Music At Midnight
His home is beneath the theater stage
Disfigured, he remains within his cage
Listening to melodies played onstage
Fills him with loneliness, not rage
Once a fine actor, the Phantom awaits midnight
To sing alone, so fear he won’t incite
For the “garish light of day” he finds too bright
When he hears Christine sing, he bemoans his plight
Hours pass until midnight when the theater’s empty
And he lays his hands on each piano key
Stroking them as he would her face on the marquis
But only at midnight is his soul set free
What would Christine think if she saw his face
He senses the need his feelings to encase
As much as he longs for her tender embrace
He fears she would just leave him in disgrace
Midnight, midnight, he awaits patiently
So he can finally perform shamelessly
This midnight ritual he enacts faithfully
Singing to a woman he’d love undyingly
He croons sadly, wishing for her ovation
Absorbing the power of each note’s vibration
Dreaming one day he’ll submit to temptation
And reveal himself to discover her elation
* Based on the Broadway play “Phantom of the Opera”
and its powerful song, “Music of the Night.” Most
plays end just before midnight. “Garish light of day”
is a line from the song.
* Poem written Jun 6, 2014
Copyright © Carolyn Devonshire | Year Posted 2014
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