The Stage

I envied you

The anticipation as the curtains drew back

The way you put the audience at the edge of their seats

Sweeping the theatre with ambience.

It's all fake though, isn't it?

The act you strut up there

Faces painted

Costumes adorned

With the fantastical.

I wanted in

Wanted a part in that world where

You know who you were so well

That you could become someone else without worrying about

Not being able to come back.

Maybe it's better

That I remain backstage.

For there is no place for gracelessness

On Broadway.

No time for stumbling feet

And missing a beat,

No room for unintelligible remarks

And voices off-key.

But I'll step up there anyways.

Practice makes permanent

And even if I don't make the cut

I always did work better back stage.

The more invisible I seem

The better I'll be doing my job.

Anything

To make you shine brighter,

To make you smile so secretly I'm the only one who can see it,

To give you a reason to keep dancing and singing and laughing

Because you know there is someone behind you

Singing under her breath

Muttering lines as the curtains fall back

And you are there.

It might be a lie

But let me live it a little longer

Before the finale

And you're walking away from me again.

Once the theatre is empty

I stand on the stage with courage I will never have

Dancing your dance and singing your lines

Wishing my feet moved a bit quicker

And my voice was a bit milder

To fit the people

I wanted to play.

- r.k.

#poemforyourthoughts #thepeopleyoumeet