Page 49 - The Irony Board

Into the Body

Despite your care
To clear the stage
To leave you room
To act your age,

The curtain finds
You as it drops
Stumbling over
The lack of props.

This is a theatrical metaphor of anticipatory socialization. The
first, more general, irony portrayed is the frustration encountered in
attempting to behave maturely. Putting aside the paraphernalia, real
or imaginary, of younger days, is a commendable precursor and
prerequisite of advancing to the next stage of development.
Unfortunately, it is not always that easy to effect a change; long-
established habits of dependence work against a determination to
function independently. The scene is not played flawlessly.
A more ominous interpretation of the falling curtain leads to the
problem of death with dignity, an issue of increasing importance in
our society of abandoned elders. At this level of meaning, clearing
the stage is the final disencumbrance of attachments. If the
emotional crutches one discards in anticipation of the end of all
necessities turn out to be essential aids in approaching that end, then
one’s demise will certainly not follow the script.

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