Ben joked. Ben grinned. He knew already where a few faces were that he could talk to, faces that would smile or frown or look confused. He was sure that hacks of old vaudeville stages, doing a last turn from their graves, would recognize those classrooms full of coughers and shufflers who had paid their money and taken their choice. You sold the tickets and then you put on the show, with no applause when the bell rang.
But he did it and didn't really mind, thinking of all the jobs that were worse. He'd go home, and there would be Laura's lunch ready for him on his dining-room table. She was there, thinking of him. So let Peter and Wendy clone themselves forever. Let the crocodile tick. News of two afternoon committee meetings couldn't even bother him--he thought Laura's lips and breasts and wondered about h er hair.
--Sleeping with the Enemy, Nancy Price pg. 137
Their faces used to smile and frown,
They used to confuse and know,
Old and young graves,
We recognize what they paid.
It was their choice to sell themselves,
And when the show ends, there will be no applause.
Keep in mind
That the worse has yet to come.
Thinking that it has will cost you--
Forever.
Don't even bother to try and change it,
Don't wonder what could have been,
It will always end up worse.
~Silver Sun
I FOUND YOU!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you know who I am. Oops.
This is flippin' awesome. Your voice is haunting. I'm impressed with how you took the words and dragged it through what it needed to be.
However, I do want to point out that the text you selected already had a haunting feel. Maybe in the future, you could take something with a different feel and change the mood.
Just a thought.
Wow. That was breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I absolutely love the way you made this post yours and made each word count. I love the lines "It was their choice to sell themselves,
And when the show ends, there will be no applause." Beautiful. :)
The prompt is actually supposed to be happy. Read the book and you will understand. Ben, one of the main characters, has fallen in love with Laura, the main character, and has decided that nothing else matters. And the paragraphs are talking about his job in a creative way. He is a Drama teacher, and he is using that to describe how he loves her. It's not supposed to be haunting. =]
ReplyDelete