Bittersweet Spotlight

Warm confusion beneath blinding stage lights,
And arm, a face, an actor,
Makeup-caked and microphoned,
Reciting someone else’s words, breathing someone else’s breath.

In a costume, a spotlight, a little artificial world,
Where you can never eat the food or sleep in your own bed.
Never drink the water or know your lover by name.

So we smile our recycled smiles and choke out a laugh or two
Waiting for the curtain to fall, red and heavy,
And change everything.