An Appreciation of the Cast

Who protects
the paying customer?
They love us
in the dreams
of theater
as we use
what they give us.
.
We are masses
who sit in the dark
or stroll
through their
halls of excitement
disconnected from
the life
beyond the cardboard.
.
We speak
in monotone only
with our hands.
They go
backstage
with real conversation
to delude us.
.
We have these
everywhere,
the inside
and the out
with stages
and curtains
and plexiglass
between.