The world’s up on a stage –
Out in front, a huge audience has been assembling.

We take on various roles,
And applaud or not, depending upon our mood.

Beautiful women, selling oranges, make their way
Through the crowds –
And even up on the stage where the nobles sit.

We eat, watch,
And play our given parts –
Noble, commoner,
Playwright, orange.

Shakespeare thought
The entire world could be envisioned as up on a stage
Playing out his plays.

Everyone else thinks pretty much the same thing –
Sometimes, collectively calling that production “the world as we know it” –
While each of us tries to reserve the best parts for our “self.”

The production always ends with a standing ovation –

Of the self, by the self, and for the self.