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.

Listen to War With Myself - Malcolm Gladwin by Malcolm Gladwin on #SoundCloud

https://on.soundcloud.com/rWsh6UA9FXEgY8Nh7


Shadows keep creeping in deep,
Battling demons,
misleading my reason,
they scream in the dark when I sleep
Drowning in echoes,
the voices are vicious,
they slither,
they tighten,
they reap,
Falling in cycles,
I struggle for silence, the war in my mind cuts too deep
Trapped in a cage of regret
Chained to the burdens I never forget
Poisonous venom,
it runs through my veins,
Lies in my ear keep appearing, they steer me, they whisper, they pull and restrain
War with myself, and I’m caught in the fire, still burning, refusing to break,
Lost in the fight
Nowhere to hide,
when I hide I'm blind
I been waging this war,
but I’m losing myself,
every battle keeps dragging me down
Every step that I take is a weight on my chest, and my soul is still trapped underground
I been waging this war, but I’m losing myself, every battle keeps dragging me down
Every step that I take is a weight on my chest, and my soul is still trapped underground
Falling but never let go,
Wrestling doubt while I’m counting the cuts that been carving their way through my soul
Locked in a prison of thoughts,
I’ve been caught in the cycle,
the damage unfolds
Carrying burdens in vain, but the pain is the fuel for the battles I hold
Wounds that I hide in my flesh,
Cutting me deeper with every regret,
Drowning in silence,
I scream without sound
Falling in spirals,
survival is vital, but all of the weight pulls me down,
War with myself, and I’m lost in the shadow, the fight isn’t over, I drown
Stuck in the past
Nothing will last
Fear is a ghost in my head,
Looking for answers, but all that I find is the weight of the words that I’ve bled
Falling through nightmares,
I fight with the silence, the echoes, they push me instead
Building a kingdom of wisdom, but burning it down every night till it’s dead
Sick of the cycle, it stays
Sick of the war that keeps dragging my name
Sick of the mirror that breaks when I stare
Fading to black while my past keeps attacking, the weight of it hangs in the air
War with myself, and I fight till my knuckles are shattered and blood stains the ground
Nowhere to run
Nowhere but down
I been waging this war, but I’m losing myself, every battle keeps dragging me down
Every step that I take is a weight on my chest, and my soul is still trapped underground
I been waging this war, but I’m losing myself, every battle keeps dragging me down
Every step that I take is a weight on my chest, and my soul is still trapped underground
Maybe the fire was fate
Maybe the pain was the lesson I needed to sharpen the blade that I take
Maybe the war isn’t something to fear but the reason I’m built to create
Maybe the battle inside is the spark that can push me to open the gate
Maybe the past isn’t gone
Maybe the weight is what made me this strong
Maybe the chaos is where I belong
Maybe the war isn’t over, but now I can see that I’m more than the wrong
Maybe the voices don’t own me, they showed me the struggle was worth it to climb
Still standing tall
Ready to fight

Castles of the Forgotten Shore    
The wind shall shape the shifting sand,    
In hills and valleys softly carved,    
Children build, their castles grand,    
A kingdom made with tender hands,    
Where dreams are shaped by golden strands,    
But waves will take them back to land.    
  
The waves will take them back to land,    
As wind blows softly through the sand.    
The children’s dreams slip through their hands,    
While castles crumble, soft and grand.    
In silence, shadows fill the strands,    
And all returns to sea and land.    
  
The gulls take flight and leave the land,    
While sea and sky reclaim the sand.    
The castle walls now slip from hands,    
Forgotten, drifting through the strands,    
As ocean winds call out, "So grand,    
The shore, the tide, the endless land."    
  
The shore, the tide, the endless land,    
Where once the castle proudly stands,  
Now nothing remains but shifting sand,    
Where memories drift like hollow hands.    
The gulls are still, the sea, so grand,    
And all returns, once more to land.    
  
In silence, shadows fill the strands,    
While castles crumble, soft and grand.    
The children’s dreams slip through their hands,    
As wind blows softly through the sand.    
The waves will take them back to land,    
And all is swept away from land.    
  
The kingdom made with tender hands,    
Children build, their castles grand.    
In hills and valleys softly carved land,    
The wind shall shape the shifting sand,    
As waves will take them back to land    
And all returns to sea and land.    
  
  
Copyright ©️ Malcolm Gladwin    
January 2025    
"Castles of the Forgotten Shore"    
  
If you didn't get it the first time maybe read it again aloud , then you will find the key