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Dramatics

Center stage
hovering dangerously above the dark,
a single spotlight emblazons her fabricated face
tangled in pain -- the character, alone
begs to live a life
of a woman with love.

The actress vaguely knew love
with insecurity -- never the "safety in risk" stage
where passion and play excite and enhance life.
The emptiness left her dark
and hesitant -- ever alone.
With her hands she hides her face
and recalls how, once he stroked her face
and teased, "We could fall in love."
this woman felt not alone,
but eager tobrave the frightening stage!
This man with curly hair, so dark,

.~illuminated her life.

The wish dissolved, an illusion, not life.
Unable for days to face
this man, the actress receded into dark --
swindled of this love.
Like an actor without lines on stage
she was alone.

Now, again, she stands alone
creating. someone else's life
strictly alive on the stage
The audience believes her face
to be only a mask in need of love,
as the theatre fades to dark.

After, escaping through the dark,
she exits the theatre alone,
knowing that even without love
the theatre romances her life.
Struggling desperately to erase his face,
she relives her moments on stage.

Julie Ann Elliott' 87

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