The Chameleon blinked as he entered the stage <br />(A popular act for an insecure age) <br />They applauded him on from the roof to the floor <br />(a recent review had been almost a page) . <br /> <br />He stood in the spotlight, a dignified green <br />The colour god made him – or so it would seem <br />The audience hushed for they knew what’s in store: <br />The master of image – the changeling supreme. <br /> <br />He smiled at the gallery, bowed to the stalls <br />Took in with a grin those that stood by the wall <br />He managed a wink for the girl by the door <br />It was not the first time that he’d played in this hall. <br /> <br />The silence was growing – the time was now right <br />For some fireworks (in colour) to light up the night <br />They needed some action – their lives were a bore <br />They’d paid just to sit there and drink in the sight. <br /> <br />The Chameleon stood there - he just didn’t move. <br />Always before there’d been something to prove <br />He suddenly didn’t know what it was for: <br />The crowd and its power, and forgetting to love. <br /> <br />They started to fidget, they started to shout <br />Throwing things of all colours that landed about <br />They hurled him abuse when they’d once called out ‘more! ’ <br />And some in the cheap seats began to go out. <br /> <br />He felt for them, slightly. He’d not thought he’d dare <br />He’d hoped that they might not be quite so unfair <br />His heart knew he just wouldn’t do it no more <br />But somehow he’d hoped that some of them would care. <br /> <br /> * * * <br /> <br />The chameleon looked at them straight in the eye <br /> <br />And turned into a butterfly.<br /><br />Andrew Fincham<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/chameleon-only-so-much-you-can-do-before-you-die/
