all the world's indeed a stage

i always wanted to be more famous than i was -- at the time. wanted to be known, liked, respected, accepted. and boy, did i try...

now that i am older, i have learned that it is better to like yourself than be liked by others. frankly, i could really care less if people did not like me -- that is their problem, their anguish they must live with. that is no way to live for me. there is too much at stake and time is too short...

-------------------------------------

limelight -- rush

living on a lighted stage
approaches the unreal
for those who think and feel
in touch with some reality
beyond the gilded cage.

cast in this unlikely role
ill-equipped to act
with insufficient tact
one must put up barriers
to keep oneself intact.

living in the limelight
the universal dream
for those who wish to seem.
those who wish to be
must put aside the alienation,
get on with the fascination,
the real relation,
the underlying theme.

living in a fisheye lens,
caught in the camera eye.
i have no heart to lie
i can't pretend a stranger
is a long-awaited friend.

all the world's indeed a stage
and we are merely players:
performers and portrayers,
each another's audience
outside the gilded cage.