Applause

You applause the actor Her harmonious tone Her play of words Her triumphs heard But do you love the stage after the song The leftover footprints from where it sang along Atoning for every step that was missed Retrieving the dust from her accomplishments The dust from the skill she used to win The dirt from the shoes that store talent within She takes a bow and stifles her breath For love won’t come if she shows weakness next But no one applauds the stage after the show For being there, for laying low For setting a platform all but their own The cleaners perceive them as one last chore The light flicks off, and what is love? The stage hadn’t known, from being alone And it will never know, until the lights flick on And the cleaner applauds it for all it has done