The nearby church was being renovated,
The priest wanted something new, so he innovated,
Until the works were over and finished,
No one was to be deprived of the mass and punished.

The service was to be held in the adjacent theatre,
The believers sitting in the middle rows and aisles,
While the priest would be on the stage behind his altar,
And chairs were filled in sporadic patterns looking like isles.

Enter the priest for his mega performance,
Was he to be taken seriously or as an annoyance?
As the main and only actor started to recite the scene,
At times the audience would wake up and intervene.

An old lady was adjusting hair but she was still looking like a clown,
Springing up from the jump seat as the prayer requested it from time to time,
Women had to unfold the bottom of the chairs as they sat back down,
Chanting together, trying to outdo one another, all while missing the rhyme.

The early comers went for the front rows,
They expected to get the highs, they only saw the lows,
Too close to the stage to be able to get a good view,
They went for the priest’s head but only managed to have his shoe.

Ladies in the 7th row were trying to socialize and converse,
About who did what? Who saw who? And I know not what else,
And an elderly couple sat aside somewhere in the back,
Looking like some Broadway producers dressed in black.

The priest bows down and then does one more,
What, is he looking for us to cheer him an encore?
But he got a standing ovation in the end anyway,
Or perhaps the faithful were pressed to be on their way.

The morning papers never bore,
Of the performance any mention,
Since the script has been tried before,
Maybe what was wrong was in the production.