The Actress

‘She was always a bit of an actress,

I remember how she was,

Back in the days of the village plays

When she changed her name to Roz,

She wouldn’t respond to Eileen since

The day that she made the switch,

In print, the head of the programme said:

‘Roz plays the Wicked Witch!’’

 

‘She always got into the parts she played

And would practice night and day,

Try to get into the head, she said

Of the character she’d play,

She’d wander round in a velvet gown

Or strip right down for the beach,

There wasn’t a beach for twenty miles

But she’d towel herself in the street.’

 

‘It must have become a way of life,

A habit, hard to break,

And went on after I’d married her

Though it brought its own heartache,

She had affairs with her leading men

But she saw no fault in this,

She said, ‘It has to be genuine,

To portray authentic bliss!’’

 

‘The years went on and the parts she played

They became more grim and dour,

She’d often play the neglected wife

And her mood at home was sour,

She’d even try to attack me with

The words from her latest play,

And I would have to remind her that:

‘My name’s not Robin Day!’’

 

‘She rarely thought to apologise,

She said that she saw no need,

For after all, she was following

The muse of the artist’s creed,

I tried to ignore the worst of it

When she flung both pots and pans,

But had to go off to the hospital

When she stomped on one of my hands.’

 

‘She asked me to drive her out one night

To the cliffs at Beachy Head,

And play the part of a kidnapper

Who was holding a maid in dread,

She played her part, hung over the cliff,

And begged, and screamed, and stomped,

While I just said the word in the script

And the word in the script was ‘Jump!’’

 

‘I didn’t think she would jump, My Lord,

To me it was just a play,

To her it was the way that she lived,

Authentic in every way.

She screamed the most blood-curdling scream

That ever I heard, I know,

A scream that would bring the curtain down

On any top London show!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Leigh]

A trooper to the end, you really brought her to life and death in this very entertaining and unique read.

[Claire in VA]

Oh my goodness. She really took her work seriously, didn't she?
Brilliant as always.
Claire

[TPK Stories]

Sounds like she played her role right to the end...great storytelling DLP...

[Avinash]

Wow..quite a character she was indeed. Scary and Fascinating and the portrayal is quite believable.

[Taylor_McCutcheon]

This is a very good poem. Very different from the things ive read before. Thank you for sharing.

[Marie]

A real actress "throws" herself into her work.

Well done.

I'm writing a story myself about an actress, and it turns out just as tragically.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Indeed, a goddess that glides into minds forever stays with us, well done, good read.