poetry week day three

[meridian_rose]

Day three of poetry week, in which I'm writing prose poetry on the theme of creativity, the highs and lows, and the importance of audience.

The Unwatched Play

Frank lounges in his seat
Disappointed with himself
Feeling unfulfilled
"No auditions?" Joe asks
"No. Not even for an ad this week."
Joe shakes his head, saddened
But he tries to be encouraging
"You're still an actor."
"Yes," Frank agrees
Because that's true.
He is still an actor
Regardless of his work
"And you're good."
Frank shrugs.
"And you've memorised all of Hamlet's lines."
Frank nods.
"So what does it matter
If no-one ever sees you perform?
You can recite the whole soliloquy
In the privacy of your own lounge.
Give a moving performance.
That should be enough, right?"
"Right," Frank agrees
With false brightness
"Like, getting a part in a play
Should be enough, if the show is great
Even if no-one attends."
Joe sighs.
"That's bollocks, isn't it?"
He's right.
Because what's the point
Of a performance
That goes unseen?
Or a record that never
Gets airplay?

---

"You should write for yourself, and it doesn't matter if no-one reads"; if that's true, then the same ought to apply to all the creative arts.

Comments

[meridian_rose]

Oddly I feel this is less personal (at least to me). I've got plenty of distance from it - at least one character is British but they're both male, only one is specified as creatively minded and he's an actor rather than a writer/painter/sculptor.
In some ways I think it's less convincing than the others because everyone can understand that an actor needs an audience. The question is whether people can translate that into other creative endeavours and understand that as much as there's a real joy in painting a watercolour, if it's intended for public consumption (eg put in a gallery rather than just hung on your wall) then it feels like a failure if there's no interest in the finished product.

I can only dream of a six figure hit count :( But I refuse to write explicit Derek/Stiles just to attempt it. I want audience but I want to write what I want to write. It's another balancing act.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sorry I'm so behind on replying to comments but I'm getting there, piecemeal.