Lost Song

Somewhere, at some time, someone

Will discover this lost song, and be as one—

As one as the song, and one as the one 

Who sings it. Let fade Time’s protean decree.
Here, we exist in eternity. Let this be the sieve

That carries the gold from the river,

The endless sunrise that stirs you

From your troubled slumber.

Let your awakening be a perfect reconciliation,

Your every gesture, an act of faith.

The air breathes into your lungs its aromatic breath,

And you breathe into the song. The song, in turn,

Breathes into your soul, and the souls

Of all who hear it. And within your soul

There is a promise being kept, an eternal embrace

Between the infinite aspects of your being,

A tender kiss between all that you know

And all that you are now learning, a Truth

That makes you tremble, that makes you weep.

Keep reading. Soon this song will not be lost,

And both of us—you who read and I who write—

Will find what it is that we seek.

Afternoon in Boston Common 11/16/19

My eyes behold a sun-drenched field

Of bright green grass 

Strewn with shimmering leaves

Made silver in the sunlight.

A young couple saunters around,

Bending down to pet a little squirrel

Who has learned to comingle with the people

In this park of peace.

The church bells play a merry,

Then a somber song.

I wander along, and I myself stop to say hello

To a little squirrel. 

I take a seat on a green bench along the walk

To watch the passersby and think 

Peaceful and solemn thoughts.
A young man walking by—from out of nowhere, it seems—

Approaches me with his hand extended. 

I shake it warmly.

He offers me a hug, and I don’t find this strange

In the least. I get up and embrace him,

He wishes me a good day, and I him,

Then he goes on his way.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, but a little

Dubious, I watch the leaves skip across

The pavement in the gentle breeze,

And the many shades of yellow, red, orange, and green 

Of trees lit up by the sun,

Two squirrels as they run

Around the thick base of a sprawling oak,

And the people—the wonderfully mysterious

People—who have so much love to give,

They can barely restrain their hearts from bursting

Just from the simple sweet connections
They make along the way.

The Voice of God

The Voice of God

By: Daniel Senser

Scene 1

Setting: A small cramped kitchen, with a small, square wooden table in center. It is night. The room is lit solely by a candle on the table.

At rise: DAVID, a deranged looking man in his mid-forties, is sitting at the wooden table, upon which is a loaf of bread and a glass of water. The man is voraciously pulling off pieces from the loaf, dipping the bread in the water, and eating it. Periodically as he eats, he lowers his head to the table, banging it against the surface and groaning. 

DAVID

(Shouting): Leave!

(David shakes his head slightly and keeps eating. He slams his fist on the table. He slaps himself repeatedly. He shakes his head, continues eating. He chuckles to himself. He slams his fist on the table again. A moment later he slams his fist on table again. He continues to eat.)

(There is a knock on the door. At first, David ignores it. There is knocking again. David continues to ignore it. A woman’s voice is heard. This is Rita.)

RITA: David? It’s Rita, from across the hall. I just baked some cookies. Would you like one?

(David stops eating, puts his palms on the table, takes a deep breath.)

DAVID

I…I just ate, thank you.

RITA

Are you sure? They are still warm.

DAVID

No, thank you. If you’ll just…

(Pause.)

RITA

David, is everything OK?

DAVID

Yes. I’m fine. Just tired. I think I will go to sleep now.

RITA

It’s only seven thirty. Are you sure you’re OK?

DAVID

Really, I am fine. Please go away.

RITA

OK. I am just across the hall if you want to talk.

DAVID

That won’t be necessary, but thank you.

(David looks to his right with hatred. He reaches over his left shoulder, as if slapping something away.)

DAVID

Leave.

(Pause.)

DAVID

Like Hell she does!

(David covers his ears.)

DAVID

Stop. Stop. Please stop.

(David gets up and begins screaming violently.)

DAVID

I won’t have it anymore! Do you hear me! I won’t have it anymore!

(There is another knock on the door.)

RITA

David? David? Please open the door.

(David pauses, goes to door and opens it.)

RITA

I heard you yelling. What’s wrong?

(David opens his mouth to speak, but hesitates.)

RITA

Can I come in?

(David motions for Rita to come in.)

RITA

(Gesturing towards table) Want to sit?

(They sit down.)

DAVID

I’m sorry for yelling. It’s just…

RITA

It’s OK. I was just worried about you.

(David quickly looks to stage left, as if he’s heard something.)

RITA

I worry about you a lot, you know.

(Pause.)

DAVID

You needn’t worry. I am fine.

RITA

I have a hard time believing that. 

(Pause.)

DAVID

No! I mean, no. I don’t think that is necessary. 

RITA

Something’s eating at you, I can tell.

DAVID

Something is.

RITA

Are you hallucinating?

(Pause.)

DAVID

No, she didn’t!

RITA

What? 

DAVID

Nothing. I’m sorry. I misspoke. I meant to say…

(Pause.)

RITA

You are hallucinating, aren’t you?

DAVID

They…won’t…leave me…alone!

(David breaks down. Rita gets up, puts her arm around David’s shoulder.)

RITA

I’m going to help you.

DAVID

No! Not the hospital! Anything but that!

RITA

No, no. That’s not what I had in mind at all. I would just like to talk to you.

DAVID

OK. Yes. 

(Rita stands up.)

RITA

Good. (She walks over to chair, sits down.) Let’s talk. 

DAVID

I…don’t know what to say.

RITA

Well, what do they say?

DAVID

They? The hallucinations? They say many things.

RITA

And you talk back?

DAVID

I try not to, but sometimes I can’t help it.

RITA

Yes. I see…

(Pause.)

RITA

A nun taught me a poem when I was a child. I say it to myself whenever I am afraid. Would you like to hear it?

DAVID

How does it go?

RITA

In Spanish, it goes: “Mi corazon sabe la veridad. Soy fuerte, soy uno. No hombre, no demonio, me puede hacer dano, mientras mi oracion llegue a Dios.” Translated, it means, “My heart knows the truth. I am strong, I am one. No man, no demon, can harm me, as long as my prayer reaches God.”

DAVID

It’s beautiful.

RITA

Do you pray?

(Pause.) 

DAVID

I don’t believe in God.

RITA

How can that be? How can anyone expect to maintain their sanity in this world if they don’t believe in God? God loves you. He wants you to turn to Him. That is why you are having these visions. He is sending them to you as a message. You must pray to him.

(Pause.)

DAVID

I don’t even know how to pray.

RITA

It’s simple. You start by saying His name.

DAVID

God?

(Rita nods.)

DAVID

(Whispering): God…

RITA

Speak to Him. He is your greatest ally.

DAVID

God, I…

(Pause. David’s head is shaking.)

RITA

What do you want?

DAVID

(Breaking down in tears) I want the voices to stop! Please God! Make them stop!

(David weeps. Rita gets up and puts her arm around him.)

RITA

Yes. You must weep. Weep away your demons.

(David weeps for a long time. Finally, he looks up at Rita, then around the room.)

DAVID 

They are gone! (He gets up, looks around) They aren’t there! I…I…You made them go away!

RITA 

(Shakes head) No. God did, because you asked Him to. (Pause) Wait here. I will be back.

(Rita exits. As David sits waiting, he looks around fearfully. Re-enter Rita, holding a book.)

RITA

This is the Holy Bible. You can use it as a guide.

(David takes the book, leafs through it.)

RITA

If ever you have questions, come to me. I will do my best to answer them. 

DAVID

Yes. Thank you! 

RITA

Keep praying, David. God is always listening. Remember that. These voices you hear will lose their power when God’s voice prevails. I will pray for you as well.

DAVID

Will you come to me tomorrow night?

RITA

Yes. Now, I must go to bed. Goodnight, David.

DAVID

Goodnight.

(Rita exits. David opens the Bible, reads aloud.)

DAVID

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth…”

END SCENE 1.

SCENE 2.

Setting: Same room, at night. 

At Rise:  David is seated at table, reading the Bible by candle light.

DAVID

(Reads): “Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.”

(David sighs ponderously.) 

DAVID

(Praying) Lord, make me strong.

(Pause. There is a knock at the door. David gets up and answers it. It is Rita.)

DAVID

Hello Rita. Come in.

RITA

How are you?

DAVID

I’m fine.

(Rita enters. They sit down at the table.)

RITA

(Noticing Bible on table) Have you been reading?

DAVID

Yes. I’ve been reading it.

RITA

And the hallucinations?

DAVID

They are still there, but slowly fading away.

RITA

That’s terrific! I am proud of you! God is good. What part were you reading?

DAVID

I was reading about Jacob wrestling the angel. 

RITA

What did you make of it?

DAVID

It made me think of my own struggles. And it made me realize that I am actually very blessed.

RITA

That’s good!

DAVID

You know, I have been wondering. You are so young, yet you are so wise. How is that possible?

RITA

I have been through a lot, David. My parents died in a car crash when I was six, and I was raised in an orphanage in Puerto Rico. It wasn’t easy, but I was fortunate enough to have some very good teachers who taught me all about the Word of God. I thought for a time of becoming a nun, but I had a child, and I wanted to keep him.

DAVID

Where is your son now?

RITA

He lives with my best friend, in Puerto Rico. I hope one day to see him again, when I am finished with nursing school. He is my angel. 

DAVID

It must be nice having a son. It must be nice having someone to love, period.

RITA

Surely there must be someone in your life that you love.

DAVID

No, there isn’t. There was in the past, a long time ago. But I have no one left.

RITA

How did that happen?

DAVID

It was a mixture of things. Fear and pride played a major role. And, I suppose, my illness contributed to it.

RITA

Yes. I would imagine it would.

DAVID

I mostly just wanted to get out of life without hurting anyone.

RITA

And what about yourself? Do you want to keep yourself from hurting?

DAVID

Yes, I suppose so. Only, I’d rather it were me that got hurt than anyone else.

RITA

My guess is you’ve been hurt a great deal, particularly by those who were supposed to love you.

DAVID

No one was supposed to love me. I was hurt, yes, but only because I brought it about on my own. I was a fool. Fools get punished.

RITA

Perhaps. But they should also be forgiven. You know, when I was a little girl, I was taken advantage of by someone who was supposed to be caring for me. When I became old enough to understand what had happened, at first I was very angry, but then I realized that God had made it happen for a reason—to make me strong. I was able to forgive the man for his abuse, because God had ordained that I should be a strong woman. There is a deeper meaning behind everything, a lesson from everything. God has sent me to you for a reason. There is a lesson to be learned from our meeting.

DAVID

What is the lesson?

RITA

You must figure that out for yourself, just as I must for myself.

DAVID

I am not a good man.

RITA

Why do you say that?

DAVID

Look at me. I am completely alone. I’ve isolated myself from everyone I’ve ever cared about.

RITA

Not me. I knocked on your door and you let me in. You didn’t have to but you did.

DAVID

I am glad I did.

RITA

(Looking at her phone): I need to go to sleep. It has been a long day.

(She gets up)

RITA

Goodnight, David. I will pray for you tonight.

DAVID

Thank you. I will pray for you as well.

(Rita smiles.)

RITA

Goodnight.

(She leaves. David stares into space.)

End Scene.

Scene 3

Setting: Same.

At Rise: David is seated at table, reading Bible. It is very late. 

(David looks up and rubs his eyes. A VOICE is heard.)

VOICE

David.

DAVID

What? Who’s there?

VOICE

It is I.

DAVID

God?

VOICE

You are on the right path, but there is something more that you must do.

DAVID

What is it? What must I do?

VOICE

Your heart knows the truth.

DAVID

Yes. I know.

(There is a knock on the door. David answers it. It is Rita.)

RITA

Hello! I have some wine here. Would you like a glass?

DAVID

Come in.

(Rita enters.) 

RITA

Do you have a corkscrew?

DAVID

Yes, let me find one.

(David rummages around in a drawer, pulls out a knife and lunges at Rita, stabbing her in the abdomen. She screams and falls to ground, dead.)

DAVID

I am sorry. Lord, forgive me. 

(He drops the knife, and takes out his phone, dials.)

DAVID

566 Lowburn Avenue. I have killed a woman. She was trying to help me, that is why I killed her.

FADE TO BLACK

END OF PLAY

Prosperity

On a cool, rain-soaked night in Autumn,

I passed a homeless man sleeping on a bench.

He was covered in a heavy blue blanket

Drawn up to his chin. He seemed so peaceful.

Tomorrow, he will need his breakfast, I thought,
So I reached into my pocket and pulled out some change.

I put it on the blanket and walked away.

Now, as it turns out, I am low on money,
But I won’t starve. Even if I have to turn to begging,

I’ll have this poem to offer in return.

Untitled

I.
You wanted answers, I gave you answers. You didn't like the answers, so you cursed me. Because you cursed me, I turned my back on you and blocked out the sun. In darkness, you banded together with your rebels and lit fires in the dark. You raised your sword against me. Still I did not turn to face you. You stabbed me in the back and I bled into the sea. I wept, causing The Great Deluge that drowned you. In death, you approached me, however timidly. You bowed down at my feet and wept. I forgave you. You asked for nothing more.

II.
The sun was weary, and the sky was cold. I asked God one question. I can't remember what it was. But He answered me. He said, "You have fire and water, a body and a soul. All your questions will be answered in time. Worship the sky if you must, or worship the earth. But know this, I have created greater things than these, that you have not seen. Does that make you afraid? It should. Good. Now take this kiss that I offer you. In it lies the secret to love. Should you forget, look at sun, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the earth. It will remind you, and you shall pass like a wind into wonderment.

III.
Bathe your breath upon these words. Your tongue is wet, and so are your eyes. You have longed for this moment since you welcomed the shadow into your house. Fire wants to know everything all at once, and thus, it destroys everything. Everything but water. Bathe in the water of these words. Answer the call to oblivion before it takes you for good.

On the Road

My feet study closely the apocryphal scriptures

of the road. The stars above me sing the Te Deum.

I wonder why. I myself am singing an old song

from deep in my memory. I know why. 

There is faith in the song, for it carries me. 

Faith I create, with words and melody.

I have faith in the moon, the buxom 

proprietress of the sky. 

Ambassador of my soul, my song

is old and wizened, and brings with it

a message of peace. Won’t you welcome him?

Even now there is a feast being prepared

in his honor. He is starving, and will gladly eat.

Give him wine, let him drunkenly speak.

The road is long, and its scripture enigmatical,

but the truths it espouses are good fodder

for my song. The stars keep singing,

as if to welcome me to heaven.

But I am not ready to go there yet.

Give me the long, strange, burdensome road

that I might keep singing, and my old diplomatic song 

may offer the world a perfect, if momentary, peace.

Fleeing Sanity

Setting: A bourgeois living room. There is a sofa and two chairs.

At Rise: CYNTHIA, a pretty woman in her mid-fifties, reclines on the sofa, reading a book. Seated in one of the chairs is HENRY, also in his mid-fifties, a brawny, stiff man wearing glasses. He is tapping his fingers on the arm rest nervously.

HENRY

I can’t believe he’s not up yet. He’s been sleeping for almost twenty hours.

CYNTHIA

Give him time. He’s had a long couple of days.

(Pause. Henry continues to tap the chair. He looks at his watch.)

HENRY

(Suddenly): I’m going up there. (He begins to rise.)

CYNTHIA

Honey, please…

(Enter JEFFERY, 22, a good looking young man with wild curly hair, dressed nicely.)

CYNTHIA

You’re up.

JEFFERY

Yes, I am up. But I did not sleep.

HENRY

What do you mean you didn’t sleep? What have you been doing all this time?

JEFFERY

I have been…(He smiles wryly) awakening.

(Henry and Cynthia look at each other, baffled.)

CYNTHIA

Awakening? Honey, are you OK?

JEFFERY

I have surpassed description. I am silence, and yet I am noise.

HENRY

What are you talking about? Are you on drugs?

JEFFERY

My only drug is silence.

(Henry peers into Jeffery’s eyes, as if inspecting him. He turns to Cynthia.)

CYNTHIA

Jeffery, what is this about?

JEFFERY

It is about the noise, and the silence. The rain and the trees, the mellifluous flow of the breeze. The ancient tides as they swing on their pendulum of moonshine. Give me death. Yes, give me death. Or better yet, give me eternity.

HENRY

(Turns to Cynthia.) Cynthia, call an ambulance.

(Jeffery begins to laugh hysterically.)

CYNTHIA

Yes, I think I will.

JEFFERY

(Suddenly) Demons! I’ll see you in Hell!

Jeffery bolts for the door and runs out before Henry can catch him. Cynthia dials the phone.

CYNTHIA

Yes, police? We’re having a problem.

Setting:The woods. It is the middle of spring, late dusk. 

At Rise:The woods are shadowy and the ground is covered in brush and dead leaves. There is a large ROCK in center of stage, and a group of DAFFODILS are growing.

(Enter Jeffery from stage right. He is running, breathing heavily, and barely able to keep himself up. He trips over ROCK in middle of stage, falls flat on his face, comes up covered in leaves. He is out of breath as he wipes the leaves from his shirt and pants.)

JEFFERY

A good seven miles. I’ve given myself room to rest.

(He sits down.)

JEFFERY

It will be dark soon. No water, no food. Ah, but there’s the sun. 

(He looks at the sun, which is a spotlight above the audience, and smiles.)

JEFFERY 

No one steals the soul of the sun. It’s too great to steal. Like my soul.

(Pause)

JEFFERY

(Bitterly): Let them try. They’ll turn to dust. (Ponderously): Ah, yes. Dust. We all turn to dust eventually. For getting too close to the sun. But the soul…The soul is everlasting. Soon the sun will set, and my soul will merge with shadow. What parting words have you for me, oh sun? Run. Yes, run. But for now, we rest.

(He notices a DAFFODIL growing beside him, picks it.)

JEFFERY

Daffodil. Otherwise known as narcissus. Amaryllidaceae. From the Greek meaning “to sparkle.”And oh, how you sparkle! To think, little one, thou wert once a man who gazed upon his own reflection and fell in love. Now you have no eyes to see with, yet you project both the love of the gazer, and the reflection, combined. How glorious thou art, little demigod! How glorious!

(He becomes emotional)

JEFFERY

(Addressing daffodil): I have taken thy life for a whim! My love for you has destroyed you! Yet, your ephemeral company shall be a blessing. What’s that you say? To die in my hand is worth a thousand springs? I will keep you, then, till you shrivel and die. I’ll keep you here (he puts daffodil in shirt pocket), close to my heart.

(He pats the flower in his pocket, then suddenly looks up)

JEFFERY

The sunset, is it death on the horizon? The sun is slow to set on a day, on a life. The soul of death awakens in the night. But who’s to say if I shall live to see the light? Death’s blade is sharp but day’s rays are bright. There will be death before my mind’s set right. But my soul will never be vanquished. (He takes out the daffodil and begins twirling it in his fingers.)

                                                                        JEFFERY

(In sudden irritation): What need have they of my soul? My gifts are mine to give to those whom I would choose, let it be man or beast or sun or moon. Or myself. Yes, myself. But what is the self? A self is a notion, and nothing more. 

(A voice is heard, soft, like a gentle breeze, stirring through the forest.)

VOICE 

You are not yourself.

JEFFERY 

(Responding immediately and wrathfully): I AM myself! What do you know? I will always be myself! What else could I be? I’ve tried to be a rock, but rocks don’t weep. I’ve tried to be a tree, to stretch myself in a hundred directions toward the sky, to litter the earth with my seeds, but a tree cannot know it will never reach the sky. I’ve tried to be many things and failed. My body is my body. My soul is my soul. And my soul wants out. Yes, it wants to be free.

VOICE 

But where will you go?

JEFFERY

Where will I go? (Sudden realization)I will go to the sea! Yes, and I will bathe myself in the river, and swim down with the current to the sea, to my destiny. Look! The sun is going down. The last teardrop before death.

(A helicopter is heard overhead. Jeffery looks.)

JEFFERY

Demon of the sky! They are searching for me! I must be on my way!

(Jeffery runs off stage left.)

END SCENE.

SCENE 2

SETTING:The same living room.

AT RISE:On the couch, on her hands and knees, her head resting against the arm-rest, weeping uncontrollably, is Cynthia. Standing near her is Henry. His hand is resting on Cynthia’s back..

HENRY

Cynthia, please. Try and be calm.

CYNTHIA

He’s our son, Henry! Our son! How could we…Where is he going? Where will he go?

(Cynthia sobs uncontrollably)

HENRY 

I don’t know. I don’t know.

CYNTHIA 

This whole thing was a mistake. We should have helped him ourselves. We should have…We ought to have…

HENRY 

There was nothing else that we could have done. It was beyond our capacity. 

CYNTHIA 

And what does that say? What does that say about us as parents?

(Henry is silent. He looks down, pained.)

CYNTHIA 

(Sobbing): Our son! Our poor lovely boy! Where are you going?

HENRY 

(His head shaking as he fights back emotion): It’s my fault.

CYNTHIA 

(Looking up and halting her crying): What? What do you mean?

HENRY 

I was too hard on him. I wanted him to be strong, and…principled. But… (he fights back his emotion). I never understood him. I never could embrace him. I tried to suppress that…anger in him, but gave him no outlet for it. He was always such a free-spirited boy. Such a sensitive, sweet boy. But I tried to mold him into something he could never be. (He is holding back tears.)

(Cynthia gets up, puts her arm around Henry.)

CYNTHIA

It’s both of our fault, then. Equally.

HENRY 

But then was this the only way? (He pauses, thinks.) The boy is just so stubborn! Nothing he was saying made any sense! You agree with me, don’t you?

CYNTHIA 

I do.

HENRY

I only hope that he hasn’t…

CYNTHIA 

What?

(Henry begins to speak and the phone rings. Cynthia rushes to pick it up.)

CYNTHIA

Hello?

END SCENE.

SCENE 3

SETTING:The woods. It is now night.

AT RISE: Stage is black, except for a spotlight shining on Jeffery. He is walking slowly, sauntering among the trees. He is singing.

JEFFERY

Lo and behold, the truth unfolds. Darkly we go into the night. Darkly we go, as smoke and ash. Darkly we come, out of the past.

(Jeffery stops suddenly, looks up at the trees. He speaks.)

JEFFERY

Stillness. Strange stillness. Everything has fled, into the shadows. I too flee, as it seems. But why? What for? What is this stillness trying to say?

VOICE

Go home, Jeffery. Go home to your mother.

JEFFERY

(Chuckling) Right. Face the music, so to speak. Live a long life, find meaning in human connection. Spend my days pursuing a goal. A “good” goal, as they might say. But what is it for? It’s for death. It’s all for His reaping. Let me merge with death at full speed, is what I say. I want to embrace death with a ready soul. My soul is ready now. Why waste my days toiling for nothing, tiring my soul, wasting my soul, so that it is no longer ready to meet death? No. I am ready now! If they must weep for me, so be it. They too will soon face death.

(A stiff wind blows)

JEFFERY (Cont’d)

I will go to the place where the wind goes. The perfect stillness. No more shadows…(Pause. Jeffery looks up ponderously) Behold! The stars. Steady in their course, immovable, unflinching. Great gaseous masses whose only instinct is to implode and explode. Their light travels this universe eternally; stretching in their desire only to shine, only to merge with the infinite. And they shall! Oh, how they shall! Lights whose only source is mass itself. And what is time? A trillion years is an instant with the right set of eyes. Yes, see how they shine!

(Three or four flashlights are seen upstage. A voice is heard.)

OFFICER 

I see him!

OFFICER 2 

Where?

OFFICER

Over there! To your right.

(Jeffery hides behind a tree.)

JEFFERY 

(To self): Moon-goddess, make my feet swift. Lead me to the river.

(He runs. One of the officers catches him and tackles him to the ground. He struggles.)

OFFICER 

Be still!

(The Officer puts handcuffs on Jeffery.)

JEFFERY

The trees! The trees are my witness! Moon, be my witness! Stars, be my witness! My soul is held captive! I am a slave! 

(The Officer lifts Jeffery up and begins leading him away.)

JEFFERY

I will have my freedom! Justice exists! (He turns on the officers) Blue-clad demons!  You scorn me! You mock me! You want to know my secret so you can use it against me! But I won’t give you the secret, no matter what torment you inflict on me! The soul will not be bound! Mother! Mother! Mother! Where are you? Why hast thou forsaken me?

VOICE 

You are not yourself.

JEFFERY 

(Looking around): But I am. I am! (He breaks down) I will always be myself! I am myself! Why are you trying to change me?

END OF PLAY.