They Say

They say

Dreams come and go

Like the tide

And all you do is ride.

Who are they anyway?

What do they know?
And why are they

Always saying something

In ways 

that bring to mind

The hubris of

Amateur critics

Who inhabit

A snarky realm

Of passive observation.

Fueled with massive envy

For those who dare

Do what we do.

If they loved theatre,

They would feel, 

Rather than dissect 

Each play like a high school frog

While a boom box moans

In the background:

“Don’t know much about history

Don’t know much biology.”

Obviously.

Theatre needs the help, too.
Not for what it is

Or how it is 

Or what it intends to be ..

But merely that it exists.

And continues … 

In essence a typewriter

Or a phone booth

Still finding purpose

In a laptop, smart device world.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it?
Theatre reminds us

Who we actually are

As much as it does

Who we want to be

And who we've been,

Particularly those 

Who took abrupt turns

Into madness and greed

That led to self-inflicted

Versions of hell.

Of course hell keeps changing

Its goal posts.

Each generation

Has its own definition
While blindly believing

The antidote is close at hand.

(Heaven is just a shot away,

An opioid away,

A bottle away,

A toke away.)

Theatre marches on,

But it also honors its past,

Reviving projects

That once breathed 

With cutting edge/avant garde

Surprise and insight.

The apps of our lives

Will always change,

Sometimes for the better

Mostly just for a fresh diversion.

But human nature?

What was true in the 16^thcentury

Is just as valid today

And as keen 

As it will be tomorrow, too.

It’s a question of need, actually.

We yearn to navigate 

A taut wire

Without a net;
To find life in each second

In full view,

As if alcove cloaked.

To be.
That’s the thing.
Some might say the rub

But what do they know?

All of this 

Circles back to
Gauntlets of judgment,

Self-absorbed epistles

That hai ku months of effort

With motives that tear down

Rather than enhance.

It’s widely known

That it is not wise

To let other people

Get their kicks for you.

And it is just as unwise

To allow they the final say.

It’s okay to read the review

But remain skeptical 

As to its intent.

They exist because

WE do, not vice versa.