The World According to Poetry #23

Jaded
By Stephanie Wood Miller © 2019 

They arrive in their thousands daily

Fresh-faced prom queens

Community theater stars

Poets, songwriters, storytellers, writers

Seeking the warmth of stardom

And a reckoning for their talent

Their pens pour fourth ink

Their keyboards tap

Their eyes weep

Their hearts bleed

They stand naked on stages

Dance on blistered and bloodied feet

Sing into padded microphones

Stare in black soulless lenses

And always they hope

Days, months, years pass

They bartend

Work in offices

Hawk cars and gadgets

Eat ramen and beans

Take up smoking 

And try shield the dimming spark

Some lose their footing

And descend into delusion

Those who began as dreamers

Evolve into idealists

Or begin fantasizing 

Until they find themselves

Watching the sun set into the West

Over a fading blanket if the false gold

Startled by the icy water

Their hearts seal closed 

Cold, solid and pale green