Actor Poem

I shared this with a couple of fellow Jesus-loving actor friends last night. It led to confession of sins, new eyes for forgiveness through Jesus, comfort and joy, and another chance to realize just how merciful God is that he keeps giving me work to do even when he knows I’m going to bring both good and evil into it. And even when I forget that he is all I need.


Actor Poem

Can’t somebody love me?
Can’t somebody stay
When the sets are struck down
And the scripts put away?

I gave you my heart
Threw it out of my chest
I cried on command
And it wasn’t in jest.

This mask that I wear
Is more like a graft
Made from pieces of me—
It’s my soul made you laugh,

Made you cry, made you think,
But sometimes I wonder
If this gift costs too much
For the pain it uncovers.

I stand on this stage
And I live in a story—
Fall in love, lose a child—
Here there’s pain and there’s glory.

Here I feel more alive
Than on regular days
But I’m hyper-alive—
Watch my heart as it frays.

Once the clapping is done,
Will you stay? Will you hold me?
I’ve given my fiercest
But I’m still the old me.

In this mask is a kid
And she just wants to know
That you’ll love her and listen
Long after the show.

When my dialogue’s stale
And I’m sad way too long,
Will you still stick around,
Can I still sing you songs?

Do I have to audition,
Will you like what you see
When I step off the stage
And again become...
                                      ME?