nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

excusing the difference

with 6 comments


On this cold and wintry day …

along the Atlantic coast

~

When my son went to school, we often went to theatrical presentations at the school.  The young people were so talented and the presentations so well executed, I often went away with the lines of a poem running through my head.

One evening performance was particularly memorable and inspiring.  It was a production of Romeo and Juliet, and in this ‘version’ Rosaline was given an on-stage role.  Rosaline is the character who does not appear in Shakespeare’s play but has a background role as Romeo’s first love.

The young lady who played the part of Rosaline was memorable for her costuming and her on-stage presence.  She was dressed entirely in black Goth except for her hair – bright pink.  I remember her soliloquy – she begged us to look past her difference and see the person within.

~

pink roses

~

heroine

~

her hair

a stroke of pink

on the brown audience

~

more compelling

than the script

or the decorated stage

not surprising to see her name

on the program

~

Rose

in the part of Rosaline

~

in black but for the hair

even her lips

implore the audience

to pardon the difference

to understand

~

if only he had lived

~

she, of course, the heroic one

not Romeo

or Juliet

~

not the dead

but the left-behind

~

last rose

~

Copyright  2014  Jane Tims

Written by jane tims

January 29, 2014 at 9:17 am

6 Responses

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  1. Beautiful – the way you have woven this poem in with your story and photos – no wonder you call yourself nice poetry and prose. I agree 🙂

    Like

    francisguenette

    January 30, 2014 at 12:30 am

    • Hi. Thanks! The title of my Blog is actually niche poetry and prose … niche meaning (roughly) place … I never thought before how close the word is to nice! I’m glad you think so! Jane

      Like

      jane tims

      January 31, 2014 at 11:01 am

  2. Wonderful. I’ve missed your poetry. Your back story really added value to the reading, too.

    Like

    Jane Fritz

    January 29, 2014 at 11:29 pm

  3. Beautiful photos Jane.

    Like

    stephanie

    January 29, 2014 at 4:12 pm


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