Last Full Show

Last Full Show
by Aurelio Rico Lopez III


On the sign,
Large crimson neon tubes
Spell THEATER
But the first letter T.
One E, and the R
Have burned out.

HATE is all that remains.

The posters and
The ticket vendor with
Yellow teeth and foul breath
Beckon.

Masked murderers,
Demon spawns, scream queens,
And mental asylum escapees…
Flooded in darkness,
Even the narrowest of minds
Can imagine the sticky floor
Coated in gore;
The anxious audience,
A devoted crowd
Of exquisite corpses.

The film rolls.
A Nobody’s Suicide.
Cheers and applause
For your acting debut
And the drama of your tale.