The Pact

Theatergoers at a show
Hope it is guaranteed
That reality’s suspended,
Which is all we really need.

Both the audience and actors
Enter in a silent pact:
In the seats, we block our problems;
On the stage, they grandly act.

It’s a tacit understanding
That we’re all there to escape,
Though the methods we have chosen
May assume a different shape.

When the actor is performing,
Disappearing in his role,
All his real-life issues vanish
And he’s tightly in control.

If he does his job correctly,
That’s the ticketholder’s dream;
For the world upon that stage
Is all there is, so it would seem.

We don’t need to sign a contract
For the theater’s sealed the deal:
While the curtain’s up we’re certain
What we’re witnessing is real.