“O, popular applause! what heart of man is proof against thy sweet, seducing charms?”
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!”
Moving!
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