L M Dee

Have your ever felt as irrelevant as a Blockbuster store
Or maybe Woolworths or BHS
One of those chain stores that folded
And people who once shopped there
Say things like "Oh, that's so sad"
And "I'll miss it"
Not because they still shopped there
But because they did, in times past

They liked the familiarity of a store
The idea of it
The notion that it would always be there
Without them having to actually visit
Or make purchases
Buying stationery elsewhere
Choosing other clothes shops
Prioritising other retailers

Have you ever wondered how long it would be
For anyone to truly notice if you disappeared
Or if they'd care
How long they'd miss you for – how long you'd miss someone else
It's no use shedding tears over a store you don't shop in closing down
Or a show you've never watched getting cancelled
Or a musician you never listen to quitting show business
Or someone you don't seem to care about dying.

Notes: in the UK Blockbuster placed its UK subsidiaries in administration 2013. Today the Blockbuster brand has mostly been retired, with one remaining US store open, and a few in Australia. Blockbuster continues as a video on demand service in some Nordic countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_LLC).

Woolworths Group was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain Woolworths. It entered administration in 2009,and was officially dissolved in October 2015. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Group)
Woolworths Limited, the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth brand, is unrelated (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworth)

British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, was a British department store chain. It entered administration during and was dissolved by the end of 2016. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Home_Stores)

While Blockbuster fell victim to new technology and streaming services, other stores have fallen out of popularity for other reasons. There's often a nostalgic outpouring when something familiar disappears, sometimes by those who did nothing to support the business. If you like a business, a television show, a musician (or any other artist) or care about a person, you should probably show your appreciation in some way.

The Unwatched Play

Frank lounges in his seat
Disappointed with himself
Feeling unfulfilled
"No auditions?" Joe asks
"No. Not even for an ad this week."
Joe shakes his head, saddened
But he tries to be encouraging
"You're still an actor."
"Yes," Frank agrees
Because that's true.
He is still an actor
Regardless of his work
"And you're good."
Frank shrugs.
"And you've memorised all of Hamlet's lines."
Frank nods.
"So what does it matter
If no-one ever sees you perform?
You can recite the whole soliloquy
In the privacy of your own lounge.
Give a moving performance.
That should be enough, right?"
"Right," Frank agrees
With false brightness
"Like, getting a part in a play
Should be enough, if the show is great
Even if no-one attends."
Joe sighs.
"That's bollocks, isn't it?"
He's right.
Because what's the point
Of a performance
That goes unseen?
Or a record that never
Gets airplay?
________________________________________
The importance of audience is a theme I have explored before and will continue to revisit. This particular poem was previously published at a personal journal. The crux of the poem is something writers are told frequently: "You should write for yourself, and it doesn't matter if no-one reads"; if that's true, then the same ought to apply to all the creative arts.