THE SHOW MUST GO ON.

A PARISIAN GIRL IS RELUCTANT TO GO ON STAGE.

The show must go on,
Monsieur Donet says,
But what does he know

Of love and love’s bite,
Feelings churned, the
Body’s heat, and the

Sleepless night? Celine
Says to herself, sitting,
Waiting for the call to

Stage and the show to
Start and the audience
Waiting there full of

Expectations and wants
And desires. What do
They know of my love

And the fires that take
My heart and worry my
Head? She sits and stares

At her dressing room, the
Covered walls, the notices,
The pictures of past glories

And fames of other actors
And actresses with other
Names, the mirror where

Her other self looks back
And scorns and chides and
Copies all she does, repeats

All she says and moans and
Gives no relief. Pappa will
Not come to the theatre; no

Place for a decent girl, he says.
Mamma sneaks in and watches
From the wings, her hand to

Her mouth, her anxiety showing,
Her eyes glued, her daughter on
Stage, her own dreams fulfilled

Through her daughter’s act and
How she sings. The show must
Go on, Monsieur Donet insists,

His stern eyes piercing her now
Reluctant heart and head. She
Rises from the chair, dons her

Hat and fan, and goes reluctantly
In her lazy gait, caring not if she’s
On the stage at all or if she’s late.