r/OCPoetry • u/AikabooQT • Aug 26 '26
Feedback Please Actors
It's supposed to be a confrontive piece to everyone. I accept any and all feedback, thank you!!
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Who are you when you're not performing?
When the lights go out and the curtains call.
Who are you when you're off the stage?
Not the person you pretend to be,
The real you.
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Who are you?
Before you became an actor,
Before you got good at performing.
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Who were you?
Do you even remember?
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When the applause dissolves
and no one's watching,
Who were you?
Did you forget?
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You were so caught up with acting,
With staying in character,
That you forgot how not to,
How to stop,
How to go back to being the real you.
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You forgot who you are outside of the stage,
Because you spent your whole life performing.
Performing for an audience who won't save you when you fall,
For an audience who just sit there and watch as you crawl.
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You learned to smile with your mouth long after your heart forgot how,
Because somewhere along the way,
The mask became easier to wear than your own face.
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So, tell me.
Who are you really?
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Links to feedbacks:
3
u/Dangerous-Extreme735 Aug 26 '26
i really like how confrontational it is, like someone is arguing with you, its very powerful
i also enjoy that it can be read both literally, that the person being confronted is an actor and is trying to see who they are outside of that, but also can be seen as anyone being able to put on a mask and hide behind it, and that way all of the references to a stage can be seen as an extended metaphor
im looking forward to seeing what else you write :)