[Newspoetry] Method Acting And Writing

[DL Emerick]

Method Acting And Writing

Being a character in a play,
in a story panned in words,
portrays a certain identity,
a critical standard arises:
does the character cohere,
according to what we expect?

Real people aren't like that;
oh, they have some coherence,
or the world would fall apart,
as it spins around us daily,
presenting the same old day,
with mostly minor variations.

Identity is more than facile,
though real people repress it,
as if they fear to be at odds,
as if they dare not struggle
against their assigned roles,
and show up as they truly are.

Follow the script that is written,
in the informal play of your life,
It's what helped Bush beat Kerry,
this idea that we knew who he was,
whereas that Kerry guy was waffle,
dented and pockmarked and scruffy.

Originality, variety, difference
threaten the idea of choosing
if a chosen thing is uncertain,
better the cardboard cowboy mold,
than the knotty mind of thinking,
which might unexpectedly be wise.