Curtain Call

Looking back through smoky scenes
that never played to sellout crowds,
my stoic denial of all but disgust
for war-time performances sickens me

and so I urge myself to swallow
that bitter dose of truth, which,
accompanied by logic, sets free
the knowledge that I liked it

familiar smells return to thrill me
and forgotten sounds echo again,
causing me to wonder
which is real, then or now?

my willing brain re-sets the stage
for long-dead actors to play once more
those roles which earned them nothing
but pain, death, and bad press

and I want to scream at critics
that opinions change, though they may not,
for across a new, American conscience,
I hear words which make this player proud

C.  Lon  R.  Bruso