As thick as the red heavy velvet,
that veils the outlines
of the with white marble decorated stage, 
was the with longing perfumed breath 
that lingered in the air,
exhaled during the opening act, 
received with an ovation
that still echoed in between the walls

the première where the heart laid kneeled 
naked with her face on the cool stones
whispering utterances…
singing ballads of a grandiose love…
long after
the in black silk and lace draped audience
had abandoned their reclining black leather seats;
and the 8 tier chandeliers
ceased to illuminate the space
with their gold-flavored sheen

where the ever relentless
lashing tongue of disillusion;
captured in act 3, scene 2;
left behind the raw scent 
of crimson cried tears,
desecrating the white marble
with small puddles of the;
as labeled;
vile red-tinted bodily fluids

carelessly tossed in the corner,
the crumpled remains of a program
that once was held
by a hand whose owner still believed in dreams
long before the all overruling
shadows of desperation 
...as presented in the final act...
suffocated the last rays
of innocent devotion