Dramatis personæ

For in and out, above, about, below,
'tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show,
Played in a Box whose Candle is the Sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come and go.

The Rubaiyat XLVI


I've never sought respect
in this world of make believe
from those who misdirect
to shape what we perceive

or those who have consumed
so much of the deceit
they sit entranced although we're doomed
the program incomplete.