I think the entertainers must give thanks
To our director time runs as it does.
What if the critics wrote their columns first,
And actors read reviews before the show?
If that were true, then each of us would see
How our descendants in the audience
Would scoff and sneer at our performances,
Our scripts and stage directions, how it ends.
So few would even make the curtain call;
The best of us would choke and run offstage.