It is a switch,

a bright light turning on in my head.

At first, I don’t understand 
and then suddenly it comes to me. 
First a slow and steady tap of the beat,
a woodpecker and a mockingbird, making a song together.
Then the beat picks up.

Oh no! Everything that I learned,
everything I practiced,
all gone in that very second before I’m supposed to begin.
Before I know what’s happening I’m being swept away by the music.
I’m outside of my body,
no control. 
A balloon blowing in the sky on a windy day. 
Soon enough I’ve hit the ending pose.
It’s over. 
As tired as a track star after running two miles. 
Everything I worked so hard for,
has been put out on that floor. 
I’ve left it there.

Then a week later,
I do it again.