I have left the stage

When the last curtain fell
There maybe no standing ovation,
No 'bravo', 'bravo' from the crowd.
There may be no press coverage,
No critics toiling for a new praise-word.
But why do I care?
I have left the stage!

When I deliver my last soliloquy
There maybe no moistened eyes,
No lump in my co-actors' throat.
Maybe no void felt in the theatre
A parting script nobody wrote.
But why do I care?
I have left the stage!

Years from the last curtain call -
There maybe no evidence of my existence,
No historian mining the net for a clue.
There still will be drama on this stage
even if no exhibition of styles I knew -
But why do I care?
I have left the stage!

When I leave this stage with
no accolades perhaps to show
Whether I played my part right
Whether I carried my roles
Without a stage fright!
But why do I care?
This be my prize that
I've touched lives by the time
I have left the stage!