I'm a stringless marionette collapsing before unimpressed spectators.
My knees crack and crumble like the stucco proscenium,
a glorious pratfall performed à deux.
I'm a bad actor with worse supporting cast,
who were ironically not very supporting of me,
left me up there alone and now I'm stumbling over my oratory.
The stage lights are dizzying.
Each line falls flat, the crowd reacts,
they want their money back.
Each performance leaves me messy with tomatoes.
at intermission i peel them off,
I wash my face,
and proceed to face what I hope to be my last curtain call.