The truth is,
I'm an actor,
a man upon a stage.
I can feign sorrow,
joy, grief, and rage,
and I do it this well
'cause I've felt them before,
but my heart is not Hamlet's,
nor that which you adore.

The truth is,
I'm a playwright,
I do it for the crowd
who can't put into words
the feelings they've found.
I write them like Shakespeare,
how I think it would be
to stand in their shoes
and to see as they see.

The truth is,
I'm a poet,
but I've never been divorced,
I've never had a nasty breakup,
I've never been to war.
I've never really been a dancer,
I've never sailed the seven seas,
I've never lost a friend to cancer,
nor seen eyes close in final peace.

The truth is
that I hope
those who read my works
don't mind
that quite often
it's the characters
and not the stories
that are mine.