A Light is Shone

A light is shone, a man stands there alone.

We're waiting for the music to arrive,

To fill hearts in the hall of red and gold.

*

He is not why we're there. He says he's old;

He talks of friends, his need to feel alive!

A light is shone, a man stands there alone.

*

He starts to play, the notes they soar, are bold;

Acoustically reborn and lifted high

To fill hearts in the hall of red and gold.

*

He is accomplished, he is not here to hone;

Self-deprecating, not the star tonight -

A light is shone, a man stands there alone.

*

Guitar, duct-taped, its spirit hard to hold

But it's warmth, humour that's released tonight

To fill hearts in the hall of red and gold.

*

He's shared with us; his set comes to a close.

He has woken us, seats are now alive!

A light is shone, a man stands there alone,

To fill hearts in the hall of red and gold.

***

I went to see Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall. He was supported by Andy Fairweather-Low, an accomplished musician himself and I was compelled to write a poem about him, a tribute.

Hopefully, this villanelle has encapsulated the way that he made me and many others feel that night. And why a villanelle? Because he's Welsh, as is Dylan Thomas, whose villanelle "Do not go gentle into that good night" is a very famous example of this form.