Humiliation Doesn’t Actually Kill You

Know that, should you bomb

in front of an audience,

know that your body will not melt

into cheap carpeting,

poorly painted wood, or linoleum tile.

Know that God will not cause a miracle

in which earth swallows you like Korach,

or in which this stage becomes a whale’s belly

where you can hide for three days like Jonah.

Know that, no matter how much you wish for it

in that moment, you will not die,

for humiliation doesn’t actually kill you.

Know that you can walk – you will walk

weak-kneed offstage with whatever dignity

you can muster. Know that you’ll come back

onstage to do it again, all that awful suffering

in front of an audience all over again,

till one day you don’t bomb.

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

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Written for dVerse and Go Dog Go Cafe