a freshman waxes poetic poorly about a program he would abandon
i sit in the tech booth

friends become people they aren’t ahead of me
i fall in love with every one of them over again
i set the mood, unable to join them on stage
i wouldn’t dare to move from my seat

i fall in love with friends and fellow actors on stage
the ones avenging terrible deeds
and the ones being avenged

i watch as my best friends are thrown on stage,
pulled to the ground by other friends,
i remember watching them learn it
seeing them sword fight out of costume and off stage
watching as they’re taught fencing etiquette
the audience doesn’t know the intricacies of it

i fall in love with best friend playing odd roles
delight in watching them lose the fight
and later i’ll tell them they played it just right
though i hate watching as their character dies

they speak of family
of killing for one another
and i sit in the tech booth
knowing that they really would

and next year i’ll join them
i’ll be up on that stage
or i’ll still be in the tech booth
i’ll be happy either way

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