The Sound of Applause

William Cowper

They say happiness comes from within

Yet I proudly say I have committed the sin

Of pride- in my life many times over

I am flamboyant, I am a lover

Of attention from audience, their adulation

The sound of applause produces an exhilaration

That is hard to match- a heady feeling it is

Thunderous applause fills my mind with bliss

Throughout my life on the stage, I did strive

To give my best performance live

The motivation that might too shallow appear

Was always the same- to get the loudest cheer

Many other moments did bring happiness profound

Yet again and again I yearned for the musical sound

Of applause from my audience that proved to me

That my efforts were not an exercise in futility..

So accustomed was I to this adulation

I never considered my worth in my own estimation

Thus, when the vagaries of ageing led to demise

Of the career I had cherished, I realized

Bereft of the applause that I had lived for

There was nothing else to give me succour

The vacuum of loneliness gnawed at me

Suddenly, quite rudely I was forced to see

That without my audience, my self-esteem

Was in a graveyard- somehow I had to redeem

Myself in my eyes- do something different

Hidden from public eye, something that was meant

To bring some solace to my scorching soul-

I re-examined, in the world, my role

And decided to impart the skills I had perfected

To the next generation- I thus elected

To teach theater to enthusiastic souls

I thus redefined in the world my role

This time there was applause which appropriately

Was for my students, definitely not for me

Yet the thunderous applause that resounded in my ears

Came from within, said, “This is real happiness, dear!”

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