By Camille Sherman
What is the scientific process
Of transforming a thing
Out of reverence and relevance
And into cliché
Is it a simple question of quantity
The stomach ache that follows
Empty candy wrappers
Fanned out before tiny costumed bodies
Is it great expectation
A push for originality
An inner motor disdained
By what’s been done before
Perhaps boredom or impatience
A haughty bristle at the suggestion
That there is something new to gain
We’ve seen it all before
Said it all before
Thought it all before
But when no one is looking
And we sneak a furtive glance at the stars
Or steal the scent of a passing flower
Or well at the first notes of a love song
Our sweet clichés will rise again
Unoffended that we were too cool
To remember why they were worthy
Of perpetual repetition
To begin with
Camille Sherman is a professional opera singer from the Bay Area. She trained at The Boston Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory of music, and served as an Artist in Residence at Pensacola Opera and Portland Opera. She currently lives in Portland, where she continues to sing and develop artistic projects with local artists.
