Thursday, July 10, 2014

Footnote to Shakespeare

All the world's a stage, etc.
But when the hero or the heroine walks out and leaves the cast,
 The play goes on. Always, the play goes on.
Sometimes they find a new hero or a new heroine;
Or the villain takes the hero's part
Or they get along without a hero or a heroine;
The cast can always improvise.
 Sometimes the costumes are torn and draggled
And there is no time for repairs between performances.
 Sometimes they have the wrong props, or no props at all
 And the wrong scenery, and no curtains;
Only a bare floor and a bare wall.
Sometimes the heat is off, and the call for lights unheeded.
 So they stumble through it some way
In the dark. Perhaps the ending
Isn't always as snappy as the playwright's version,
 But it's just as final.

HELEN PEAVY. WASHBURN.

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