Theatre Room-a poem

Here I sit alone in this dark, tall room.
It is a theatre and around me sits hundreds of people.
We sit in the dark, feeling the gloom press down.
We sit and stare at a blank screen, waiting.

When the words come on, we follow the orders:
Enjoy life while it lasts; help yourself.
So I fill my mouth with buttery popcorn,
Waiting for the next order.

As I wait, the popcorn suddenly tastes bland.
I put down the food and pick up my drink,
Still waiting for more instructions.
But the drink tastes like lukewarm water.

Then more instructions come on the screen.
However as I sit and stare, with my bland pleasures
I read something between the lines:
Take up your cross and follow Me.

Suddenly it becomes clear why the gloom is pressing,
Why I am so unhappy, and why the phrase is there.
I stand and see a few others go for the exits,
And snake my way to the door out into the light outside.