Denouement

No stage, this page, for plays of phrase,
dramatic gas, or vain displays:

what speaks here must breathe more than lines,
exceed this moment, old designs.

No struts of fluster, furies feigned,
misleading missives, patience strained.

Have every word sing loud and wide!
Let wisdom find nowhere to hide!

Give hearts good reason they should race!
Frame characters beyond a face!

Tell pretense, 'Exit, not return!'
for any act here shall concern

the thinking of a Socrates
and mean as deeply as the seas,

a Renaissance of artistry
conducing beauty, truth to be,

the graceful cadence of ballet
in plainer clothing of the day

so when we exit, all should know
that what was seen here was no show!




Denouement © Copyright 2021, Robert J. Tiess.

View this poem at AllPoetry.com

20 lines (prompt limit).  Canvas / page talking challenge prompt - link: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2786916-If-The-Canvas-Could-Talk
Submitted: September 6, 2021









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