unlike most—
that the gig was
to simply keep
playing our roles;
we were heroic,
dynamic characters
whose roads through
hard times led to
changes for the better.
But now, the whole plot
has gone on for so long
that I've come
to suspect that our job
is much stranger
and less glamorous
than that. In fact,
we're now working
in those black times
after the show,
swimming through oceans
of slow-scrolling credits,
and trying to determine
for something
like "certain"
which strange collection
of symbols we were.
And meanwhile,
our customers—an emotion-
purged audience—
grow restless and mumble
their disparate ideas
concerning
when it's appropriate
to get up and go.
