Opening Night

Standing at the edge

Of a decision looming in,

Swaying back and forth

I feel myself give in.

I recognize the faces

And costumes I must wear,

A chest stocked full of traces

Of who I was back then.

I step into my role,

And assume the act expected,

Repeat the same discourse,

Still, fall short on lines corrected.

Receive the same applause,

Reject the same critiques.

Look past all the same flaws

Fall into the part I left behind.

My vision returns slowly,

I’m still standing at the end

Of the stage where you sit waiting,

Will I stay, or will I bend?

Written October 5, 2010. Alaina Perez.