Chevalier

Mon Dieu, mon Dieu,”
   he screamed to the crowd
 
“On stage as a vagabond
   my home you enshroud

“My makeup—my armor,
   my performance—my cause

“Reborn with each act,
   as I hear your applause

“You take me each matinee,
   you take me each night

“To the depths of your hearts
   where my darkness alights

“Mon Dieu, mon Dieu,”
   he shouted again

“Forever my audience
   —forever my friends”

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)