Voices:
Editor: Marilyn Byrne
A Journal of Women’s Writings
Spring 2002
The
Actress
Nothing can parallel the safety of her stage
The visage of the beauty conceals rage.
The brightness highlights the shine of her eyes,
Her new face, the make-up, the crazy hair dyes.
She glides ‘round the stage making us smile,
To give us a show is part of her style.
Approval is what keeps her alive,
But does it sustain her when it’s time to take five?
She is the strongest, she has it all,
She knows how to shine, she knows how to fall.
Her sly moves keep our attention,
Covering up her secret intention.
She harbors her sorrow, she puts it away.
She hopes no one finds out what she needs to say.
She cunningly hides from the searching of eyes,
Her character hidden with performance and lies.
She moves to her ten-foot wide dressing room,
She escapes to the darkness, the solitary gloom.
She goes to the cabinet and clutches the pills,
To cover the permanent pain [that] she feels.
Pill after pill, forty altogether.
Who knew aspirin could cure it forever?
She lays on the floor without making a sound.
The make-up stained tears fall to the ground.
Her make-up is gone now, her wig on the floor.
She’s tapping her finger as she stares at the door.
While she lays there dying the fear in her grows,
She thinks to herself, I’m
the best actress I know.
Victory
A White Rose
I want to offer you a white rose
A rose not tainted by the smog of the city
A clean rose
A gentle rose
That stands tall
With a long firm neck,
Some of its petals
Come tumbling down and caress your hand
I want to offer you a fragrant rose
To remind you of me when we are apart;
A rose that does not wither
A rose whose thorns I have taken off
So it will not hurt you.
A soft and gentle rose.
Alicia Rivera
I have seen many things in this world that sadden me.
I have seen children victims of abuse with their self-esteem
shattered. I have seen children victims of class prejudice
excluded from educational opportunities. I have seen families
torn apart by drugs. I have seen us lose the war on drugs.
I have seen racial prejudice at the core of drug policies. I have
seen injustice in our court system. I have seen how society
blames the victims of rape and incest and how these victims
carry their scars through life. I have witnessed whole communities
destroyed by corporate greed. I have seen the poor locked in
poverty, the middle class getting poorer and the elite
rich profiting from others misery. I have seen how advanced
medical technology can work against the benefit of the patients.
I have seen the cost of medical expenses rise while the quality of
their services decline.
This is our country, this is our world. We have the power
to make it better. We have the power to make our voices heard.
We live in a great country but we think beyond the virtual reality
presented in the media. We must understand the source of the
power that is controlling policies that oppose human dignity. We
must wake up from our indifference, the comfort of our life, and
pursuit of personal gain to work toward creating a better world.
This is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss. Then my sorrow will abate.
Marilyn Byrne
Web Editor: MaryLee McGough