how they must have laughed
when they saw her
emptying herself
out of kindness within
the chaos of a show
maybe they clapped
thinking the performance was
top notch and that maybe she
would take her bow early
she smiled the whole time
even if what she had done
had not been for applause
but for living and breathing
and all that was left
of the good of her
broken heart
she didn’t know it was on display,
judged, and feared
oh how they must have laughed
for the final curtain to be called
the crowds to disappear
the lights to be turned off
and she to be standing at the back
of an empty stage staring vacantly
before her with the drawn curtain
every so often
getting picked up by a sudden draft
and hitting her softly upon the face
over and over again
les’nspired
