Swan Song

Dedicated to my love for the stage.

She drags cherry stain across puckered lips,

Orchestra sounding in Overture.

The stranger staring back through the mirror,

Pale and beautiful like the moon.

 

She takes her leave down the darkened stairwell

Straight on to center stage,

Crimson curtain shielding her from eager stares.

Eyes closed and palms sweating she breathes in…

 

And out.

In…

And out.

In…

 

And as the curtain rises and amber light engulfs her

She feels the battered wood beneath her feet

Vibrate with pregnant anticipation.

 

Her breath comes out in melodious soprano,

Woodwinds painting her a sorrowful scene,

Brass ripping at her heart with harmonies,

And strings tying her to the spot.

 

A tear forms in her painted eye

As her ballad crescendos in climax,

And rolls down her cheek

At percussion’s final beat.

 

The roar from the audience

Falls on deaf ears

As the spotlight fades to black.

She bids her old friend a watery

Farewell.

Author's Note

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Reviews

[kublakhan27]

A truly beautiful and moving piece my friend...I've been to many plays and even a couple of operas (inlcuing Les Miserables) and I've always preferred stage acting to movies by an overwhelming margin...I always wonder what it's like behind the curtains amid the shuffle of wardrobe changes and everything else that must be going on down there, and I wonder what's going through their minds between scenes...lovely work :)

[Ashira Macy]

Thanks so much Steve, I am so glad you enjoyed it! There is honestly nothing more exciting for me then being onstage performing or backstage getting ready to perform. I will tell you that backstage is a completely different kind of drama than what is happening onstage. Still so much fun though. XD

[kublakhan27]

Haha I'm sure it is...it must be such an odd dynamic, but that's what makes stage actors great...there are no retakes or anything like that, just one scene to the next...last summer I saw Hamlet performed outdoors in a park that was once a military outpost, and much of it took place around the monuments...it started at dusk and ended under the lights...quite the experience ;)

[yuki]

Brass ripping at her heart with harmonies,
This is my favorite line its almost as if she is engulfed by the harmonies.great job :)

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

Crazy dramatic and exploding with intense imagery.
Amazing sights and sounds. Great work!

[Sindu]

Thats beautiful.I imagined watching swan lake though I never watched a live stage performance. It is thought provoking and i can actually feel the air of performance. Great piece

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you Sindu, I am glad it brought you in!

[Shapirta]

It is really good! very poetic, and paints a very vivid picture in my mind! it is just beautifully written, and the words are placed in such a poetic order! great job, Amy

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you so much Amy! Performing is a huge part of my life. =)

[Shapirta]

cool! where?

[Ashira Macy]

Mostly just in school and stuff. I love to sing and act.

[Shapirta]

cool! and you work in a pizza shop! you must be happy! but i'm gonna be a heart surgeon, and get into harvard. I decided that when i was three and i am still sticking to it! which is why ever since fifth grade i've been really serious about school and studying a lot.

[Ashira Macy]

Holy moly, that is quite a plan you have there! Good for you, setting your goals high is a great step towards success. I actually don't like working for a pizza place, but I am in school for nursing so it works for now. :-)

[Shapirta]

WHAT??? whats wrong with pizza? or is it the grouchy customers? or people who forgot to wear deodorant hogging the bathroom? or just you get zero money? either way, which shop do you work in? is it kosher?

[Ashira Macy]

Haha all of the above plus no one wants to make a career out of a pizza job. It is Round Table Pizza, though it is definitely not kosher.

[Shapirta]

aaaaawwwww.... I wanted some free coupons, =) well at least is the pepperoni good? i never tried it.

[Ashira Macy]

You've never tried pepperoni? Do you keep kosher? I used to when I was younger. It is pretty good.

[Shapirta]

yeah, I never had a cheeseburger either. I REALLY WANT TO HAVE ONE! so badly! but unfortunately, i can only have it with a fake burger, or fake cheese. whatever. wait... you're jewish? I randomly thought from your profile picture that you look like my aunt. and she writes too. maybe you guys are long lost sisters. you really look alike

[Ashira Macy]

They are alright, though they are terrible for you. =P How weird! Yeah I am Jewish, but I don't have any long lost sisters that I know of. Maybe a cousin or something though, I have a lot of family that I don't know very well.

[Shapirta]

anyone in your family who's name is 'rechama feuerman' i don't know her maiden name, though. she wrote a book called 'the great potato plan' does anyone come to mind?

[Shapirta]

and of course, you dont have long lostsister that you know of, they are long lost!

[Ashira Macy]

Haha, no I don't think so. But like I said, I have a biiiig family. I am constantly meeting people I don't know or remember at family reunions.

[Shapirta]

I KNOW RIGHT??? so do i! its like abnormal how many people i meet at chanukah parties, purim seudahs, etc. i'm serious, the moment i saw your picture my aunt just popped into my head. so i thought u WERE my aunt for a while writing under a pen name, like i am. lol. but your personality is slightly different and she doesn't act. but you guys need to meet each other!

[Ashira Macy]

Haha, no this is actually my real name. I might choose a pen name later. If you tell her to join this site then I can talk to her. =)

[Shapirta]

I don't even know her email! lol. but u two ARE TOTALLY REALATED!!!!!!!! its not normal! u look SOOOOOOOO ALIKE. sorry for the repetetiveness. just cant get over it. like, if i saw a picture of her when she was younger, i would seriously get confused of who is who, no joke. it creeeeeepy!

[Ashira Macy]

Haha, no worries. Doppelgangers happen sometimes, though people usually don't meet their own. =)

[Shapirta]

I met mine! in sternberg! the counselor couldn't tell us apart, though she was a year younger than me! and because i am VERY short, we were the same height! we even switched bunks one day

[Ashira Macy]

How weird! That is almost like a parent trap situation. If she had the same birthday as you I would have started to question it. =P

[Shapirta]

i know right? but her birthday is three days apart from mine! it rocks!

[Ashira Macy]

Haha wow, that is insane. Did you stay in touch with her?

[Shapirta]

sadly... no =( she doesn't have an email, or at least two years ago she didn't, and i can't find her on google plus! i dont know her last name

[Ashira Macy]

Aw bummer! Maybe you will reconnect some day.

[Shapirta]

i know. right??? completely off topic, but i have a question: what does kinky mean? there is a contest like something about kinky poems... what does it mean? i STINK at slang!

[Ashira Macy]

You are too young to compete in that contest, it is kind of like a rated R one. Haha. It is a mature one, so I shouldn't be the one to teach you what that means. Sorry I can't be of more help in this case.

[Shapirta]

never mind... i dont even want to know what that means. back on topic! can you pronounce my name? its hilarious to see my teachers on the first day of school! try it! some people can just say while others are like sh...shu...shupruno? no... shup...shup... shaprita! wait a sec... the i is before the r so... shapirta! its so funny =)

[Shapirta]

well, that wasn't really on topic, but whatever

[Ashira Macy]

Haha, I am not sure if I can or not. If I heard it then I definitely could, but I can only really guess. My name confuses my teachers too, so no worries.

[Shapirta]

How is that hard? Its like uh shee ruh macy right?

[Ashira Macy]

Exactly, but for some reason people still have issues with it. Go figure.

[Shapirta]

Weird!! =)

[Benita-Staebell M - Kin..]

I loved this so much imaginary in this
piece You've written thank you for sharing.


I loved these stanza's lines here.



She drags cherry stain across puckered lips,



Orchestra sounding in Overture.

The stranger staring back through the mirror,

Pale and beautiful like the moon.



Her breath comes out in melodious soprano,

Woodwinds painting her a sorrowful scene,

Brass ripping at her heart with harmonies,

And strings tying her to the spot.


Thank you for your lovely review
and comments you left on my page and this
lovely piece.


blessings. Benita / Kindred poet

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you again my dear, I am so glad this piece sang to you. =D

[Benita-Staebell M - KindredPoet]

was a Pleasure to read like the others I truly Enjoyed this read. you're very welcome. Blessings. Benita / Kindred poet

[Benitoo]

What I love most about your poems is the way your words melt together to paint scenes vivid with the full feeling of what you describe. You use beautiful, simple words, linked to each other almost perfectly without needless details that would make your images more concrete but less alive. Your line structure also is great at making the poem flow, bringing the right feelings under the spotlight at the right times.
The first stanza is my favorite. The imagery is wild, and there's the question of who the stranger is -maybe her role, maybe performance itself, and in a way possibly connected with the audience. Whoever the stranger is, it stares back through a mirror, pale and beautiful as the moon.
I also always love when words describe music, and you did that really well.
Great poem!

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you Benito, for your wonderfully articulated review! I am so happy you are moved by my words. I love that you saw metaphor in the stranger, that was very clever of you, not many would catch that. And music has been the only real constant in my life, so if I can bring it to life through the page then I am only repaying it penny to the dollar for all it has done for me.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

The imagery you give us in the verse...captures the moment...as you read this and become part of the scenery...the feel of the person on stage about to perform --- all the way down to the final --- as she becomes one with her world...just glides --- and ends...I did like your your take in the beginning:

Eyes closed and palms sweating she breathes in…

And out.
In…
And out.
In…

and off she goes into the performance...
I did not see anything out of the norm...
within this write...

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you, I am honored that this piece brought you into it as you read. =) I wanted this to make the reader feel connected to our primadonna, so I am glad it did its job.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

you're welcome...

[Ashira Macy]

So wonderful again my friend, this starts with sheer class, and rich imagination, I can't tell you how great you are in writing. This is wonderful cabaret, it could on stage, depending on the "title" I think it is... Gives me an Russian ballet feeling ;) if so we have that in common too... you will find out lol. Once, I posted this piece of music with one of my writings, it would fit here too.... Are you a dancer? :)

You feel the music, of the dance, and you just are music... thank you for this beautiful piece.

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCuX8IJT-_w

- Elisa

[Ashira Macy]

Thanks again my dear! I am so glad you enjoyed this one, I thought it might call out to you. I am listening to the song you suggested and it is beautiful, though I have never heard it before. I have ancestors who are Russian, though I don't know much of the culture if I am being honest.

I am not a dancer sadly, I have never been light on my feet. I am however a thespian, raised on the stage for many years I acted and sang. It is the place where I feel the most at home. And watching any kind of stage performance has always been a treat to me, so while I cannot dance myself I bask in the glory of those who could master the art I could not.

Thank you again, I love hearing what you have to say!

Nah that's awesome, how cool you tell me this. I could feel the love, you bring out of that stage into writing, it's just amazing, you sing, and acted. You're a complete artist, and it's beyond amazing. I can not sing, but play the piano, and a bit of guitar, I do the make-up for people on stage, and transform them now and then to other "types" here in the Netherlands, so I could feel somehow that you had "stage-blood" lol, it's just awesome. I will come by for more tomorrow. You have me hooked :) dear! thanks for telling me all this! :)

[Ashira Macy]

It seems as though it is the same for you my dear! Piano and guitar? Two wonderful instruments that I tried to learn and failed miserably at. And stage makeup is not an easy thing to do either! Perhaps if we meshed our talents we could become some kind of super being and take over the art community. Haha, jk I have to let the evil breath every once and a while right? ;) I am glad to have found such a kindred spirit on here. I look forward to our future conversations and friendship.

Hahaha, that's what I was thinking too ^^ lol how funny that would be! In my free time, I do this more as a hobby, and also in the periodes of Carnaval, in my younger years, I danced, and it was one of the best times of my life... haha, I laugh so hard, that would be too funny if we did... me too my dear! I do :) have a wonderful evening, and I catch you later :) -xx-

[RAOrourke]

I really enjoyed the flow with which you write and the beautiful imagery that comes to mind when I am reading this. Well done!

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I am glad you enjoyed it. =)