My Cardboard Balcony

Train Station by Belinda Roddie We dreamed of kisses over webcams, talked about our future on the phone. You boarded a train to California, while I planned for your arrival at home. When you showed up by the turnstile, my heart froze, then quickly thawed out. There's something about actually meeting that finally allows me to love aloud.

The audience was painfully silent as I approached the stage. I knew what they were expecting. An aria, or a dance, or a stand-up comedy routine. I wasn't going to do any of those. I waited for the guy running the film projector to give me the thumbs up, so I could begin my presentation. It would involve slides, music, and lots of words - strong words. I had a message to send out to these people. It was up to them to take anything I said or showed seriously.