Sometimes, I write poems. This is a rare enough occurrence. I produce something that doesn't make me grimace on average about once every six months. Examples of this will appear here from time to time. Things that may not appear to be poems will also be added here.
For Two Humorists Who Seek Not Fame or Fortune
After Ben Jonson
Those who make their name by use of wit
For money, they feel not the want of it
The fruit of reason being its own reward
that different gains they look not toward.
When last the role is done,
and the final hum'rous number sung,
the masque of privacy they may put to rest.
It's for them who's hidden to know what's best.
An audience that chooses its own captivity is a natural counterpart to players who do the same. One wonders: are there two types of shame for each of these two types of people: the tragedians, obscured by shadows, and the comedians, sweating in the footlights? The plight of the comedian: they are performing an act their audience has already seen. The fate of the tragedian: everyone knows the story, even if they don't know the hero.