This is not my final curtain call
My swan song
My journey to the infinite sea

This is not my last goodbye to you

It is still now
The clock strikes zero in a silent chime

Clouds break, exposing a sky filled with millions of candles unlit

I hear you all clapping from your seats, but the sound does not reach me
Deep in the aisles and balconies as far as the eye can see
We are not on the same plane
Parallels collide from every direction

I take my bow
Look to my left, I see a dusting of yesterday
To my right, black shadows

In front, a lifetime of appreciation
In the dark corners, cemented in guilt and regret, statues holding the checklist of my journey

Each day recorded, observed, categorized and examined

The silence now haunting

This is not my final curtain call

I will not let that heavy fabric fall from the gallows and blind me from you

The script has no more words
I demand a rewrite

On the ground, the pen waddles
Ink still dripping from its desperate tip

So much pressure
No direction
No guidance

This is not my final curtain call

It is a call
An awakening
A new hope