PERSONA WARDROBE

What kind of mask are you wearing right now?

PERSONA WARDROBE

Welcome to my stage; now showing a one act curtain-raiser featuring a lifelong performance. A show that has it all: comedy to keep you rolling on the floor, drama that will make your eyes pour. This is my stage, my show, hence my title role. You will not be disappointed! I promise to give it my all. I’ll flood the stage with my heart and soul; you will be screaming for an encore. So with little a due, I give you myself.

The impersonator extraordinaire, I hide behind a nervous scare. My epilogues soar as you begin to roar. I feed off your energy - you make me ignite. Everything in my world feels right; for a moment. For when that moment comes and the play is done, I retreat to my somber chambers and become undone. The pseudo-me you’ve come to love and cherish, must now perish.

Every night a part of me dies, my other self built on pretend and lies. I cut myself and peel layers off of me. Each layer a stage persona I’ve worn for the day; pieces of me I rip away. This ritual is tearing at my core - I don’t know if I can take much more. I chase it all down with thoughts of bane to numb the pain, moments before I step out into the rain. May this rain wash away all my sins and tears, for tomorrow, I shred my skin and watch myself disappear all over again.

Author's Note

The poem is written in paragraphs as opposed to stanzas as it's supposed to be read like a story. I've written it with flow in mind so it should be very smooth :)

Reviews

[miSS LEaf]

it's tragic how we lose our originality due to public's expectations. . . which is why the concept of soulmate is so appealing to me, in the matter of how i and the person can be honest with each other; peel off our masks and just be the best of ourselves. . . though the idea seems to be surrealist, it does make me wonder if i should become my own soulmate?

there are some great lines in this (prose) poem; like: "for when the moment comes and the play is done, i retreat to my somber chambers and get undone. the pseudo-me you've come to love and cherish, must now perish." great sentences! i like the opening, too, enjoy this writing very much ~L

[Coyote Poetry]

You create a complete sad story in so few words. I could feel the walls falling down in your words. Sometime we find a place where we are content. We accept defeat as with victory. We forget we must get away and begin a-new. The story get colder and more lonely. A sad ending to a powerful story.
Coyote

[Margaret Madison Helms ..]

I like the second paragraph :) It gives off the expression of creativity & that moment happening right away. Its really good, my dear :")

[Cassiopia Summers]

I like the way you've written it to be a story, I think that is what makes it work. If it was written in any other form, I don't think the poem would work. Great write, I really love it. (: It's going in my list.

[Dream Weaver]

This nothing short of brilliant. I wrote something similar
called "Sideshow" but this piece is much more Intriguing
and well written. Nice work....

[Jason Galliger]

the paragraphs make it hard to follow the rhymes at first but once you get past that it flows really well, good imagery in the last paragraph

[Abdul Aziz]

Very innovative. On seeing that the poem was written in paragraphs, I was prepared to read more prose than poetry, but how you proved me wrong here. It is certainly the first time I'm reading an entire poem written as rhymed sentences in paragraphs.
The points you raise in this poem are very profound too, like miSS LEaf has pointed out. There are too many great lines to quote here.
Suffice it to say, I really like this poem, and it is going into my favorites right now!

[zogzog]

i like your writing flaw....

by reading this, the begining seems to come off as true desire of the performance artist which is acceptacne (i suppose). then the end reveals the truth of the matter....not being really fulfilled (probalby due to an over exagarated ego)....emptiness, sadness, addiction, and the truth, reality.

as usual, dude, very awesome....

[Marie Harrison]

I loved it! It was a smooth read for me. So perceptive of comedians and other public figures who crave the spotlight. Being unknown is a blessing sometimes, when it comes to freedom. Fabulous write!90

[alesuriko]

I really liked the theatrics within this piece. How the masks of who and how we portray ourselves are expressed through the concept of an actor on the stage, taking on so many different characters that he's now forgotten who he actually is beneath it all. The rhyme was really good and I liked the structure. Very dramatic prose. I loved it started off as more of a pre-show announcer, like that seen at a circus then it transitions into a theatrical play, and finally into the off-stage actor so that the drama, presentation and overall projection gradually lessens and eases off into a totally different kind of drama. Very intense piece, well done.

[Liza]

insightful! speaking from personal experience and taking acting classes i find this expression to hit home; we wear masks every moment, because we are expected to; during the day i'm the busy working bee, at night i am the wife - and somewhere in between i am a sister, daughter, aunt and friend....
its those moments in silence that help us tune in into who we are instead of being caught up in the human doing...we must remind ourselves to tap into the human being...
you've captured that here....