Fleeting Fame Bonus

This is how it is with fame

This is how it is with fame:

One minute, you’re on stage

receiving accolades and praises,

the next minute, you’re driving

in your daughter’s used car

with the hole in the exhaust

through the Burger King,

wearing your concert gown

with the corsage still pinned on.

You wonder just what kind of quality

you’ll get at this late hour,

but it’s burger and fries (especially

the fries) that you want,

and after the laudations of a satisfied

public, you think you deserve it.

At home, your jammies

are nothing special:

a t-shirt you got in Jamaica,

and some worn pajama bottoms,

the matching top of which

you can no longer find.

But you found your way along

the keyboard tonight, and you

made an impression on the guest

celebrity who was your partner

for the evening.

But your home is ordinary,

and your bedclothes are humble,

and tomorrow you’ll no longer

be justifying late-night French fries

just because you could do something

at one required instant that not many

others can do.  Tomorrow

will be leftovers.