Played: A Poem

Played

by: Arch Nemesis

©2009

He played man
Dressed in life’s lessons
Smoking on regret’s pipe
With responsibility branded on his chest
He had the look
Of being different from the others
Carefully calibrated calculations
Of how to caress my emotions
He played concerned
Buttoned up over guilt of what went down
He was convincing
In how he showed me his likeness
This
Was the turning point for me
B/c he
Auditioned well
Spoke the lines as if he wrote them himself
Upstaged the truth
And monologues his intentions
Soliloquies of past tendencies
But
Changed man
Was the Character placed before me
Should have known
That costume changes are expected in this play
Theatrical standard that becomes boring
If it doesn’t occur
And soon
What is expected
Is change
Climax with no resolution in site
He is protagonist
With an antagonist’s spite
He lied
Went against script
And then hugged me
To hold my heart in place
Re-synchronizing our heart beats
So that I couldn’t tell that his
Was different from mine
He in Guys and Dolls
While I sang the chorus’ warning in Antigone
Wiping my tears with Tom Stoppard’s manuscript
Understanding that
“It is in God’s humor
to direct our hearts to all
but those who have a right to it”
Looking for stage exits from this Greek tragedy
B/c I’m stuck in Elizabethan ideals
Women were not suppose to be on this stage
We were intended to be it
Hence
The true meaning of this being a man’s world
And all the world
His stage
Walked on
Each page he made an appearance
Why didnt I see it
See his costume
See his blocking
See the de dum de dum de dums
In his sonnets
He may as well have been Shakespeare’s muse
Amusing my fancy
Because he was to me
Who he portrayed to be
And everyone but me knows
That the lights eventually dim
Make-up gets removed
And costumes hung back up
Seemingly apparent to being a play
But this is my heart
It has no understudies
And he knew that
Cast me in this role
Took the lead and played his part well
Yes
He played interested
Available
Passionate
And willing
It was his intentions that projected lies
I see the conclusion now
The play didn’t end the way that the prologue alluded to
Just disheartening
To think
You found someone who isn’t like the others
Only to find out
That he just dresses up better
He fit the role
Played it well
Who am I to blame him
For being a good actor
Yes, a good actor
His role
He played it well
He played
My man