HELEN HOFMAN
I knocked at the door with the star and no name and the lights were bright as I stepped inside.
In the mirror her face, still, was only eyes, only open black pupils,
till I smiled. Then she smiled so I laughed and she made a joke.
I sat down under the lights and she asked my name and as I told her it all she removed the make-up and put on a new set and a colour came slowly into her
irises.
Her hand dipped into a pot everytime I spoke, adding a nuance with every why, when, how.
Her eyes watched me, watched me gently through the mirror and when she saw who I had come for
she turned from the mirror and followed me from the dressing-room
onto the stage and turned on the magic lights and we played my play together.
I took the leading role and the lights dipped their glitter onto me
but she was the star because she took the role I gave her.
Afterwards she went back to her dressing room. The light shone under the door
as I walked down the dark corridor and out and home.
This poem was awarded the 1981 Mabel Innes Prize for Lyric Verse.
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