A LITTLE AjlfTHOLOCr
Testament from the Inheritors of the Waste Land
While we drop our consonants
The actor remembers and rehearses his lines
He remembers to remember the emphasis
We remember the emphasis
We forget to remember the rehearsal
The actor must remember the hour
Of the rehearsal, he must be
In an Eliot-hurry. We
Must not be in an Eliot-hurry.
We must remember our dignity.
Our dignity is not the actor's dignity
The saving of us from embarrassment
The triumph of the learned syllable
Echoing like a bell;
This is not the breath of our satisfaction
The uptake of our pleasure
~e are dwellers in leisure.
Our word is Mallarme's Swan
Undivided in feather and
Unrehearsed in movement
We do not remove our feathers
After the performance. We keep them.
We do not go to the Night Club
After the performance
In order to relax after our triumph
Or to listen to the rehearsals
Of our triumph. We do
Not go to the bar of drinking
Except to drink, nor go to the bar
Of thinking, except to think.
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