ACT I

DAD: in his late 50's.
TRISTAN: around ten or eleven-years old GLADWIN: in her early 40's.

TRISTAN Dad?

Scene 1
Interior of a cheesy, unkempt motel room. DAD
channel-surfs the cable television, the remote in
his right hand, a cigarette in his left. He's
sitting on the edge of the bed. TRISTAN is on the
bed behind him, crying.

DAD
Yeah bud?

TRISTAN
     Is Mom gonna **** herself?

DAD
     Well, I hope so.

TRISTAN Dad!

DAD
     (Chuckles). What?

TRISTAN
     Stop! I'm scared. What if she does?

DAD
     Why are you worried? I'm not that lucky.

TRISTAN
     (Screaming). C'mon, Dad!

DAD
     What? (Chuckles again, longer this time). I'm not.

TRISTAN
     Dad, stop. What if she really does?

DAD
     Trist, don't be stupid. No one who's really going to
     **** themselves tells you like that. They don't sing it
     out loud. She's whistling Dixie.

TRISTAN
     (Sobbing at this point). Dad, I love Mom.

DAD
     (Pause). I know, and I-
               (DAD'S cellphone rings. He answers
               immediately)
     Hold on, Trist. It's your fat mother.
     Hello? Yeah. Yeah, you have this kid scared to death.
     Would you just tell him you're--What? Alright, Glad.
     Well enough's enough. (Pause). Okay. (Reacting loudly).
     Oh, quit screaming in my ear! Trist, (extends the phone
     to TRISTAN) here.

          spotlight comes up on GLADWIN, who is stageleft,
          lying in bed and on the phone.

GLADWIN
      Trist! Trist? Say goodbye to Mama. I'm going away.

TRISTAN
     Wait! Don't do anything bad, please.

GLADWIN
     I'm gonna swallow my pills, Trist. I'm gonna take them
     all and I won't be around anymore, honey...

TRISTAN
     No! Mom, don't!

GLADWIN
     ...so just say goodbye to Mama and don't ever...

TRISTAN
     Mom! Stop. Please, stop, just don't!

GLADWIN
     ...forget that I love you.

           Spotlight goes out on GLADWIN.

TRISTAN
     No! (Looks at DAD). Dad, she can't!
               (He drops the cellphone)

     Oh my God!
               (Leaping off the bed and fumbling with
               the phone in his hands, he hurries it to
               his ear)

Hello? Mom? Mom?
               (He closes the phone and quickly reopens
               it. He dials GLADWIN'S cellphone)
DAD
     Trist, take it easy. She's fine. Stop calling and go to
     bed.

TRISTAN
     She won't answer! (Breaking down). She won't answer.
     (Lets out a piercing cry). Dad!

               (DAD lights another cigarette and pulls
               TRISTAN onto the bed and under his right
               arm)
DAD
     (Rubbing TRISTAN'S back gently). Go to sleep, babe.
     She'll be there tomorrow morning.

TRISTAN
     But--

DAD
     Ah, ah! What did I just say? Everything will be okay.

TRISTAN
     (Calming, but still anxious). You promise?

DAD
     Promise, kiddo.

She runs the purple corridors of an inexplicable tenor;
forgetting the voice--in connotation of the congealed, mushy-make and pith.
'Victoria, you're dancing inside the bag of veins,
that creep the blood crooked to my brain.

'Your living in there, you know?
Forever, for ever
and ever for the time past ever.

'Stay in there. You were born in there.
You will live in there. You will-
live in there.

'Lovely, your lips do mock and expedite this breath.
A succinct touch even joshes my lungs.'

Alone she is;
together the sinews of my center-piece and she
be.

Only ever has it been her,
only ever will it be her,
simply never will no other
be.

Pudding pops are good.
Ba doga doga do dah.

"Cut me a piece of any size, large or small!"
a plead that beats lower my knees.
Like insects rushing poignantly,
with the pitter patter of hungry feet
I'll ****** a crumb, a mildewed one,
to curdle you close to the plug.
For to gag our hearts, is much unto our hunger;
a taste bitter in ****, rumbles louder asunder.
What we feel will run under and over
our shoulders, a cascade of thunder,
that can crack this old boulder.

We're all columns with cracks, that twitch when they creak.
I'm Doric like Greeks, but so loose in the back.
I never know which, nor with itch is this patch,
or the one that keeps silting and clapping this scratch.

As a Pete Pillar, a pillar of Peter, I stand the statue stand,
for when my Dad's too tired to greet, I make like a pillar with hands.
Near the gate, is where I see the men and women shaking.
Nervous is what nervous seems, as souls go limp with taking.

Eyes may run my name on skin,
but solely hearts can read within.

Feathers strapped on the outs of seem, of pink and purple, of color yet.
Seen around this violent weather, drinks that hurdle, are hard to get.
Together when soaked with prime no better, stoked to find and kiss the daughter.
In law, out law, outlaws fed her, he rather play a love bird tune.
Out the noise, when in the slaughter, eyes of boys are caught in June.
Tenth in line to raise the baby; dropped the world and dropped the toys.