California
native and Syracuse scholar Troy Trenton Dangerfield restored us to
youthful energy when his first poem appeared here (My Passion Is a Beast). Today’s poem reveals an observant nature, the power of stage experience (Troy both writes and acts),
and the way the creative process elucidates elements of human
personality. The narrative here will be familiar to any of you who have
watched your characters come alive and evolve of their own volition.
Read this poem and consider the journey to self-awareness as we mature
and the animation of characters on a page as we write.
Two Actors
By Troy Trenton Dangerfield
It starts simply as a disagreement
that grows into an argument
and the discussion becomes yelling
and then there is silence.
A defining silence.
It is 3 am and they stare at each other
neither knows what just happened.
They are:
an actress and an actor
devoid of emotion staring.
He realizes he is uncomfortable.
She is looking and seeing too deeply.
She sees in him, on him, through him
and beyond.
This is what they have spent the year
trying to accomplish.
He has reached true and complete
vulnerability
but he doesn’t like it.
“You don’t care about me,” he says.
She brushes it off, “You know that’s not true.”
She is in such a position of power.
He sits.
More silence.
She likes it, like a wizard
using a wand for the first time.
She tries to comfort him,
help him find a place to be content
in this new world of transparency.
She touches him and it is lost;
that power is gone.
He stands.
She is now the object of study.
The transparent smile fades.
The makeup is no longer visible.
She is as she should be
with nothing to protect her from him.
He doesn’t want to hurt her
but he sees so much in her
for the first time.
As quickly as the moment came
it’s gone. They reflect.
The are inevitably closer
but the wall is built.
They finish their scene
and play their roles well.
Hi, Troy: I like the reality mixed with the acting. Very well done.
I found this poem true, specifically how the power passes from one to the other. The ending is poignant and sad.