Sometimes,
I swear
You look around
and see the world as it’s happening,
right there before your eyes, live
and in person
You can’t believe what you see
(or hear)
taste or feel.
Sometimes,
I swear,
it’s like I see from the eyes of a child
Or perhaps, I’m only childish;
in which case, I am remiss
Or perhaps I just digress
as if to deviate or wander away from the plot
or drift from the main stage,
which is where we are
at all times.
Or, maybe
it seem as if I lose my place.
Where’s my mark?
Is it here?
Where’s the tape
which tells me where to stand
Sometimes, life happens.
I swear . . .
There are times when it is unclear
whether the plot thickens
or if we are somewhere near the climax
or if, for some reason, the play is about to break
for intermission
It’s unclear who we are in this production
(No?)
Are we the main characters?
Are we the scene, exiting stage, left?
Or, maybe this is just a case of waiting for the lights to settle
and so far, the stagehands have yet to complete the scenario,
so elsewise,
it’s hard to know or understand where we fit.
Picture this –
The theater is huge
The stage is beautiful with big red curtains, velvet like the color of dark rose petals.
The house lights are slowly dimming
and the music softly builds to introduce the opening act.
Slowly, the curtain parts and begins to rise
and there it is, life,
unfolding like a blossom or a flower,
opening up to the world in slow motion,
yet moving in an elapsed speed
so that you can see the spreading roses of life,
blooming, like seas of red-blood to a flower
right before your eyes.
The theater is dark – the mood music is subtle
yet poignant and enough to delegate the mood,
which is peaceful and pure, and beautiful
like the hum of a quiet opera that operates in unison
There is something steady about the uphill motion
The music is taking off,
the altos and the sopranos, and all who sing in between;
they bring us into the scene and slowly,
the characters arrive at the stage
dressed in full gear,
wearing their make-up and playing their parts.
We are here for this.
We are as much a part of this stage
as we are the world around us
because sometimes, I swear,
life is like watching a film unfold
or sitting in a theater,
watching as the play untwists,
learning the characters,
becoming the stage, recognizing the backgrounds
to feel the texture
and understanding the roles
to comprehend the angles
that each character plays
Sometimes,
I swear . . .
Life is this way too.
Sometimes, it’s enough to make you shake your head;
as if to wonder
if anyone knows
if anyone gets it
or
if anyone knows when to catch the next matinee.
Life happens.
You are the witness
You are the main character,
You are the audience, the plot,
the climax and series of separate endings
which open again at the next showing
when the curtain goes up again.
I hear the second show is never the same as the first . . .
You are the narrator
The mood music
The scene and the plot;
this is all you
This is me as well but more –
these are the episodes in our head
which can either play out to be our fantasy
or like a Greek tragedy.
We can fall to the mishaps,
fold to the adversity,
fade into the background
or stand in our grand soliloquy
at the forefront of the stage
and feel house lights beam upon our face.
It’s amazing how life works –
We can experience something so hard or heart wrenching.
But nothing breaks for “five”
and the sets and the producers can be
quite demanding –
Well? So much for the actor’s union
(I guess)
Life can happen in the blink of an eye and
the camera keeps rolling.
The director keeps the play moving
because time does not stop and we can’t lose the light;
otherwise, we lose the scene,
which can either be a blessing or a curse
because there are times when life is happening
but our feet are not on the marks,
Our places change and the stage is not perfect.
I get that . . .
All the world is a stage –
That’s all
I don’t know how this works.
I don’t know how the critics will review this role of mine.
I don’t know what or if the writeups in the next day’s paper
will be good or bad
or if I’ll be mentioned at all –
Maybe all of this will just be
forgettable
or . . .
Maybe not!
Either way, I have a part to play
The stage is set
The music is my cue
The curtain is about to rise
And as the sun goes up to act as the big director from the sky
all I need to do now
is remember my lines
or adlib, if I have to
because the truth of it is . . .
there’s no sequel to this one
Not today
All there is . . .
Is this
Enter scene:
Today is 18,466, week 2638, month 606, year 50
Quiet on the set, please . . .
Actors on your marks . . .
and
ACTION!
The Written Addiction 