"All the World is a Stage." - William Shakespeare

"All the World is a Stage." - William Shakespeare

By Shaire Blythe

February 27, 2017

Probing eyes cannot see beyond sapphire glass,

Snapshots taken with a double, blinding flash

We should know the truth by now.

Intoxicating bottles have become a stock decorum

And green bushes are as desperate as the white powder

Some are addicted to snort up--

Why haven’t we figured us out?

I marvel at the lace dresses and the pristine bowties

And the subtle implications of showing a little harmless skin,

And the wads of 20s and 100s to proclaim we get paid

But how are we really spending our days?

Fists thrashing against cotton comforters

And lashing tongues spewing words we vowed to never

Speak again last summer are sealed behind one of the doors

That opens the world to our souls--

But only we will ever know.

When misery creeps upon us, we will swipe

Away silent tears and look beyond our views

Before anyone notices;

We'll rise, straightening out wrinkles that don’t exist

And pull out our phones, snapping selfies with crooked smiles.