Pilfered

Pressed stripes of glossy grain

Against the beaten yellow, wind

Around in nature's pattern slow,

As pencils scar the dead.

Poor kings grow wide and old,

Age crowns them giants who

Attempt to brush the clouds

And smile to bodhisattvas up.

Pilfered of their hands and feet

A growl of metal teeth tears

Apart the crying bark while

Ants scatter, squish and

Purple frogs die in the sun.

Acting

First thing first: I am stage manager for Centre Players' production of Romeo and Juliet.

Now I'll spill the beans: I must say, that acting turns me on. Not necessarily my own acting, but acting in general is a thrill to watch and to be a part of. The energy, the intensity, the focus and determination - it's exhilarating. To look straight into someone's eyes and become someone else, it makes me weak at the knees.

The other day, we were rehearsing for Romeo and Juliet, and our Juliet (dearest Becca) was in a car wreck, but is completely fine; the car is just wrecked, so I rehearsed in her place. In this particular scene, Paris is speaking with Friar Lawrence about the wedding on Thursday, and Juliet comes in to "make confession." There is a pseudo-faceoff between Paris and Juliet, since Paris knows he owns Juliet, but Juliet is very smart and retorts everything he says with utter politeness. It's very intense, and when Paris reaches to touch Juliet's face saying, "Thy face is much abused with tears," we understand to what level he owns her. So I was the one in this situation, and when David, our director, came in at this moment to direct the action, my heart skipped a beat, I was so electrified. His blue eyes, unblinking, staring into mine, embodying all that is the fiend Paris, sent something wonderful like blue lightening through my core. This is most likely the subconscious reason I'm into theater.

Whew!

As incredibly high-schoolish as it may seem, this makes me feel like I've lived.

I've kissed someone...

01. [x] on the cheek.

02. [x] on the lips.

03. [x] on their hands.

04. [x] in my room.

05. [x] in their room.

06. [x] in someone elses room

07. [x] a little bit older than me

08. [x] a little bit younger than me.

09. [x] of the opposite sex

10. [x] of the same sex TOTAL=10

11. [x] with brown hair

12. [ ] with black hair

13. [x] with red(dish) hair

14. [ ] with a tongue ring.

15. [x]shorter than me.

16. [ ] with a lip ring.

17. [x] who I truly loved

18. [x] who was drunk

19. [ ] who was high.

20. [x] in the morning. TOTAL=16

21. [x] right after waking up

22. [x] just before bed

23. [x] late at night.

24. [ ] who I had just met.

25. [ ] who I really didn't want to kiss......

26. [x] we were just talking not dating

27. [x] on a bed.

28. [ ] in a graveyard.

29. [x] at school.

30. [x] against a wall/fence/tree TOTAL=23

31. [x] in a hotel

32. [x] at the beach.

33. [x] at a concert.

34. [x] in a pool/water

35. [x] who was just a friend.

36. [x] in the rain/snow.

37. [ ] with a boyfriend/girlfriend

39. [x] in a car/taxi/bus/limo

TOTAL=30

40. [x] in the movies.

41. [x] a bathroom/laundry room/kitchen

42. [x] in the dark

43. [ ] on a roof top

44. [x]under water

45. [x] in the shower

46. [x] while they/you were driving

47. [ ] who was a stranger

48. [ ] more than one person at a time (like in one night)

49. [x] while crying

TOTAL=37

50. [ ] goodbye forever

51. [x] when I was drunk/buzzed

52. [ ] who didn't speak/ or only spoke a lil` english

53. [x] in a hot tub

54. [x] upside down

55. [x] taller than me

56. [x] in the woods

57. [x] infront of other people

58. [x] more kisses in your future?

TOTAL=44/58

Just enough to be experienced but not a slut. I feel great.

Still. Going Forward Backward

Panic pounds the light board.

In a flurry of worry

It swallowed the cues to

Protect them, but lost,

Digested, erased.

-----------------------

The room grows cold

With lights breathing hard

To stay alive, with no

Purpose. All eyes on poor

Tal, her hands shaking

Off the fear that clings - static

Electricity - refusing to loosen its

Grip on her. It squeezes harder

"Mathew?" faint faint, breathe

"help" so small. "Can I panic now?"

"No."

-----------------------

They live! The lights, the lights

Exhale their brilliance, pouring

Radiance on the pastel stage.

They glow, a constellation

Enveloping us all in majesty

And as the colors sway in and out of

Happy focus, a tired shadow lays

Down, worn out from giving

Birth to twins, only one of

Which survived.