Curtain Time
by Odin Roark


The warnings
The preparation
The moment

Such expectancy
Be it plebeian
Or royal instinct
Openings' glitter
Brings incessant challenges
Making hoary one's existence

So functions the undertow
The inward monitor
Yours
Mine
Those backstage
Probity unseen
Untested

How diligent this amorphous reality
This integrity always in the making
Urging while cautious
Impotent while daring
Tactical while fearful
For it knows missteps
Begin in the wings

Yet

Blinding lights lure
Sounds of acceptance seduce
Daring casts its fate
Across one's personal footlights
Moment's truth is heard

Why

This need for lights
Applause
Veneration
Once reserved for artists
Of the stage?

We only know

Celebritydom
Entices the ignorant
The smart
The genius
And the saintly

The world is one big curtain
Al-Qaeda
Congress
Hollywood
Domestic and career aspirants
Even philanthropies
Clamor for the luminosity
The sweat of anticipation
The roar of acceptance
Not yet knowing the silence
Of an empty house

Such is reality
Sooner
Or
Later