Stagestruck

by K.J. Petrie

© K.J. Petrie 2003. The right of K.J. Petrie to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Sections 77 and 78.

Where is the glamour,
the gilded chandelier,
the mirrors, the polished brass,
the deep red velvet?

Where the glitter,
the sparkle, the joy,
the laughter, the pathos,
the rich experience?

They are not here,
not here, among the ropes,
the curtains, the hanging canvas,
the wires, the glaring lights,
the costumes which shimmer only for others,
the thick paste paint to enlarge the features
life has not enlivened enough.

Here are only technicalities and techniques,
floors to be swept, lines to be learnt,
itchy wigs and toil and sweat,
read-throughs and trials, rehearsals and words.

Here are compromises to natural laws,
limits to be kept, hours to be observed,
regulations to stop and start.
Here is artifice, not art.

Where is the glamour,
the gilded chandelier,
the mirrors, the polished brass,
the deep red velvet?

Where the glitter,
the sparkle, the joy,
the laughter, the pathos,
the rich experience?

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