Every vice of man’s delusion
Amplified by an actor’s mask
I’d sooner stay at home
Sipping espresso e aqua
In my corner store-café
Though even here is not
A bolt-hole from the Theatre
Those passers-by
Surely they are ‘extras’
From ‘Sword and Sandal’ epics
‘Westerns’ all gore and spaghetti?
Forever clad in Armani
They stroll about in a bubble
Of self-regarding Soap
When did the world become like this –
A playground for the narcissist?
Self-publicists deny sound sense
Preening on the Internet
While from a corner of your home
Reality T.V.
Distracts you from reality
They cannot eat the scenery
Rarely many roles receive a realistic wage –
A company of Thespians pulled this way and that
‘Who are you?’ – We are your very selves
Elevated here as icon-food
If this world should make me Caesar
I shall not enact ‘The Caesar’
Eluding the purple dipping in dye
That amplifies all character
Then like an actor’s mask
Inflates the slightest flaw
I will retain my rough Greek cloak
Reject the duck-down pallet
So when I sleep on the floor
I keep my feet on the ground
‘QUIET ON THE SET’
“Now you turn to him a long look of regret
Wordless yet anticipating this –
The audience must know
You are of royal blood –
Romance cannot be realised
But always always you remember Rome –
The freedom of the senses
From which the population drink their fill
In this exhilarating and intoxicating city
Free of royal obligation
Free of abstract duty and duress
And furthermore – I do not wish
To hear your private conversation
Your words of Woe
Ingratitude Opinion
Keep those for the movie magazines –
The hardship of Los Angeles
Stardom cruelly scrutinised
Struggle of a Childhood save all this
When you phone your psychoanalyst
We are making furthermore a happy picture
Heartfelt family picture
With Rome our glamour backdrop
And furthermore our budget overdue”
Bernard Saint
Illustration: Claire Palmer
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