This was a poem I submitted to my school literature magazine, hopefully they decide to put it in, but if not it's here at least. It was sort of an open letter to the whole cast, but especially to those I was fortunate enough to befriend in my first play.
To Peter/Wendy
I never thought,
And I never dreamed,
That in this wonderful place,
I would be.
When I picked up that script,
And walked on stage with shaking hands,
I never dared to think that they would choose me,
That you would choose me.
You know who you are,
And I hope you both are reading this,
Because you've given me a start,
And it's meant the world to me besides,
That it's me you decided,
A Mermaid to be.
Now I rise each day,
And greet the sun,
Knowing at the end,
We've just begun.
We straggle together,
Ladies shedding pixie dust,
Boys, lost, three tall and one small,
Two Victorians standing proud,
A flower child and a fish of the sea,
Two sinister pirates potting away,
Pursuing a flying, runaway boy,
And his new mother, so full of stories and tea.
I fell for the script,
Then the people, too,
The magic brought to life,
A classic breathing new.
Under watchful eyes,
From gods above,
We feasted on ideas,
And enchanted out lines,
We opened our mouths and light spilled forth,
Dusting chills on spines,
And coaxing tears from eyes.
We make a family,
The likes of which I've never had,
A bond unlike any other,
Forged in old magic of trodden boards,
That have seen a hundred openings,
Felt the steps of monologues and lives,
And accumulated a tsunami of tears from closing nights.
I know I shall add,
Not only to the monologues,
But to the tears as well,
Be a part of the layers of paint,
That mark out the acts,
Of plays long past,
And those yet to come.
But those tears, friends,
It seems those I cannot escape,
For now I've become quite keenly aware,
That for every strike of a second,
Upon the face of time,
Our closing chapter is circling in.
I wish not to darken the days,
But I can't help wishing for just a few more,
To draw out the fun,
And keep you all by my sides,
For I fear when those lights go dark,
Cloaking us for the last time,
You shall go your separate ways,
And I shall be left to go mine.
But I shall not fear,
As best I can,
For however this bright story ends,
I will be left with a few things for sure;
A beautiful costume,
Time well spent,
A sense of accomplishment,
And above all,
A truly happy thought for a rainy day,
The thing I shall cherish most,
And hold tight forevermore;
The memories.
Oh, the memories,
Those shining jewels coated in fairy magic,
From walking into a circle of lamps,
To the times on stage,
The fun and jokes off,
The friends I've quite luckily made,
And the nighttime shenanigans.
So, I thank you all,
All those who smiled and helped,
Who let me in,
Who chose me as Mermaid,
A debt I can never repay,
Thank you.
