I was there when ...

I arrive at seven for the concert start
only to hear the final bars of the closing song,
the thank you’s and farewells.
The crowd streams away to watch, like me,
the performance on the red button
in the comfort of our own homes
where the sound and sightlines
are perfect
and the experience repeatable
on the press of a button.
But it was the unrepeatability
of the live event
that drew us, drew me,
to Regent Street that night,
even knowing I would not,
could not,
be there ‘in time’
but hoping nevertheless
to experience something
unique and unrepeatable;
to know and to say
that I was there when ...

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U2 - Vertigo.