Can't Waste a Handsome Face

by Franco Bertucci

A good-looking man I know,
(he knows he is good-looking,)
lit on fire the college theater
and made the stage manager cry.

She, who had the lines in front of her
and had heard them a hundred times,
was sobbing in rehearsal
and I was choked up too.

I guessed he would end up famous.

But now he arrests people,
writes tickets for a living
and you can bet still makes people cry
with his striking face and fiery soul
and the fact that he is taking them to jail.

I understand his reasons, and probably,
he is right. What sort of life can an actor have?
Besides- I reflect- he is married
to the only admirer he really needs.

Still, he has at least one true fan
selfishly hoping for his comeback to art.

Awkward Guy

Poems and other embarassing things. 2010 Franco Bertucci