Stage Fright (revised/2013)
~ A Public Display of Garroting and Exsanguination ~ Accompanied by a Musical Interpretation for the Sake of Art and Entertainment: ' The Debut of Miss-Stress and Her Very Own Permanent Necklace '
We are almost there...
Of aged Spirit;
Of ripe cycles returning home to embrace the Legends.
Made from quilted wounds, and soon finished;
A Curtain Calling Us Home.
—Playbill in print —
...Would you like a hint?
My goal is to make you Beautiful, Sharp, and Warm.
I want your face filled with surprise;
I want your Eyes.
I want to watch your fingers bend and crook,
To rigid hooks;
And see them softly pry at Mine.
In them you will find your praise, your adoration;
Paradise.
Relax with me; and with me you will receive it...
But first thing’s first,
I need you to subvert;
Be willing to hurt,
And take this lead role.
*No Acting Required.
Just a fear of a three-foot wire;
And none of getting tired.
YOU; A canvas.
Stripped of color,
And stretched with consent;
Upon appearance,
Take Center-stage...
Show them your body, give them your face,
And in their hearts embrace;
Glow.
And in the lamp-fires light;
Bathe.
And at the finales height;
—Drain.
Then abruptly you will cease...
And from every theater seat;
Be it parterre, box, or balcony;
Will be seen: ME.
With orchestra playing low,
From this raked stage flows;
Like velvet ropes and royal carpets,
A Cascading Red;
Falls below.
Perform smooth, Drain slow;
Escort unto peaking crescendo.
Marry the cello and bassoon;
To the whitening of your flesh,
And the emptying of your eyes.
Climax; carried on by striking bow,
And the cracking of reeds;
The Curtain approaching is seen,
Timed; with the spilling of you,
And the flooding of the auditorium floor.
You soak heavy into wrinkled programs,
And strewn about ticket stubs.
Carried away underfoot, and winding up aisle ways.
Through the lobby, ornate and adorned;
You spread thin...
Just shy of the door.
The cool night air.
The endlessness of City smells.
The sound of these living;
Breathing streets.
They boast of a freedom,
Now out of reach;
Leaving you inside...
The Theaters, double-doors; Meet.
A Master-piece by piece complete;
Signed and Released,
With a Ligature Signature.
(2011)
