Cast

I learned at a very young age
a bothersome truth that still stings:
it's all an elaborate stage
whose luster is lost in the wings

where extras expectantly lurk
beside the occasional grip
who tries to accomplish some work
despite the believers that trip

and stumble upon their own tongues
while desperately trying to lick
the movers that shuffle the rungs
for those that would like to rise quick

enough to deliver the line
that makes them the consummate star
forgetting it's just set design
convincing them who they are

so distant from the fertile plot
where we first learned to grieve
because we sought a better lot
but wound up forced to leave.