black leather jackets and cigarette smoke surround us
the murmuring crowd stands beneath the ornate plafond
bronze angels silently trumpeting above us, where arches curve to meet a painted starry sky

tuning guitars and mic checks reverberate 
one, two
one, two

our pulse lives in the valley between anticipation and exhilaration 
we don’t recognize these fleeting moments 
because we live in them before they pass

young and carefree
taut-bodied and starry eyed

exchanging glances with you, familiar stranger
until darkness envelopes us
and the crowd’s roar consumes us

we lose sight of each other
and let the blast beats punch a new path
for us to navigate our way back to where yearning eyes met

smirking lips mouth gritty verses
our bodies rock in syncopation
the charged rhythms escalate our attraction 

until the last note’s echo scatters among
the ceiling’s chipped constellations
or crawls back into one of the forgotten trumpet’s bells

the lights come up

…no encore will ever sate me like you.