ALL ALONG

I swear I knew you long ago

In another life, or a different show

Or maybe it was a dream that I 

Imagined in my sleep one night

Like a song I heard from another room

That I wasn't paying attention to

The faintest light on the darkest path

In a memory I never really had

A word, a touch, a déjà vu

Our hearts had met before...I just knew.

I'm sure I knew you far away

In another world, on a different day

Or maybe it was a book I read

And I made it all up inside my head

Like a story I have yet to write

Lost on the pages of my unhinged mind

A glimmer of thought in an endless sea

A past that was always meant to be.

Faces in the crowd, a voice on the phone

An embrace so warm, it felt like home.

It feels like I've known you all along

We've played the same scenes, and sang all the songs

And maybe our souls just awaited the day

We'd finally meet and put on this play

Like the dreams we all shared when we were just children

That we hoped for, but thought, it's one in a million

With a twinkle of stars, and no wish denied

This journey became a hell of a ride.

One for the love of it, two for the show

Hold on to these memories, and never let go.

Caren E, Salas

This is dedicated to the wonderful cast and crew (and really everyone involved) of Long Beach Playhouse's "My Fair Lady" - Summer of 2018. I love you all.

Photo: Long Beach Playhouse

MY DANCIN' SHOES (#23 - a poem about shoes)

I never knew 

What the years would do

To my shoes

Hidden, stored away

Melancholy memories repressed

I had all but given in

To ever wearing them again

But then...

A second chance

A brand new song

To dance to

But time had been a bit unfair

To my old shoes

And now it's clear

I'm gonna' need a new pair.

Caren E. Salas

Photo: Poshmark

Eyes Closed

The petals drop one by one
My opening night bouquet
Fading into every day
Mere hours remain of this dream
And I don't want to wake up
Eyes closed, let me sleep some more.


Caren E. Salas

Just a Dream

Sometimes I think

It was just a dream

Another life

Me, imagining.

My dancing shoes

Have gathered dust

My singing voice 

Is a little rusty.

My body is tired.

My song is sad;

A quiet echo

Of what once I had.

But still I try

No giving in,

Discouraged by

What could have been.

It may not end 

The way I planned,

But I'm on my feet

And I can make a stand.

And if I can stand,

Then I can dance.

Another show.

Another chance.

I refuse to quit.

No surrendering,

And never stop

Remembering...

That once I thought

It was just a dream

Another life

Me, imagining.

Caren E. Salas

Photo: CSUDH  "A Chorus Line" 1988

Forgetting

I dropped the ball.
I let go of the string.
I had it down, I had it right;
But when the time came, everything...
Well, everything went out the window.
All the preparations seemed
To vanish in a fog.
How could it go
So very wrong?
So hard to pick myself back up;
Pieces of myself scattered
All over the place.
I made that leap of faith
But fell.
My self esteem has left the building;
Left with out a trace.
I blew the shot
I jumped the gun
Thinking way too much it seems;
Trying to remember, and forgetting...
Forgetting in the end...
To have fun.


Caren E. Salas


photo: www.oldnick.org.au

Way Too Fast

The final hours tick away

Time's flying way too fast

I'm not quite ready for this show

To be part of my past.

To quote the song "Who will buy..."

These moments that I've shared

With people that I've grown to love

Risking all I'd never dared.

Caren E. Salas

photo: coarchitechs.com

The Leap

Years of lost dreams

Excuses and reasons

Watching my life pass

Just counting the seasons.

And through all that time

I laughed and I cried

Thinking one part of me

Had already died. 

I gave up on hope

And who I used to be

Wishing new friends had met

The girl who was me.

But just when I thought

All my chances had passed

A fuse was re-lit

Now I'm having a blast!

Convinced to go back 

To the girl I once was

With the person I am

To again hear the applause.

That girl wasn't gone

Maybe just gone to sleep

And I'm not sorry that I 

Was pushed into the leap.

Caren E. Salas

Sometimes you need a nudge, a push or even explosives to encourage the leap of faith that changes everything. Thanks to my friend Jane, whose answer to "I'll just watch," was "No. YOU should audition." and to my husband Bill, who agreed: "You should. Do it." You both must know you've created a monster. Love you.

A New Song to Sing

I have a new song to sing

And a new dream I'm dreaming;

In my heart, rhythms beating

I haven't known in so long;

So long, almost forgotten,

Almost, but not completely.

Feelings deep inside of me

For years, buried underneath

But now the spark's ignited,

And the flame grows everyday.

My "new" dream isn't so new

And the song, a deja vu.

  Caren E. Salas

Theater Student - Day 13

Dance practice: 5 hours a day - 3 days a week. Mandatory.
Voice lessons: 2 hours a day - 2 days a week. Mandatory.
Acting class: 1 1/2 hours a day - 5 days a week. Mandatory.
Help with set construction and costume crew: Mandatory.
Rehearsals: 4-5 hours a day - 5-6 days a week. Mandatory.
Other courses you need for your degree: Only when necessary.
Homework from said other courses: As needed.
Going out after rehearsals for booze and/or coffee (usually in that order): As often as possible.

Eating and sleeping. Optional.



Caren E. Salas


Today's prompt was to write a poem about something "optional" which made me think about my college days. There was always so much to do, I barely had time to eat and sleep!

After It's Over

After weeks of rehearsal, long days, late

Nights, learning lines, music, dance steps, blocking,

Opening night arrives with lights, applause,

And dreams come true. Yet before we knew it,

We were making our final bows, curtain

Falling; fade to black.  We held each other,

Hoping the moment would last, but knowing

The next day, there'd be a void, an empty 

Space, restless energy with no release...

While we waited for the next audition.

Caren E. Salas 

Robert Lee Brewer's Wednesday Prompt: vacuum: however you want to interpret that.  I thought of a void, black hole kind of thing, and I remembered what it felt like every time a show I was in closed. We all got "post play blues" until the next one came along. This is dedicated to all my crazy theater friends! (Special thanks to my friend Robin Harrison for finding this picture from "A Chorus Line". - I'm second from the end on the right side.)