Greasepaint Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

The stage of life is strewn with dust
the curtain faded now
the boards worn down by many feet
as actors take their bows

The audience thrills to the glow
of satin capes and robes
the glitter and the powdered masks
enhanced by hidden strobes

Who breathes beneath this gilded front
and suffers sweat and strain
who bears with agony the paint
that clogs the skin and brain

What is a life, what is a lie
who knows and who can tell
if on the stage of life we all
hide in an actor's shells?