandmothers and toddlers?
I waited but nothing happened.
The girl's threats had been bluff.
The demon rolled his eyes in disgust at my puny effort.
He had wasted his time on a coward and I saw him and his partner
discussing it and shaking their heads.
They would concentrate on the young men from now on.
Even some of the girls were better prospects.
My mind at ease now that this matter had been resolved
I settled back
and resumed my enjoyment
of the marvelous show.
Such expression.
Such talent.