by Patty E Padgett

Created on: January 17, 2011   Last Updated: January 18, 2011

THE ACTRESS - 

Applause and praise she dreamed of nightly

Her illusions of stardom not taken lightly

The aging thespian alone on the stage

Her eyes barely seeing the words on the page

Each night she’d come to this abandoned site

To read yellowed scripts in the pale candle light

Stately she stood before an audience of roaches

Performing all she learned from her acting coaches

True recognition never came her way

Though she’d displayed her talent in many a play

Her face now wrinkled, her mind no longer clear

She still recalled clearly the works of Shakespeare

In her fantasy she heard Encore, Encore

Elated her imaginary fans wanted more

She’d grace the stage in her faded costume

A grand new persona she would assume

Then one night as she stomped across the stage

Reciting her lines in a feigned fit of rage

While performing The Taming of The Shrew

The stage collapsed and she fell through

The termite-riddled boards and the rotting wood

Gave way and she plunged in where she stood

Her big break finally came, for the fall broke her neck

No one would find her body, no one would even check

The building was condemned to be inhabited no more

Unknown were her entries through the old stage door

On discovering her bones, ‘twould be known for certain

For this mystery woman it was the final curtain

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