The Actor Prepares

I sat in front of the mirror
in my make-up, my character
slowly bonding to my psyche,
when I looked over
to another actor, doing the same.
He was frozen in time,
his sponge hovering over his face
as if he forgot what he was doing.
I tried to understand
what he was doing exactly.
Was he about to cry?
Was he about to quit?
I couldn’t figure it out
for the life of me.

And then, he moved
once again, as if
nothing happened at all.
Then I thought that maybe
he had a sort of epiphany,
and he understood
what needed to be done
and what needed to be said.
Suddenly his majesty
came about him like
a velvet cape and
he was no longer there.
His character had taken him
away from this place.
I asked him, not knowing
how naïve I sounded,
if he was ready.
He replied in one word:
always.

Blind Date

I met her at a friend’s house.
He wanted us to meet
because he liked the match.
"You'll really like her" he said.
"She is sweet and kind,
pretty in the face,
she already knows
who you are
and would like to
meet you as well.

Come over and see her.
We'll have dinner together
with a bit of red wine
to ease the nerves.
We can tell stories
of days long past
and it will be
like we were all there.
And she will laugh
at your tales of fancy,
she will cling
to every word you say.
I know you will love her,
and I know you've been
lonely for so long.
She is what you are looking for."

Late

Running, running, running,
never stopping to take a breath.
There is never enough time
for anything, anymore.
There is no one else to blame
for this inefficiency.
The alarm clock is working fine.
There isn’t any traffic.
I don’t have a dog to eat anything important.
This is all on me.

Every day I fool myself
into thinking “it’s alright,
I will have enough time today.”
Today is always going to be different from yesterday,
only I keep repeating the same pattern.
Just five more minutes of sleep.
Just two more minutes of this program.
I really just don’t feel like going at all.
The same pattern, day after day.
I’m pretty sure that is insanity.

The King's Brother

His crown brought him power,
and his love took it all away.
Too young to brook these menaces,
too noble to let it pass.
From a love’s kiss
came the heart of a lion.
He will never yield,
and none should ever ask as much.
His kingdom for a man,
his life for eternity.

I look to my brother
and my words are lost in his cries.
My duty is to his majesty,
yet my brother is lost.
Must I bourne arms
against my flesh?
Must I yield
to the duty that I was sworn?
Alas, sweet brother,
my heart relents for thee.

The Movie

We always run in fear of being late,
and in the last moments we flurry
for our popcorn, our drinks,
one last stop to the rest room.
The previews roll on,
Forgetting that we haven’t sat down.
We’ve seen them all before.

The lights dim to near-black
And everyone else disappears.
Our actors begin to play
For no one else but us.
We are given a story
amidst coughs, whispers, and phones.
I look to her and she is crying.
I wonder why as she grips my arm.
I dare not take her away.

The lights return
and I ask her how she liked it.
She doesn’t need to say anything.
It was beautiful.

Letter to an old friend

There is no room in your heart to hate.
While there are times that you will
want to scream out, hit something,
and wish the worst on a person,
there is no need.
What is done is done,
and time has moved on
to grant you better things,
which you know are better,
and will always be better.
It’s alright to remember those other times,
which lurk in your head like an unwanted visitor.

You can still take time
and remember what you once had,
what could have been,
before you ultimately lost
what you thought you wanted.
But don’t become bitter.
The energy that you need to live
should be invested in better things,
like the love you now have.

And you do have love now.
You have love that is so much better
than anything else that someone else could offer you.
What does this other person have, anyway?
Do you care? Do you even want to bother with a guess?