Mum took me to an audition,
I had to stand and sing,
To a man at a piano,
With a gold and diamond ring.
As I waited for my turn,
My stomach full of knots,
I went into a panic,
Thought I’d lose the plot.
Running through my mind,
Everything that could go wrong,
Forget the words, sing out of tune,
Hold a note too long.
The more the movie rolled,
Inside my troubled head,
The more I felt I had to run,
Be somewhere else instead.
Then much to my dismay,
My eyes started to leak,
I turned away from the other kids in line,
Feeling like a freak.
I can’t do it Mum,
I need to go home I choked,
No you don’t she smiled,
Why don’t you tell me a quick joke.
Why did the chicken cross the road,
To get to the idiots house,
Knock knock,
Who’s there?
The chicken” I say,
Feeling cheeky, clever and proud.
Oliver J the lady called,
Holy crap that’s me, I’m on,
I clutched my music,
Good luck Mum whispered,
Waving her imaginary wand.
Five minutes goes fast when you’re in the room,
Sing this, march that, and again,
Scales up and down, la la la, la la la,
Keep going until I say when.
Then it was over, I left the room,
Mums waiting for me outside,
How did it go? she asked, I say
Not bad. At least I survived!
© Lisa Nimmo 12/04/17
Lisa Nimmo is an author, poet and mum of two teenagers, based in Wellington New Zealand. To receive more poems like these direct to your inbox, enter your details here: