Poem: One Soul

One Soul

 

yesteryear

not so climactic after all,

romps of drama on the ropes,

masks over a stubborn gallows

waiting, waiting, always waiting in the wings

as i parade through various fantastical plays,

these prescribed mazes with cued lines.

 

and when i look back i see

plywood walls of fairytale castles:

what can never be again,

no matter who i am supposed to be now.

 

all of it dances along, singing,

through the hardships and joys,

near dooms sticky and brutal

and monsters slayless and hungry,

 

always so close, it seems,

and yet somehow, here comes love again

and so i dive in, yet again,

for the danger and the joy,

for the honor of the wept kiss.

 

i do it because i've done this before.

even though it all ended forever--before,

the last time i escaped.

 

i've seen the face of death

so so so so many ways,

 

and the games, and the laughs

and the lack-of-boredom and tears

which circle in the roundabouts;

yes it’s always about the stage, 

turning and turning, until i've had so much,

and now i'm finally going to leave.

 

finally.

 

that finale.

the inexpressible, the inescapable.

the burning of the script.

the act to end all acts, finally,

for the very first time.

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8/17/24 mods ... 

8/13/24 ... a few mods

"And one soul in its time plays many parts."