three short monologues from Pyramis & Thisbe

I don’t know why I was reminded of these today. Maybe because I’ve been feeling like the wall myself, weathering the ever-present churn of Things Happening all around me. But I like them and I’m not sure what I’ll even do with them, so I’d like to at least share with y’all.

(Friendly reminder for any performers in the group: you can find a selection of my monologues on my website if you’re ever looking for a new audition piece. They’re divided by specified gender or lack thereof.)

THE WALL

there’s a process to everything
someone built me
you know
laid some
or poured some
or
i don’t know
well it wasn’t my process
i wasn’t there for it i wasn’t there until i was there
and when i was there i had my own process
which is this

i stand here
until the lights go down
and the sun comes up
and the sun goes down
and the lights come up

and sometimes an idiot
throws a hammer into me
in the middle of whatever
they were processing

and sometimes time
and weather
and curious fingers
chip away, widen cracks

and sometimes i feel
unfulfillable promises
drift through the hole that was left behind
but my process never changes
i stand here
and everything moves around me

THE LIONESS & THISBE

I cannot adequately
describe
I cannot explain
the extent of this hunger.
An ever present pit
in my stomach
grinding against
my insides. I stall
it and it starts again,
I stall it and it starts again
I stall it and it starts again.

THE LIGHT

The sun runs from me
there i said it!
and it does
it’s true
when i am lit
the sun runs away

this is only one of my many skills
another - lighting the path for lovers
another - revealing what is in the shadows
another - dancing in a gentle breeze
you could even call me
a renaissance candle